Forever or a Long Time by Caela Carter

Flora and Julian have been adopted now, but they still suffer trauma from a long history in foster care.  Flora has a hard time expressing herself and sometimes her words won't come out at all.  Julian hides food in his bedroom because of times in the past when he didn't get enough food.  Their adopted mom, Emily, continually reassures them that their family is forever now, but Flora and Julian finally have to explore their past before they can begin to hope for a happy future in a permanent home.

This is a heart wrenching look at foster care and the scars it can leave on the children caught in the system.  Some of Flora and Julian's foster parents were loving, but others were overworked and detached.  Carter doesn't sugar coat the fact that it may take years, or even a life time, to deal fully with the trauma of the past, but she leaves the reader with hope that things will get better.  (2017, 309 p)