Blood Family by Anne Fine Review

WARNING: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS BELOW

“That is the problem with these [foster] kids, of course. Whatever pain or loss it was that made them come to you, that never goes. It's always there. Always. There in the background, like a lurking enemy, waiting to trip them up. Or worse, waiting for them to trip themselves.”- Blood Family, Anne Fine

Edward is four years old when he is locked away with his mother by her abusive, alcoholic partner, Harris. By the time an elderly neighbor spots his pale face peering through a crack in the boarded-up window and raises the alarm, he is seven.

Rescue comes, but lasting damage has been done. Sent to live with a kind foster family, and then adopted, Edward struggles to adapt to normal life. Even as a smart and curious teenager it’s still clear to his new family and schoolmates there’s something odd about him.

Then in a science museum, Edward sees an image that shocks him to the core and robs him of his hard won sense of safety. Can anyone’s past truly be left behind? And could it be that, deep down, another Harris is waiting to break out?

I can't believe this cover passed the editor. It's hideous. Jesus, it's almost as bad as the new Breathing Underwater covers. 

Remember how in my On the Jellicoe Road review I extolled the virtues of Aussie YA authors? Well, for some reason English YA authors (and some English adult writers, too) have the opposite effect on me. I know, I know, this is a horrible generalization but it's kind of the truth. Or maybe I just haven't read enough English YA writers (someone, recommend me a good one, please). 

It's not that I hated this book, but to say I was underwhelmed is an understatement. I think maybe a problem I find with English YA writers is that I've noticed YA isn't really a label. It's either adult or children. So I find a lot of British exported books that are categorized in America as YA actually feel a lot younger than YA, more on the middle grade side of YA, really. Of course, this is just my opinion, your mileage may vary, etc etc.

And it was a problem in this book, especially because Eddie's voice was very young sounding- almost like his development was stunted in some way- that it was jarring to hear girls described as liking him or the fact that he was like 16 when this book ended. It made words or scenes that normally wouldn't bother me- like shit or Jesus Christ or the many scenes of him drinking/doing drugs (and in one case, kicking the shit out of a child, though that's never actually shown)- stick out to say the least. Which was strange, especially because much of the violence or graphic parts- like Harris beating his mother- were never actually shown. I was fine with this, but at the same time they felt glossed over and made it hard for me to actually connect with the situation. I'm not saying I need a detailed description of what he did to her, and perhaps Fine was attempting to do that horror novel tactic of letting the human imagination do what it does best, but still. This made me feel even more disconnected from the story.

Also, what was with the multiple perspectives? I think at one point one of the characters made some reference to an outside author writing everything down, but it was never really specified and I wasn't sure how necessary the multiple POVs were at the end of the day.

Honestly, this is turning into a mini review because I can't for the life of me remember anything else that happened in this book- and I read it not even a day ago! Well, I suppose the characters were fine. I liked how the family Eddie was adopted into seemed different from most of the families I've read about in YA- sure, they were flawed, but flawed in a realistic way. I quite liked them. I also liked Rob Reed, and the older couple that took him in first. It's nice to see foster families represented in a nice way as opposed to the typical abusive cases YA usually likes to show.

The references to Mr Perkins reminded me of Mr Rogers and made me get a little emotional. I have this strange soft spot towards live action children's TV shows. Not necessarily animated kid's TV though, just live action, and especially shows like Mr Rogers. I still have this odd little wish to live in the world that they do, because it seems so cozy, like one of those idyllic 50s towns where everyone knows their neighbor and you can hop on the trolley to go shopping. I remember going to Pittsburgh last summer and standing on the bridge that overlooks the canal and was reminded of the show. See, the reason I'm going on about this like some sentimental sap is because that part of the book is the only thing that actually emotionally connected me. This little boy who had nothing but a bunch of old tapes with a children's TV show on them, hit me pretty hard in the feelings. 

Though, at the end of the day, this was still a pretty meh book. It was like along the same lines as Who Killed Christopher Goodman. I didn't hate it, didn't love it, probably going to forget about it. 

6 out of 10