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Blood (2011)

by Tony Birch(Favorite Author)

3.89 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0702239275 (ISBN13: 9780702239274)

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

University of Queensland Press

review 1: Loved the lean structure of Blood, which is almost like a film noir for young adults. Clear, strong voice, too, but Tony Birch has always been great like that. On the other hand, the child characters are just too 'nice' for me: neighbourhood bullies who end up BFFs after a couple of brief encounters, Jesse's constant journey along the high road (even stealing the cash was done as a noble cause to help his sister), random teenagers who don't roll a couple of kids trapped in a storm channel. The antagonists were painted too broadly -- especially the overtones of pedophilia, which are every writer's go-to for shake-and-bake bad guys -- and they were dispatched far too easily (and some may say, unrealistically), certainly before they'd built up a real malevolence in the narra... moretive.
review 2: Jesse and Rachel live with their mum, Gwen, who leads a dysfunctional lifestyle, making money behind a bar, selling her body, or dealing in drugs. She has a series of boyfriends to help her make ends meet. When things get really bad, she leaves Jesse and Rachel with her father, from whom she is estranged. Both the children relish this time with their Pop, as the only time in their lives with some routine, and where they are both shown some love. This break from the grittiness of their lives proves shortlived, as Gwen moves to Adelaide and takes up with a new man. Jesse knows that Ray is trouble. He is violent, involved in crime, and shows too much interest in Rachel. One day, Ray takes the family to visit a colleague, Limbo, who is equally scary. They head off on a job and return with a bag stuffed with money. When Ray loses his temper with Gwen and beats her up, she finally decides to do a runner back to Melbourne. As they leave, Jesse decides to take the bag of money with them, which proves fatal as Ray and Limbo pursue the family to retrieve the money, and to punish Gwen and the children. The plot builds up to a confrontation in Melbourne at Pop's house. A well-written narrative, with lots of tension. The relationship between Jesse and Rachel is especially poignant, as Jesse knows that he must leave his mum, so that he is not dragged down by her life, but can't escape the ties of blood with his half sister. less

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