To think Cathy glass has jumped the shark?

[Droveouttotheocean]

Anyone else a fan?

I used to love her books but the last few have been pretty bad. The latest - claiming that a teenage mum and baby were both fostered by Cathy (not a mum and baby placement - two separate fostering) seemed crazy to me.

There is one out tomorrow set during the pandemic. I’ll be interested to read it despite the fact I think they’ve gone really downhill.

I believe this individual is a real foster carer but I think there is a huge amount of erm, creative writing going on.

I've just downloaded the latest book, released midnight. I can't sleep, so will report back in a while!

The last few books have been quite short and feels like they were pushed out for publicity.
I’ve been reading them for years but now there’s a lot of samey samey.

There’s definitely a sense of regurgitation.

I really couldn’t have cared less about the last two. I only read them because I was interested in the sub plot of Lucy’s pregnancy and then baby.

@Danikm151

The last few books have been quite short and feels like they were pushed out for publicity. I’ve been reading them for years but now there’s a lot of samey samey.

The whole "fostering" genre is very popular just now and they do seem to push to keep a steady supply of them published so it's quite possible that if there are no more "actual" stories they're now just manufacturing them.

I love Cathy Glass with her sandwich lunches and casseroles. I have to admit that I read the new books more for an update on what her own dc are up to rather than the actual fostering story. Also a bit curious about how she manages to produce bedrooms out of nowhere. She says she lives in the same house from the beginning but in the first book she has 3 bedrooms and now she has 5.

@UserWithNoUserName

I've just downloaded the latest book, released midnight. I can't sleep, so will report back in a while!

OK, so a fast read later, this book really doesn't have much fostering content. It's mostly about the pandemic, the first strict lockdown and how it affected her family. I found it quite hard reading to be honest, as I don't really want to remember that time! Foster placement was kind of background to it all.

Her biological children and her adopted child are too perfect. They never seem to lose their rags, not even when they were kids themselves.

I get the impression she ran out of good material after the first few books but the publisher wanted her to write more and so she has.

Damaged was good but after that there was so much PADDING! Short stories struggling to get out from a paperback full of stories about casserole lunches and her own perfect children

I love her sandwich lunches and her smugness about limiting biscuit consumption. The later books have gone down hill for sure though.

God it's so true about her perfect children and smugness isn't it. 🤣

I think it's the more recent ones I haven't read so I guess I've got this to look forward to!

Is it her or Casey Watson who adds in the smug little lecturing disclaimers? A child stays up to watch fireworks but 'of course they're in bed by eight o'clock sharp every other night as all children their age should be' or eats a chocolate bar 'but of course this is a rare treat and normally they follow healthy food guidelines to the letter'.

I may be exaggerating slightly but there's a foster carer novelist who does this and it really winds me up.

I like Torey Hayden's books the best, especially the early ones set in the specialist school unit. There's less saintliness, more of an admission that she gets it wrong sometimes, and more variety in the stories.

I've not read Torey Hayden's.
Perhaps I should have a look

@purpleme12

I've not read Torey Hayden's. Perhaps I should have a look

Oh I loved her books. That’s a blast from the past!

I do read them but am increasingly annoyed at the exploitation of children's trauma for her own financial gain.

Surely it can't be ethical to be a FC and writing children's stories even with name changes etc. Either they're true stories and she's making money out of other people's trauma or she's changing so many details they're fiction.

Finished today and she didn't mention that her husband left her for another woman!

It was more like a recap of the pandemic but gave a little insight to what social care went through.
Didn't really feel like an ending though.

I used to like the books but find them a bit too lighthearted and fluffy to be a true representation of the life of a Foster Carer. Working within that field, there are so many things that I would question but I guess it provides some (minor) insight for those who maybe don’t know the ins and outs so well.

What things would you question?

I convinced myself it said ' Caithness Glass' and wondered what on earth they had done !

@Mickarooni

Her biological children and her adopted child are too perfect. They never seem to lose their rags, not even when they were kids themselves.

I think Paula got cross in one book because she had her GCSEs and hadn't been consulted about a new placement...all was well though, she apologised after a pep talk over a hearty casserole!!

I love Torey Hayden too, I get the sense that she's quite a marmite person and she's quite honest about clashing with people.
She's actually written a few new ones recently, after a long gap.

I’ve read it and it was bone crushingly boring.

Cathy witters about Tom Moore though which made me laugh. “A gentle, unassuming, kind man’ she tells us, as if she knows him personally

Oh I've found my people!
Sandwich lunch, casserole or pasta bake and "presently", I'm cracking up!
I definitely thought the latest book was more about the pandemic and that Jamey's story probably wouldn't have warranted a book on its own.

Did anyone else read the one where her son is getting married? The Mother of the Bride sounded a real royal PITA, but of course Cathy acknowledges what a great job she's done with organising the whole thing, approving her (Cathy's) outfit and creating special Group Chats to give her instructions!

I’ve read one or two, the only one I can remember is an overweight child who has bad teeth from eating too many biscuits. The standout moment was when Cathy (who has known this girl for two nights) switches the light off and says ‘I love you’ and the girl replies ‘I’m not quite ready to say it back, but please keep saying it to me until I’m ready.’

Stupid and sappy. I think reading it from the other side (grown up foster care kid) she feels both incredibly fake and judgy and quite exploitative. She also lacks (in my opinion) the necessary quality of a good non fiction writer, which is to be able to present herself in a light that is less that absolutely perfect.

Also if any foster carer I’d known for a few days told me they loved me I’d have felt incredibly uncomfortable and I would have known they were lying. I think the girl was about 10, so not a toddler or an idiot.