Cathy Glass has been in foster care for 25 years, during that time she has fostered over 150 children, as well as caring for three of her own children. She has been awarded a degree in education and psychology as a mature student, and writes all her books under a pseudonym.

This book is not your average story, it is a book that has such strong emotion that it will tug at your heart strings and make you want to cry, ultimately it is an uplifting story about how someones love can save a life.

Cruel to be Kind is a true story about Max, age six, who is fostered by Cathy while his mother is in the hospital with complications from type two diabetes. Fostering Max gets off to a rocky start when Max’s mother threatens Cathy before Max even moves in, telling her that she better give Max whatever he wants to eat. Cathy and her family are shocked when they first meet Max, but his social worker isn’t the only one in denial, his whole family are too.

Max comes from a family full of troubles and woes, he ends up fitting in well with Cathy’s family, but a world of torment is bubbling under the surface, threatening to break through at any moment.

I found this story to be a heart wrenching book about a boy struggling to make his world right again. Cathy Glass writes simply and her views and opinions are easy to see. Cruel to be Kind exposes a problem that many kids, and adults, face everyday. In Max’s case, it goes beneath the surface to find a boy who comes from a broken family, and struggles with issues that most people ignore. He goes through more hell than one kid deserves, and he comes out stronger for it.

Cruel to be Kind has been my go to book when someone asks me what they should read next. If you are in the mood to read an emotional story, then this is the book for you.

You can find this book at your local Barnes and Noble or Target (currently not available)

More books by Cathy Glass:

• Innocent
• Where Has Mummy Gone
• The Child Bride

Plus many more.