God Help the Child by Toni Morrison

                      This  novel  by Toni Morrison  , published in 2015, is about the damage adults wreak on the children.It is the story of coming of age of a very dark coloured girl called Bride.Her mother Sweetness disdains her very existence.To claim her mother's love and to have some dignity of her own , Bride  gives false evidence against an innocent woman , who is convicted and goes to prison .She grows  up  to be a successful career woman but her past is with her.To make amends for her past action of giving false evidence,she tries to help the women whom she has wronged.But in the process, her boy friend Booker walks out on her on the ground that she wanted to help the woman (an alleged  child molester)  in question. In the end,Bride's mother Sweetness says:"What you do to the children matters.And they might never forget".The book describes in graphical details instances of  physical and sexual abuse, neglect and rejection of children by parents.The need for respect at times exceeds every thing else:"You don't have to love me but you damn well have to respect me".With 178 pages in hard cover edition ,the book can be read in a short time.Though not as good as Beloved or The bluest Eye, yet I recomment you to read this book for the powerful and inimitable style of Toni Morrison