Review of A Bloody Book

[Wendy Barnes]

[Following is a volunteer review of "A Bloody Book" by Chris Bowen.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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I have just finished reading A Bloody Book by Chris Bowen. Even though the authors target is a young adult audience, it held my attention throughout the whole book. I was eager to return to the story and find out the fate of the young boy.

I rate this book is 3 out of 4 stars. This rating is given due to the fact that even though well written, with some errors, it is not quite a four star page turner. I think that this book would appeal to a wide variety of readers as it captures your imagination and you hope for a better outcome for the young boy and his sister.

My only negative comment is that I would have liked the story to continue as I was enjoying following the story of the young boy. If the reader was someone who had suffered a similar upbringing as the boy in this story, abuse, domestic violence, neglect, it may cause past issues to resurface, so whether a trigger warning is necessary, I’m not sure.

A young school aged child tells of his struggles at school and in his home life. A life of not being popular, not having enough food, not having adequate clothing, not having loving parents and having to look after his younger sibling. A life in which the parents certainly don’t put the children first and are not concerned about their welfare. It tells how the young boy overcomes the poor parenting, domestic violence and how he cares for his young sister. It tells of the plans he puts into place for their survival. Chris Bowen tells the story as if he is this young boy.

It made me reflect on the children I have encountered in my life and how I have interacted with them and whether I have done them a disservice. Especially as I too worked in the Education field. It also makes you realise that some children don’t have a great home life and some things that you assume happens in every home, certainly doesn’t. One example of this is the boys class teacher asking students to bring in an item from home so that the class can do a baking activity. This has the teacher assuming that all children will have this food at home in their pantry. She also assumed that all students would know where to buy an item in a supermarket. This poor lad had no such pantry set up and he had never been to a supermarket as his mother only ever shopped at their corner convenience store.

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A Bloody Book
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