A tragic tale of teenagers with an abusive father and
addict mother, and of the loneliness that fear imposes on
different children.
FLAWED tells of Sara and James, with an ex-boxer father who
resents having to work in a mill to raise his family and
gets drunk and violently abusive on a regular basis. Sara
doesn't have any girl friends and hides her bruises and
scars under long sleeves and jeans. She does the cooking
and spends most of her life at school, in the library or
locked in her room. Her brother James is older and
overprotective of her, understandably, and has started work
as well as boxing for money.
When James brings Sara out to a friend's party in the
woods, she meets her idol Sam, who fancies her right back.
But James is afraid to leave anyone alone with her and Sam
understands that he needs to give the pair space. Later
Sara secretly takes up an offer of a part-time job at Sam's
mother's florist shop. This lets her meet Sam more often
and they begin a romance. Drugs are a worry where James is
concerned, as his friends are wild, and when the teens'
mother is found dead of an overdose, James is implicated.
Apart from worrying about her brother, Sara has to fear
that her father will fix his anger on her next.
While Kate Arelynn has done a good job of bringing
dysfunctional families and generational cycles of behaviour
to our attention, showing that it is the children who are
the real victims, this can be an uncomfortable read. Not
everyone will want young adults they know to read about
drug addiction, family abuse, violence and incest. On the
other hand this could be a useful start to a family
discussion on teen romance, the need to support friends and
why a rushed marriage could be a bad bargain. The tale is
well written and there are some lovely descriptive passages
to engage us and show us that there is no need for life to
be this way.
Sarah O'Brien is only alive because of the pact she and her
brother made twelve years ago--James will protect her from
their violent father if she promises to never leave him. For
years, she's watched James destroy his life to save hers. If
all he asks for in return is her affection, she'll give it
freely.
Until, with a tiny kiss and a broken mind, he asks for more
than she can give.
Sam Donavon has been James's best friend--and the boy
Sarah's had a crush on--for as long as she can remember. As
their forbidden relationship deepens, Sarah knows she's in
trouble. Quiet, serious Sam has decided he's going to save
her. Neither of them realize James is far more unstable than
her father ever was, or that he's not about to let Sarah
forget her half of the pact...
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