Melinda Jensen is 17 and has had one hell of an awful life. Her mom is worthless, she has no father, and the guy who calls himself uncle Jack does little more than take advantage of her. When she decides she’s had enough and needs to leave, she heads through the streets of San Francisco, and that’s when she meets Henry.
Henry offers to take her in, teach her what love is really like, and give her a real family. A place where she can feel safe. The set up is perfect for Mel: this is a family that shares everything. There are plenty of people who live together, love one another, and take care of each other. And every member of this family is interested in helping fulfill Henry’s lifelong dream of becoming a musician — he is, of course, helping them all out by offering such a wonderful place to live and love.
It sounds a little like a polygamous sect, but it’s more of a cult. There’s no marriage involved, and everyone’s following a religion: the religion of Henry. Mel in her story worships him, refers to him in the uppercase Him. Everyone wants to make His dreams come true.
But like any good cult story, things will fall apart. They may even become a little bloody, and everyone will become a suspect, an accomplice to crime.
Family is one creepy story. The book is written in episodic verse, meaning it’s not a standard prose novel and it’s not a standard verse novel. It walks both threads, and it follows a bit of a stream-of-conscious style. We are right inside Mel’s mind, knowing what she’s thinking as she’s thinking it, and it’s messy. As a reader, I appreciated this, but I was also a little put off by it.
If you haven’t put the pieces together or haven’t read much pre-pub buzz about this title, it’s loosely based on the Manson Family murders of the late 1960s. I knew this going in, but I was not completely familiar with the history of the crimes; I decided to begin this novel without the preconceptions of that history in order to judge the book on its own merits, but I found myself pretty lost in Mel’s thoughts because of it. They were almost too loose and fluid, and I didn’t really get an opportunity to feel anything for her as a character. I had to focus too much on the plot and as a result, couldn’t get to know her or connect with what she wanted me to connect with (that being the desire to belong).
A few chapters into the book, though, I familiarized myself with the history of the Manson Family murders and immediately felt much more connected to Mel as a character. I cared less about the story and more about her. I understood why she was so interested in Henry’s music career and why she had decided to bond with this family. I bring this point up simply to state it might be worthwhile to be familiar with this story before diving into the book. A quick read through the wikipedia article will suffice. I’m of mixed feelings about this, too: I think had I not known that this story was loosely based on a real event, I wouldn’t have focused much on that idea and I may have immediately connected with Mel. But that lingered in my mind as I began, and I felt it impacted my reading. For teen readers, I don’t think there will be a problem connecting, but I wish that the novel could stand more on its own, rather than bring up the Manson connection on the jacket copy. On the other hand, perhaps a prologue or epilogue could have cleared up a little confusion or made the connection, as well. It’s possible either of these might be in a finished version of the book.
That said, when I did finally connect with Mel, I really cared about her. It was obvious she drank the Henry koolaid, and she made me believe in why she would even want to do so. I pulled for her, and I worried about her when the “helter skelter” began. I saw it coming from miles away, but her being naive and obsessed with the idea of family, she did not. Since we’re inside her mind, we know this and we really do care about her safety and her future. Mel wanted no part of this aspect of Henry and his family, and instead, she finds herself in a strange place. A place not unlike one Lacey from Carol Lynch Williams’s Miles From Ordinary finds herself. In fact, the last few chapters reminded me greatly of Williams’s book, and I think that on some level, they make for fascinating read alikes because of their explorations of family and belonging.
The exploration of cult dynamics is well-done, and it never tries to veer into other weighty topics like polygamy. It sticks to one aspect of cult dynamics — the kind most generally not accepted anywhere — and it explores how this lifestyle almost mirrors a religious devotion. In this, the non-traditional style of the book works, as Ostow is able to use the page as a way to tell her story. That is, the story isn’t limited to just the words, but also how they look and work on a page, making Henry a God-like figure in not only what Mel thinks but also how it appears.
After finishing and letting this book settle for a while, however, I’m not convinced that the style does the book a lot of favors. There are places it certainly does, but for the most part, I found the style overwhelming to the really great substance within it. It was distracting to read words and thoughts done and also through italics, and at one point, even with a page-long double arrow (<— like this —->). As readers, we’re already inside Mel’s head throughout the story; we don’t really need to see this played out so explicitly on the page. It almost de-emphasizes the seriousness of the story and the real predicaments in which she and the other family members find themselves. Episodic verse itself was a strong medium for the story, as Mel’s thoughts are and should be disjointed, repetitive, and rambling at times. But, the additional elements brought into that verse weakened it.
Family will appeal to readers who want a good creepy story. It’ll have appeal to fans of stories that explore cult dynamics, and it might work for readers of historical fiction. Even though this story is contemporary, there’s a definite late 60s feel to this, with all of the references to Woodstock and hippie lifestyle. As I mentioned, older teen fans of Carol Lynch Williams will enjoy this one, and I think that those who enjoyed Lucy Christopher’s Stolen might enjoy this one, as well. It’d be an interesting comparison, if nothing else. Family will hit shelves April 26.
Review copy received from the publisher.