Family

February 28, 2011
In this novel in verse, based on the Manson Family murders, Ostow (So Punk Rock: And Other Ways to Disappoint Your Mother) delivers the harrowing story of 17-year-old Melinda, who flees to San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district to escape her sexually abusive "uncle jack." Weak and unstable, Melinda is seduced by Henry, the charismatic leader of a cult, who presides over a group of lost souls on a remote ranch, and she quickly gets in over her head ("i had that sense about Him, overwhelming, enveloping, cloaking:/ He. was. right./ He was inescapable"). When Henry plots a violent mission, no one can refuse to go along. A mix of pared-down poems and more developed paragraphs of text, the form matches the content, which is dark, mesmerizing, and hazy; the only capital letters are in reference to Henry, emphasizing (if a bit blatantly) his godlike power over his followers. The narrative shifts between Melinda's past, present, and bloody future suggest the inevitability of her descent and mirror the steady pull of the tides and undertows she describes as dragging her down. Ages 14–up.

May 1, 2011

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

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2011
A vivid but ponderous exploration in verse of late-1960s-California cult life. Mel, broken by her uncaring mother's sexually abusive boyfriend, "Uncle" Jack, runs away from home with no plans beyond getting to San Francisco. Once there, without food or money, she's a sitting duck for the charismatic Henry, who promises Mel a new life with his family of "love and openness and / everyone caring," among whom she can be made whole and free again. Mel's embrace of family life, with its communal meals and shared sexual partners, is enthusiastic but not wholehearted: She easily recognizes the emotional damage in all of the family members and steers clear of the worst of the bunch. Eventually Mel begins to worry that Henry, who has always seemed "infinite" and healing, is just as shattered as his followers. Like Charles Manson, on whom he is clearly based, Henry was traded by his mother for a pitcher of beer and has pretensions to fame as a prophetic folk star. After an apparent snub by a music industry executive, Mel can tell that "Henry cannot restrain His infinite want. / cannot still the undertow within." Unfortunately, Mel's journey is a little too clichéd to be believable--of course her emotional damage is due to sexual abuse--and her voice, full of repetitions of ominous phrases, is too mannered to be engaging. (Historical fiction/verse. 14 & up)

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February 1, 2011
Grades 8-12 Given the young participants and the elements of drugs, sex, music, and hero worship, the Charles Manson murders practically scream out for a YA treatment. This free-verse interpretation is not the engrossing epic many will want, though some will dig the books surgical focus upon the psyche of one character: 16-year-old homeless abuse-survivor Mel. She meets Henry (our Manson stand-in) on the streets of San Francisco and, after an initiation via drugs, is incorporated into Henrys familya ragtag gang of drifters who believe Henry is a holy figure whose message will shake the world. Ostows yearning poetic language (i am only hollowed-out spaces. / i am only the opposite of matter) relies too much on repetition, and entire pages go by restating Mels mental state. The biggest issue is Mels lack of growth; she starts and ends as a cipher, making it difficult for the reader to appreciate Henrys influence. Thankfully, Ostows Henry is fascinating, a pied piper hell-bent on reaching the masses, whether through love or terror. The subject alone should make this popular.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)