In a Nutshell
Twitter summary: "Prognosis: reflective of troubled childhood"
Length: just shy of novel-length
Target Audience: 10-14 years old
Genre: Fictional drama
Swearing: Mild
Violence: Mild
Reflection on past: High
Plot
The story follows the reflections of a teenage boy named T.J. (Timothy James) as he waits for news of his sister's emergency surgery in the hospital. Through a life book he created during his time in foster care, he reflects on the experiences that he and his sister went through leading to this present moment.
Initially I thought the writing was simplistic, but this was because it was written from the perspective of TJ. The opening paragraph didn't exactly sell me. As I summarised: 'gritty kitty sand in the eyes.' Not exactly the greatest of hooks :) The story is written consistently, although I think the characters were a little flat. The mother was a complete waste of space, Billy was evil, Ray was good, the sister was cute and the protagonist was not particularly insightful. The author used a few good ploys to keep the story interesting: How did Angela get injured? How did their mother die? Who is the protagonist? It worked for the most part and kept me reading through the less-compelling points.
