In Thompson’s latest novel, Revenge Fires Back!, he exposes what happens to a lot of adolescents when they are in the state’s custody. The book tells the story of two brothers who rebel against their parents’ authority. The young men make false allegations against Mom and Dad and are immediately thrown into foster care. They quickly learn that there are good foster homes and bad foster homes. They discover that their social workers have more authority over them than their parents do and their parents’ decisions for their upbringing have no bearing. It is an eye opener for anyone who has been fortunate enough to not have any dealings with the foster care system.

JR Thompson wants a copy of Revenge Fires Back! in the hands of as many foster children, foster parents, social workers, and legislators as possible. “Our society looks down on children in foster care. Many schools discriminate against those who are in the system. Their discrimination does not go unfounded. It comes from experience,” Thompson said. “When a child enters foster care, the life he has known ends. He is taken away from not only his biological family, but from his neighbors, friends, toys, pets, from everything. That in itself would be hard on anyone, but it doesn’t stop there. On a weekly basis he is questioned by therapists and case managers about his biological family and about how he’s being treated in his new foster home. Therapists, in an effort to try to get the kids to talk about their feelings, sometimes put ideas into their heads that weren’t even there to begin with. For example, one might say ‘It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it. I can probably imagine how you feel. If it was me, I would probably be pretty angry. I might even hate the whole world. Is that how you feel?’ Even though their intentions may be good, it often pulls these children down and lowers their self esteem and the way they see the world around them. As soon as the social workers can get it scheduled, they usually take these children for psychological testing and 95% of the time those tests return results that indicate the child has ADD or ADHD and the child is put on medication for it. In their new foster home, sometimes there are other foster children in the home who may be abusive. Sometimes these other children might steal or destroy the few belongings the new foster child has. A few months pass by and the child has finally gotten attached to his new life and it’s either time to move back with his biological family or something happens and he is placed in a new foster home. And we wonder ‘what is wrong these kids?’ The problem is not with the kids. The problem is with the way the foster care system is being run.”

Thompson feels that as teenagers and young adults read Revenge Fires Back! they will gain a better understanding of the physical and emotional struggles children and families associated with foster care endure. “Hopefully readers, at least in their minds, will be able to walk a few miles in the shoes of kids who are being shuffled from place to place. When that happens, maybe the discrimination will stop. Better yet, maybe people will stand up and demand reformation of the foster care system that is ruining the lives of the children it should be protecting.” He said.

Revenge Fires Back! is available exclusively on the publisher’s website. For more information or to obtain your copy of Thompson’s latest work, please visit http://stores.lulu.com/writejr.

The author is available for interviews and book signings. JR Thompson can be reached via email at writejr@juno.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or via phone at 304-590-2460.