Review: Tell The Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt

I... don't understand. I genuinely and utterly feel like I've missed something with Tell The Wolves I'm Home, as I don't feel moved, tearful or even a little sad. I mean, I didn't hate it but it's a profound 'meh' from me on this one, if such a thing isn't too much of an oxymoron.

Plot summary:
There's only one person who has ever truly understood fourteen-year-old June Elbus, and that's her uncle, the renowned painter, Finn Weiss. Shy at school and distant from her once inseparable older sister, June can only be herself in Finn's company; he is her godfather, confident, and best friend. So when he dies far too young of a mysterious illness that June’s mother can barely bring herself to discuss, June's world is turned upside down.


At the funeral, she notices a strange man lingering just beyond the crowd, and a few days later, June receives a package in the mail. Inside is a beautiful teapot she recognizes from Finn's apartment, and a note from Toby, the stranger, asking for an opportunity to meet.


A the two begin to spend time together, June realises she's not the only one who misses Finn, and if she can bring herself to trust this unexpected friend, he might just be the one she needs the most.

I really like the idea of this plot - older relative dies of AIDS and a close younger relative discovers his secret gay lover. It just really appealed to me as something slightly different and I care quite a lot about HIV/AIDS and the associated hysteria in the 1980s. Except I nearly gave up after twenty pages. Tell The Wolves I'm Home is horrendously emotionally manipulative - I've read My Sister's Keeper and it wasn't THIS bad. It's not even subtle - you're really, really bashed over the head with the Sad Mallet to the point where I felt that AIDS was being used almost.

In the end I was glad I persevered. I got into it properly after roughly a third of the book or so, when the drama had settled down and the character growth began. There were plot points I liked and some (more) that I didn't, but occasionally I saw some nice touches that gave the book a bit of character. The room in the basement, for example, or the portrait.

The problem was, I hated everyone. I know that's almost the point of a book like this one - I was shocked and almost offended by the general attitude and ignorance towards AIDS. I know it was basically prompted by fear of the unknown illness, but June's family's treatment of Toby just angered me. So yes, manipulativeness aside, I understand my dislike. Unfortunately I also hated June, which is most probably not the point.

She's annoying, wet and sulky. Theoretically she's fourteen but I struggled with thinking of her as anything but around ten years old. My biggest issue with June, though, was her relationship with her uncle. Not necessarily that she had feelings for him because I'm sure that's natural, but that everybody knew and encouraged it. Why did nobody, including him, deal with that in a sympathetic and understanding manner? I don't see it as necessary - the plot would have worked just as well with a close uncle/neice relationship, so why shove that in there?

Let's move on to Greta. Again, she's over-done and unrealistic. I'm used to stroppy teenagers in fiction but she's too over-the-top and just becomes an irritatingly Actual Bad Person. Also...

Spoilers below. Highlight to read.

What the hell is with the whole 'Oh, I'll just lay down in the woods and dramatically cover myself in leaves because I know June will be psychic enough to decide she has to find me?' crap. WHAT IS THAT!? I think that stuck out as the most unrealistic and over-dramatic part of the whole novel. Which takes some doing.

Spoilers over. 

I think I'm done with ranting about the characters. I know I've spent most of this review discussing them, but they spoilt the book for me. They're just the standard stereotypes of loner girl, bitchy sister, kind uncle, distant mother but then with bits of unrealistic weirdness thrown in.

I guess my main point about Tell The Wolves I'm Home is that it tries too hard. If the story had just been simply about a girl whose uncle died of AIDS and so she sets out to befriend his secret lover, that would have been fine. I would have been moved and affected quite naturally, but this way was too forced and I ended up irritated. As you may have noticed.

Read more positive reviews of Tell The Wolves I'm Home at An Armchair by the Sea and Devouring Texts. 

Review: Positively by Courtney Sheinmel

Positively was one of the five books I allowed myself to buy after coming into money last week. It's special for that reason and (less logically) it's one of the four books of that five that was PINK! Somehow the accidental colour scheme amuses me no end, but hey, we can't all be sane.

Since the day Emerson Price and her mother were diagnosed as HIV positive, nothing has been the same. When her mother dies of AIDS, Emmy has to go live with the father and stepmother she barely knows, and she feels more alone than ever. Now she has to take pills by herself, and there is no one left who understands what it's like to be afraid every time she has a cold. But when her father decides to send her to Camp Positive, a camp for HIV-positive children, Emmy begins to realize that she's not alone after all, and that sometimes, opening up to other people can make all the difference in the world.

This is a tiny, very accessible book that deals with the adult issues of sexual disease, grief and acceptance in an easy manner. Think of it as Jodi Picoult for pre-teens. It's more about Emmy's grief over the loss of her Mother than about her life with HIV, but it still gets across how traumatising and scary the disease can be for a child.

Parts of this nearly moved me to tears, as my Mum is my favourite person in the whole world and the thought of something happening to her is more than I can take. Ms Sheinmel taps into that fear most people and uses it to place you in Emmy's shoes. Her pain is very real, very adult and very sad - it's not softened or sugar-coated. Instead, it's raw and brutal and I challenge you not to be shaken by it.

The plot revolves around Emmy pushing her friends and family away because she feels they don't understand what it's like for her and she worries they only tolerate her because of her illness. Eventually she goes to Camp Positive where she befriends other children with HIV and slowly realises that life goes on, despite her loss. To be honest, I did find her a little irritating and whiny at times but then I realised how realistic it would actually be. I've thought things very similar on occasion regarding my own illness, and I just don't think I'm used to having those thoughts accurately portrayed on paper.

Despite that, it's not a depressing book - a quick glance at the picture on the cover will tell you it's more about hope than despair. I finished the book with a smile on my face and it's sitting neatly on my shelf waiting to be read again one day when I'm feeling low.

I think it could have benefited from being a little deeper and a little more HIV/AIDS-centric, but Emmy's only thirteen and so the writing style fits her age perfectly. If Ms Sheinmel wrote a follow-up book when Emmy was a little older, I'd buy it in a heartbeat.