Family

Author: Micol Ostow

Release Date: April 26th 2011

Thanks to EgmontUSA for providing this ARC

Summary: (goodreads) It is a day like any other when seventeen-year-old Melinda Jensen hits the road for San Francisco, leaving behind her fractured home life and a constant assault on her self-esteem. Henry is the handsome, charismatic man who comes upon her, collapsed on a park bench, and offers love, a bright new consciousness, and—best of all—a family. One that will embrace her and give her love. Because family is what Mel has never really had. And this new family, Henry’s family, shares everything. They share the chores, their bodies, and their beliefs. And if Mel truly wants to belong, she will share in everything they do. No matter what the family does, or how far they go.

Told in episodic verse, family is a fictionalized exploration of cult dynamics, loosely based on the Manson Family murders of 1969. It is an unflinching look at people who are born broken, and the lengths they’ll go to to make themselves “whole” again.

Review: This was a very interesting tale. Mel is the main character and since it is in episodic form it dwells on her emotions and her life story. She went through so many traumatizing events that she just started to give up.

Although the story would be compelling by itself, through the characters eyes, everything is filmy and she speaks with such passiveness that it lulls the reader. The reader will definitely be able to comprehend Mel for her choices and decisions and see that the connection with Henry was instant and unrealistic because by that point, Mel was beyond this world and it definitely portrayed her desperation.

Rating: 1 2 3 3.5 4 5