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book review blogs
@Barrie Summy
It's been a while since I've participated in the Book Review Club but I'm glad to be back.
In the interest of full disclosure here, the book I'm reviewing this month was gifted to me by its author, Sara Hantz. Sara was not aware that I participate in this Book Review Club, much less that I would be reviewing it here. That said, I would not be reviewing it if I didn't believe it warranted recommendation.
Growing up we start out by idolizing our parents and want to be just like them. At some point though we typically get embarrassed by our parents and want to be nothing like them.
In the Blood starts nine months after Jed Franklin's world has turned upside down . . . when he learned his father is a serial killing pedophile.
There are so many things I like about the way this story was told that it's hard to know where to start. I like that even though it starts nine months after the you-know-what hit the fan, we get glimpses into what life was like before his world comes crumbling down. We see a teenager who, in addition to the struggles that all teenagers go through, has to deal with the fallout for what his father has done. Most of his friends have deserted him and some taunt him, saying he's just like his father, which is what worries him most because all of his life Jed has been told he's just like his father in so many ways and he worries that he will also become a serial killing pedophile at some point in his life. I know this could seem like a dark subject but the author told it with compassion and sensitivity and she made Jed relatable. At one time or another I think most of us have struggled with doubts about who we are based on the guilt by association factor - granted, not as much as Jed has - and that makes this character relatable in an unexpected way.
For reasons I won't go into here, I've had some challenges when it came to reading this past year so I've read very little. In the Blood was a book that I thought might be too intense for me to take up at this point but once I started it, I didn't want to put it down. It was very engaging and pulled me in from the start and I wanted to / need to know what was going to happen next. Bottom line, it was a very well written, well told story that I highly recommend.
