The narrator is the eldest of three children who live with their neglectful and abusive mother. The story follows her increasingly erratic behaviour as she pursues a man who has rejected her until a tragedy occurs.
[Trigger
Warning: Domestic Violence]
[Spoiler alert]
This is an interesting book as it is the first one which portrays an abusive female in a heterosexual relationship. It is interesting to see portrayed how a character – the woman in this case – who is less physically strong, uses violence through the manipulation of other people as well as being mentally and emotionally abusive.
The novel is primarily the story of the three children and how they develop techniques to survive their mother’s neglect and abuse. The eldest child, the narrator, involves a man he meets at the counter of a store. He doesn’t realise it at the time but he is connecting with an adult who has survived childhood abuse. Unwittingly he brings the man into their family and into an intimate relationship with the mother. It is when he experiences her manipulation that he ends the relationship, sparking an escalating pattern of violence, usually at the hands of her new lovers, and abuse towards him. It escalates to a tragic conclusion and he is then drawn in to gather together a group of people to support the children.
This is a
young adult novel, with the main character, Matthew Walsh, writing a letter to
his youngest sibling, Emmy, who would have been too young to remember the
details.
Awards:
- Finalist National Book Award for Young People’s Literature 2006
- Finalist Los Angeles Times Book Prize 2006
- American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults 2007
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