Family

Gr 9 Up—Seventeen-year-old Mel decides to escape from her broken, sexually abusive home. Finally free, but far from unscathed, she parks herself on a bench in San Francisco where she is "saved" by Henry. He takes her first into his van and then to the ranch where he lives with his "family," a group of other young, broken people (many of them attractive young women like Mel) for whom the sun rises and sets on Henry. The family members share not only chores like cooking and laundry, but their bodies as well. As Mel's time at the ranch lengthens, she becomes increasingly concerned about Henry's anxiety and sinister rumblings. Much of the book is based directly on Charles Manson and the Manson Murders of 1969. Through Mel's tale, Ostow ostensibly aims to dig into the cult mentality and to discern how someone could be pulled so blindly into a madman's orbit. The verse format proves an apt choice to relay Mel's scattered and frenetic thoughts and the use of capital letters in He and Him reinforces the idolatry of Henry without being heavy-handed. Yet while Mel's cycling over and over and over about Henry filling her hollow places, her love for a fellow cult sister, and her abusive stepfather might simulate the mindset of a cultist, the repetitious thoughts become tedious. Still, Family will prove a worthwhile read for teens intrigued with the subject matter.—Jill Heritage Maza, Montclair Kimberley Academy, Montclair, NJ