Edward is four years old when he is locked away with his mother by her abusive, alcoholic partner, Harris. By the time an elderly neighbour spots his pale face peering through a crack in the boarded-up window and raises the alarm, he is seven.
Rescue comes, but lasting damage has been done.
Sent to live with a kindly foster family, and then adopted, Edward struggles to adapt to normal life. Even as a teenager it's still clear to his new family and schoolmates there's something odd about him.
Then one fateful day, Edward catches a glimpse of himself in a photograph. What he sees shocks him to the core - a vision of Harris. Was this monster his father all along? And does that mean that, deep down, another Harris is waiting to break out?
Every step of progress Edward has made swiftly begins to unravel, and he has to decide whether his blood will determine his future.
Despite Edward’s appalling experiences as a young child he seems to adjust quite well to life with his adoptive parents. However the past haunts him and by the time he starts to unravel you just want him to be well, especially as by that point you, as the reader, have built up a relationship with him and his family. The other characters are not perfect either and that makes the story seem more real. The nature vs nurture theme is interesting – Edward’s genes (blood family) and early life experiences cast a great shadow over the stable, caring environment he grows up in after the age of seven.
Blood Family is an engrossing read. Edward’s personal journey is a roller coaster of ups and downs as he figures out who he is and how much influence his early life will have on his future.
Reviewed by Carolyn
