MUST REFER TO BOOK HOPES BOY by ANDREW BRIDGE

Students will analyze the characters and the issues discussed in the novel Hopes Boy by Andrew Bridge.  Please answer the questions below and use examples from the text and the novel to support the discussion. 

1. Andys grandmother later admitted that she couldnt give him the material advantages that his foster family gave him, affecting her decision to fight for his custody. Was she wrong to have given Andy up when his mother demanded his return?  Should officials have been required to help her financially, with phone calls and travel expenses to visit?

2. Foster parents are provided monthly stipends intended to cover food, board, clothing and other incidentals. In many states, the monthly payments are quite small. Should foster parents be regarded more like paid employees or like charitable volunteers? Should we expect foster parents to put up with the same level of behavior that they would from their own children?

3. What are your thoughts on parents who have their children taken from them? Should officials have done more to keep Hope and Andy together or to allow them to continue to have a relationship while he was in foster care? If so, how could this have been done while maintaining Andys safety?