Martha Long - Ma Im getting meself a new mammy

CONDITION - GOOD

Book 2 in The Ma series

Aged thirteen, Martha is rescued by the courts from the clutches of her evil stepfather, Jackster, and her feckless mother, Sally. After numerous arrests for shoplifting, a judge rules that she is to be sent to a convent school with the instruction that she is to get an education.

Her initial relief at escaping the abuse and neglect she suffered at home is, however, short-lived, as she soon realises there are many forms of cruelty in this life. As she says, "You can have a full belly, but your heart can be very empty." Ostracised by the other children for being a 'street kid' and put to back-breaking work by the nuns, she endures a lonely existence, her only joy coming from the books she devours and her mischievous sense of humour.

Desperate for love and a little place she feels she belongs, Martha retains her compassion for others despite all that she has suffered and still continues to hope for a brighter future when she will be free to make her own way in life.