Blood (2024)

5★
“Gwen had come home with plenty of dodgy-looking men over the years and Jon was scarier-looking than all of them put together. He had a shaved head and scars crisscrossed it like a railway map. He also had a piece missing from one ear and rock-hard muscles under his tattoos. He told me some time later, when I got to know him better, that most of the tattoos had been done in gaol. I thought that maybe they’d been done in the dark as well, but kept the idea to myself. His shoulders and what I could see of his chest were a mess of initials, names, dots and numbers, and drawings of animals I couldn’t recognise.

Rachel was so frightened of him, that first morning, she ran out of the kitchen into our room, slammed the door behind her and hid under the bed.”

Gwen is Mum to Jesse and Rachel but wants them to use her name, so she doesn’t sound old (or motherly). Jesse thirteen, has been taking care of his little sister since she was born eight years ago. Gwen works in pubs and bars, anywhere that she can lean forward in her tight, low-cut top and attract the attention of a ‘date’ for the night – or longer, if the guy treats her right (drinks, drugs).

Jesse is narrating their story. He and Rachel had been in care but the three of them are together now, with Jesse still looking after Rachel. Jon, the scary-looking chap above had been in prison and was having trouble finding work. But he cooks and is good to the kids while Gwen’s at work. He even teaches them to bake, a prison skill!

“‘I dunno if you’re just a big kid, the way you hang around with these two all day, or if you’re turning into an old woman, with all your mopping and dusting. Dusting? For f*ck’s sake. Jesus, they sure f*cked you up in gaol. Turned you into a robot.’

She teased him over his cooking, which wasn’t fair, seeing as she always finished off the food he left out for her when she got home from work.

‘And all those cakes and biscuits? What’s that about? You’ve gone from being a gunnie to Jamie Oliver.’”

Then she blows up, demands attention, tells Jon to pick up his game – she wants a night out – now! Jealous of her own kids.

One night when Jesse is sitting outside with Jon, watching a storm roll in, Jon reminds him of talks they’ve had.

“‘Will you be ready for it, Jesse? When the storm comes? You remember what I’ve told you. Sometimes you can stay out of trouble and other times you have to step up.’”

As the story moves on, that’s exactly what Jesse tries to do. The children had different fathers, and Jesse gets bullied for his dark Aboriginal skin. He is increasingly frustrated with how slack Gwen is, leaving them alone without help and low on food. Jesse is the resourceful big brother, trying to stay out of trouble, but stepping up if he must.

Gwen blows hot and cold, loves her kids but ignores them. She wants to be free of them but hated being without them. Between the drink and the men (and sometimes the dope), she seems to expect the kids to raise themselves. When she gets mixed up with a really dangerous bunch, Jesse figures it’s time to go. But what about Rachel?

This is an absolutely terrific, nail-biting read, especially when it puts such young children in risky, life-threatening situations. It’s Australian and sounds Australian, as it should. Tony Birch is an acclaimed Aboriginal author, and I’ve enjoyed his other work. This is a favourite!

This book literally sucked me in at the first page. It was on my 'to read' pile, but quite a few books down when I picked it up, read the first page, wavered for a few seconds, then threw out the window all my plans for the day and reading schedules.

A quintessentially Australian story, the 'voice' of our young narrator is so broadly Australian that I am not sure it would be easy to read for anyone from another country (rewarding, yes, easy maybe not so much). Colloquialisms and slang are scattered liberally through the narration. This makes the story a fascinating and engrossing one for me, as I can so easily hear the tone of the character. Personally, I loved it from the get go...

Jesse is at a police station, a policewoman brings him some food and tells him she can bring him something better if only he cooperates and tells them what happened in the house.... but Jesse knows better than to cooperate with authority and besides, all he wants is to know what happened to his sister, Rachel.

Before we, the readers (in my case, the utterly fixated reader) find this out we go on a long tour of Jesse's drifting life with his f*ckless irresponsible mother. Jesse is five when Rachel joins them but from the moment she is born he knows that it will have to be him taking care of her, his responsibility for her leads to bonds all the stronger between them because there is so little else that is constant in these children's lives.

The story is a single point of view, it is both stark and harsh, because Jesse and Rachel live a life that is emotionally and educationally as arid and empty as the landscapes they travel through. But the matter of fact language is deceptive. While the book is written as someone like Jesse might speak and think, the writing is still smooth, compelling and beyond question adult in it's complexity. The train wreck of a mother, appalling yet wholly believable in her own way, is strongly written and brought to life as a real person with her own background. While it is hard to imagine a less competent person or mother, she never falls into caricature and while she is in many ways the 'bad guy' yet she is written with her own validity making her real.

She drags her children around providing them with nothing at times, dumping them at other times when it suits her. Jesse's suspicion of her, leads to him and Rachel escaping for a terrible situation that she has got into...

But really, I don't want to talk to much about the plot. The writing and storytelling is the gorgeous part and I thoroughly recommend this book.

People who enjoyed Tim Winton's The Shepherd's Hut are very likely to enjoy this one too. Both narrators are young boys, emotionally isolated, and with vivid journeys to take the reader on.

Do not be tempted to think this is a YA or kids book. Though Jesse is a teenager and Rachel still younger, this yarn is probably enough to give most kids nightmares.

This story is told by Jessie, a mature and intelligent thirteen year old boy who single-handedly raised his younger sister Rachel from birth.
Jessie has not had a stable life and is often left alone for long periods of time with his sister, while his delusional mum, Gwen, is sleeping off the effects of drugs or alcohol from last night party or hooking up with shady men. There is hardly any food and they are constantly hungry. As a result they resort to stealing and lying to get by.

It is when his mum meets Ray Crow that things take on a dangerous turn. Ray is charming and generous man by appearance but Jessie can see behind the façade to Ray’s evil intentions. Jessie is feeling uneasy so does something irrational that puts his family on a dangerous path.

Blood is a terribly sad and moving story which delves into the life of neglect, poverty and the strong bond between siblings. This is so wonderfully written and very much in tune with peoples emotions, especially Jessie; he goes from hope, sadness, and disappointment to desperation. It captures the harshness of the Australian landscape while the family are on the move, and the bleak, dark life style that Jessie lives.

It was an emotional book but I did enjoy it. The ending turned out to be rather gripping and nail biting.

This was supposed to be a bit of a filler read for me, while I waited to start a Buddy read, so I certainly didn't expect to enjoy it so much. Narrated by thirteen year old Jesse, it is a suspenseful read, as you follow brother and sister, Jesse and Rachel, as they are dragged around by their selfish and heartless mother from Melbourne to Adelaide and back again. Her actions place the children in danger and you read on in dread knowing something bad is going to happen and at the same time willing it not to. I loved the characters of Jesse and Rachel and their maturity and resilience as they go through experiences that no child should have to endure. Jesse's loyalty to his sister and Rachel's devotion to her brother is truly endearing. One thing is for sure; that if you begin you will not stop reading until the nail biting end.

The story of Jesse and Rachel, and how they survive the trauma of their mother and her various no good boyfriends, is a wonderful read. The journey they take from Melbourne to Adelaide and back again is full of excitement, especially the trip back when they are attempting to get back un-noticed by boyfriends, hangers on and the police is tense and full of surprise. The story gripped me from the first page, and as the story unfurled it got better and better, and the ending was not quite what I was expecting - which is always a good thing in a novel.

Tony Birch has a lovely turn of phrase, and his characters are well drawn, all of which leads to an enjoyable, easy and satisfying read.

This is a great story by an Australian author, which I would recommend to everyone.

Blood, a debut novel by Tony Birch, has been shortlisted for the 2012 Miles Franklin Award.

In the blurb at Fishpond, it’s described as ‘an epic moral fable, a gothic odyssey set on the back roads of Australia’. It’s the story of two kids, thirteen-year-old Jesse and his little sister Rachel, aged eight. They have the kind of mother they’d be better off without. Her name is Gwen.

That’s not me, sitting in judgement. It’s Jesse, who narrates this story, who tells us so. Gwen’s life is a disaster, and her adolescent son has finally given up on her. She’s been on drugs and drink throughout his whole life, there’s been a succession of men but the relationships never last, and she makes endless promises that she never keeps. She has occasional dead-end jobs but they never have any money, and he’s learned not only not to have any qualms about skipping out on the rent, but also how to steal petrol, food from supermarkets and anything else they need.

There’s no affection in these kids’ lives. They have no friends their own ages, no extended family to offer support except a pallid grandfather. They have no amusem*nts except obsolete TVs scrounged from nature-strips: Gwen doesn’t even do Christmas. She’s always angry, and constantly bawls commands at the kids. Jesse has learned the hard way that for now, he has to just keep quiet, and do what she says.

What Jesse craves is a quiet, routine sort of life. But apart from a transient episode when Gwen takes up with an ex-con called Jon, and a sojourn at his grandfather’s, he doesn’t get that. This is a bleak life indeed.

To read the rest of my review please visit http://anzlitlovers.com/2012/05/17/bl...

A very powerful slice of life in the tougher parts of modern Australia, seen through a child's eyes. Jesse is 13, moving around the country with his mother and young sister Rache. Birch creates the most moving, compelling voice in Jesse, a tough, hardened boy who never gives up. The absolute powerlessness of children in the most abysmal family circ*mstances is cruel, the only thing worse for them is being separated. There's a lot of action in the plot, dangerous people, silence, secrecy and chases. Other strengths include the authentic depiction of country landscape and towns, and the author's fantastic recreation of how people speak. His dialogues subtly show such a lot about the characters . A heartbreaking read, full of tension and sorrow. I couldn't put it down.

I had come across Tony Birch during a class last semester on short fiction. We were introduced to Shadowboxing and I was struck by his well written working-class characters and his ability to impart meaning and depth of character in simple things like a father trying to teach his son boxing. It was also a realisation that I was beginning to enjoy this ‘minimalist’ style that I’ve been reading. I was also surprised to find that Blood is Birch’s debut novel, which seems like an inexact label given his experience with short fiction and notable collections.

Blood reminds me a lot of MJ Hyland’s This is How for the use of minimalist prose, very exact and simple yet conveying a lot in the actions of the characters, but also for Birch and Hyland’s ability to say a lot whilst a lot of the plot surrounds everyday things. There is something about the style that makes reading the text addictive and able to read it very quickly. The events seem to happen at the level of the individual characters rather than worldly events, perhaps this is something I’ve noticed as I read less ‘genre’ fiction and more ‘literary.’

In Blood, Jessie, with his sister Rachel, narrates their lives of moving about a lot with their mother, Gwen, who doesn’t like to be called ‘mum’, and trying to grow up, whilst Gwen lives in hope with each new partner and they essentially have to look after themselves. You really get a sense of how sh*t it is to live a childhood so unstable, unable to root yourself anywhere. The two kids don’t seem to have any friends other than each other. It is an experience coming out of their class background and the nature of Gwen only being able to find casual work in bars.

And whilst in some senses the family can be seen as an institution that holds people back, for Jessie and Rachel, their bond is all they really have. It is their only hope when everyone and everything around them doesn’t seem to care about them or what happens to them. This is symbolised in both of them cutting into their fingers and rubbing their blood together so they can be ‘whole’ brother and sister after their mother reveals that they are born to different fathers. Their family histories to Gwen are often treated like accusations of how they are not normal, like when Gwen refers back to Jessie’s indigenous father.

It is out of the story of their transitory lives and getting to know Jessie and Rachel, that Birch is able to impact us as readers so successfully when the stakes of the plot become much higher. The ending, though open ended and leaving you raw, hits you with the contrast as it all escalates beyond something so ordinary, like we could have lived that life ourselves to make you feel that perhaps your own life could unravel and be thrown upside down like that. Birch says in his acknowledgements that he has no idea how it ends. I might have felt a little cheated after I turned the last page, but it seems apt. Where do Jessie and Rachel live now? I wonder about them as I would a real pair of siblings.

This book is a raw affecting read. It is narrated by thirteen year old Jesse. Jesse has a strong, almost parental, bond with younger half sister Rachel and a cynical eye for their mother Gwen. The story revolves around the trio, their transient lifestyle and the damaged characters Gwen introduces into the children's lives.
Author Tony Burke is brilliant at using a child's voice to portray this dysfunctional adult world. The book is at once compassionate, suspenseful and tragic.
Whilst I loved this book, the edition I read (not pictured) was poorly edited with missed words and words out of sync in sentences.

From the first page, I was sucked into Jesse’s first person point of view. A thirteen year old boy doing his best to navigate the grown up world of poverty, substance abuse, violence and masculinity, while trying to shelter his little sister from the harsh realities of their life. The plot was thrilling and heartbreaking and raw, but it was Jesse and his distinct, honest voice that made this a special book. Tony Birch is a wonderful storyteller, and I’m always most struck by the way he brings his main characters to life. Loved this.

I loved this book so much!! Actually couldn’t stop reading it. It’s such an interesting and intense story that you can’t look away from. Finished this in a cafe and felt so torn after that one of the workers asked me if I was okay lol…

A rural Aussie adventure tale, exploring the relationship between a brother and sister in the face of family violence and the prospect of being separated. It dragged a little in the middle but was worth persevering for the closure in the ending.

Jesse and Rachel live with their mum, Gwen, who leads a dysfunctional lifestyle, making money behind a bar, selling her body, or dealing in drugs. She has a series of boyfriends to help her make ends meet. When things get really bad, she leaves Jesse and Rachel with her father, from whom she is estranged. Both the children relish this time with their Pop, as the only time in their lives with some routine, and where they are both shown some love. This break from the grittiness of their lives proves shortlived, as Gwen moves to Adelaide and takes up with a new man. Jesse knows that Ray is trouble. He is violent, involved in crime, and shows too much interest in Rachel. One day, Ray takes the family to visit a colleague, Limbo, who is equally scary. They head off on a job and return with a bag stuffed with money. When Ray loses his temper with Gwen and beats her up, she finally decides to do a runner back to Melbourne. As they leave, Jesse decides to take the bag of money with them, which proves fatal as Ray and Limbo pursue the family to retrieve the money, and to punish Gwen and the children. The plot builds up to a confrontation in Melbourne at Pop's house. A well-written narrative, with lots of tension. The relationship between Jesse and Rachel is especially poignant, as Jesse knows that he must leave his mum, so that he is not dragged down by her life, but can't escape the ties of blood with his half sister.

Blood tapped deep into the psyche of my adolescent self, and took me on a pretty sad journey back in time. And as unfortunate as the story is about the concentric consequences of a life based on drugs, alcohol, violence, crime and self destructive self loathing, Tony Birch just nails the amazing spirit of good kids in bad situations through the eyes of thirteen year old Jesse.

Jesse is wise to the fact that the neglectful selfishness of mother 'Gwen' ("don't call her Mum Rachel, you know she don't like it") is fuelled by violence, drugs, alcohol and impulsive immaturity and although loyal and loving, Jesse isn't afraid to cut Gwen loose in order to save himself and sister Rachel. Tony Birch does an incredible job speaking from the position of a thirteen year old who has pretty much seen it all sadly, and has learned some unparalleled survival skills along the way. The story beautifully balances a moving juxtaposition of a street wise kid on the cusp of adolescence who learned his tricks from the dark choices of adults and an innocent youthful resilience and resourcefulness.

The story gives us so much about family, intergenerational trauma, the impacts of adverse childhood experiences, self protection, love, fear, honour, kin and the kindness of ordinary people.

Blood needs to be read by everyone but especially people who judge others before understanding their untold history.

4.5 stars. An interesting, easy to read, engaging, powerful novel narrated in the first person by thirteen year old Jesse. Jesse’s mother, Gwen, likes to go out at night, get drunk, and invariably fall in love with men who treat her poorly. Jesse has a younger half sister, Rachel. Jesse’s father is an aboriginal who Jesse has never seen. Jesse and Rachel stay with Gwen’s father for a short time and enjoy themselves. Gwen does not get on with her father. When Gwen falls in love with Ray Crow, things are better financially but Jesse does not like or feel comfortable with Ray. Ray is an evil man who has been in prison and makes a living from undertaking illegal activities. The ending is quite powerful and memorable.

The author has a minimalist writing style. This book was the author’s debut and was first published in 2012. It was shortlisted for the 2012 Miles Franklin Award.

This story - kids dragged around by a hopeless, even abusive, parent - has been told many times but Birch's characters live & breathe & the addition of a road movie trope adds a dimension to their trials & tribulations. Another occasion where I wish Goodreads provided a half star option. Well worth a look.

Loved this book. Wonderful resilient kids facing truly awful situations but shining through despite how broken the people around them are. 4.5 ⭐️

there’s nothing as tragic as utterly helpless children who have no protection from the world’s harshest realities…. i felt so freaking sad reading about jesse and rachel’s lives, and even gwen’s, because gwen’s trapped them in this vicious cycle of horrible men, alcohol, crime and poverty- and the kids have no way of escaping. no adults who can protect them, no authorities they trust- and the worst part is that it’s not even the slightest exaggeration of what kids with parents like gwen go through. my only issue was that the ending felt like a bit of a cop out- not super realistic- but still a great read.

It was easy for me to picture the film adaptation of this as I read, as Blood evokes the same dry summer heat, dusty landscapes and expanses of blue sky that are familiar in Australian film. Birch's depiction of both rural and (sub)urban landscapes is one of desolation and emptiness from the farmhouse, to Pop's run-down working class neighbourhood, to the ghost town and the silo where Jesse and Rachel wait futilely for the return of Gwen.

I don't think the book's plot is terribly original - a troubled mother gets tangled up with the wrong kind of men, which leads to her fleeing across the country with her two kids in tow, and ends in a bloody showdown - but I felt Jesse and his sister were such well-drawn characters and that Jesse's narration was so engaging that I didn't care. These kids are realistic enough to carry the story and sympathetic enough to make you hope that it all turns out alright for them. There is, however, a ruthlessness to Jesse, particularly in relation to his mother, Gwen, but there is some hope that he will not harden completely.

Tony's writing is nicely sparse, with wonderfully evocative dialogue, and his pacing is terrific - I was getting a little bit jittery as the novel reached its climax.

Could not put this down, absolutely loved it. The story is told by Jesse a mature 13 year old boy who takes on the responsibility of looking after his younger sister Rachel as their mother Gwen is constantly moving them around, never having any money and hooking up with the wrong men. They have to escape from Adelaide as Ray Crow, their mother’s new bloke has started hitting her and is a dangerous guy. Jesse finds a bag with $50,000 and a gun, but Gwen does not know about it. Their car breaks down in the middle of no where on their way back to Melbourne. Gwen decides to walk into the nearest town for help and leaves Jesse and Rachel with the car. Jesse is really worried that Ray will coming looking for them, and he does, but they hide and manage to find their way to their Pop’s house. What a great story teller Tony Birch is, a great read.

A tense, taut read, set amongst Birch's typically troubled characters, Blood tells the story of Jesse and Rachel, two kids whose lives are transient, loveless and deprived. The first half of the novel paints the bleak story of their lives, while the second ratchets up the tension with some edge-of-the-seat set pieces as the kids' lives completely fall apart around them.

The writing is punchy and minimalist, with not a wasted word and the characters (particularly of the kids) are solidly drawn. The plotting is well paced and the tension towards the end almost unbearable (although the denouement itself is slightly unbelievable). There's a dark Aussie film waiting to be adapted from this material.

Thrilling read, so hard to put down that I tore through it in a night. Birch really manages to depict milieu and language spoken. I developed strong visual images while reading and believe ‘Blood’ has all the ingredients for a great film. Maybe exactly because the plot is not always plausible, the ending's a tad too dramatic and the characters are very much drawn in black and white.
Attention screenwriters and directors.

What a stupid f*cking book. Kids are raised and neglected by trash mom. Trash mom meets bad guy. Bad guy does bad sh*t. Insert any b rated TV movie plot you want. Bad guy is dead. End of story.

I'm glad it was free.

Exactly what young adult fiction should be.
Compelling and tragic.

Young Jesse is only 5 when his sister Rachel is born. Before her, it was just him and his mother Gwen, living from hand to mouth, moving from one place to another. When Rachel arrives, Jesse, although young, already knows that he will be responsible for much of her care. Gwen……Gwen isn’t good at things like nurturing and taking care of people. She’s always on the lookout for the next place to go, someone she knows that they might be able to crash with for a while…the next man that might take care of them. Unfortunately, Gwen’s taste in men often runs to the type that are too free with their fists.

Sometimes, things work out. A man Gwen brings home seems scary at first, with his prison tattoos and anger when he can’t get a job. But he treats Jesse and Rachel with kindness, cooking them meals, walking Rachel to school, teaching Jesse about things. For the first time in his life, Jesse feels like he has a father-figure (Jesse is half-Aboriginal through his father, although his mother makes no secret of the fact that’s a no good thing, just as his father was no good and from a young age he learns about slurs toward his heritage) as he and Rachel bond with the man. But it doesn’t last – it never does. And one morning he’s gone and Gwen is forcing them to pack a suitcase again, moving on. And then there’s Pop, Gwen’s father, who takes Jesse and Rachel in when Gwen is out of options. He’s a man of few words, who has faced demons and won, and been estranged from his daughter for a long time. Jesse and Rachel worm their way into Pop’s heart and he to theirs but all too soon Gwen is back, demanding her kids, saying it’s time to go. But when she drives them to Adelaide after yet another thing goes wrong, it puts them in the path of Ray Crow…..and this time, the danger is real.

The book opens with Jesse separated from his sister Rachel, at a police station but gives no indication of why he is there. It establishes the bond he has with his younger sister and his desire to protect her at all costs by saying nothing. It then takes you back in time, firstly to before Rachel and then the arrival of Rachel and then how their lives evolve as the two grow up. At the time of the police station, Jesse is around 13 and Rachel about 8 and the journey from Adelaide, fleeing their mother’s latest violent boyfriend, to the police station is long, traumatic and dangerous every step of the way. Despite his youth, Jesse is incredibly resourceful and he’s very protective of his younger sister. He has a goal of keeping her safe (in many ways, including from Ray when they were still in Adelaide) but he’s also just a kid and sometimes things go wrong and he has to make a new plan.

From their birth, Jesse and Rachel had very few times of stability in their lives. Briefly, when the ex-prisoner moved in, provided a father figure and also the time she sent them to her father. The way in which the two children bonded with their Pop, who was a man of few words and not seemingly at ease with the caretaker role thrust upon him, was incredibly tender and well done. It’s subtle and it goes both ways. Pop becomes attached to the children too and although he seems to have little, he does things to make occasions special for them, to the best of his ability. He sees them fed and clothed and cared for in ways that they have not experienced and it’s almost like they have a home for the first time in their lives. Perhaps the kindest thing Gwen could’ve done for them was leave them there but she’s back all too soon, dragging them away, hurting everyone and not seeing what she’s doing. She is their mother but she’s also incapable of making decisions that put them first or take them into consideration at all. She bounces from one man to the next, most of them trouble and the time with Pop gives a bit of an indication how and why she ended up in that life and that once, long ago, she’d been a very different person.

This is extreme poverty and desperation, leading to neglect and danger. Gwen makes a lot of her choices based on the fact that she doesn’t have a lot of choice but she does also seem to sabotage some of the few good scenarios she finds herself in, so it does make me wonder how much she would choose a stable life, should one be an option. The children have had little in the way of schooling which she’s incredibly unconcerned about and she seems to always fall back on the journey of moving from one place to another and rarely settling down. She’s clinging to a her that no longer exists: a younger, prettier, thinner version before drinking, babies, an unsustainable lifestyle and bad choices took their toll. And her children are paying the price.

This was a powerful and gripping read and I’d definitely like to try some of Tony Birch’s other books.

** Review by Gayle from Bloggers From Down Under **

What a story.
We get to meet Jesse (the main character), his sister Rachel, his mother Gwen and his grandfather Jon.
We also meet with Ray, Limbo and Magic. Ray being Gwen’s boyfriend and Limbo and Magic being associates of Ray’s.

Blood is told from Jesse’s point of view and his story growing up with his little sister, Rachel and his Mum Gwen.
Life for Jesse and Rachel is extremely hard. With Gwen not having any money, she leaves the children to look after themselves while she goes out to work. Some days Jesse and Rachel don’t see her at all. They are constantly on the move.

Moving from town to town, Jesse and Rachel don’t have a home to call their own.
Gwen has nothing left, no job, no money, so she makes the decision to leave them with their grandfather Jon.

Both Jesse and Rachel love it there. They have a warm bed to sleep in, food to eat, and even get to share a Christmas. It’s the first time that they are truly happy.
But Gwen returns and with her return takes the kids away again.

Again they are on the move.
They end up in Adelaide.
And they end up having to share a hotel room with not only Gwen, but her new boyfriend Ray.

An abusive man, Jesse hates him. Rachel likes him, but Jesse protects Rachel at every turn. He won’t let anything happen to her.

One day, Jesse and Rachel find Gwen, beaten and bruised at the hands of Ray. So Gwen, Jesse and Rachel are on the run. Gwen wants to go back to Melbourne.

But with them Jesse stumbles across money and lots of it, which belongs to Ray and Limbo. Jesse packs up they money and off they go.
But it’s not long before Ray and Limbo catch up with them.

Limbo is killed.
Ray takes Gwen.
And Jesse and Rachel are left on their own again either the money.

Jesse does the only thing he can think of and that’s head back to Melbourne themselves and go to their Pop, Jon.
On their return, they walk in to find Ray already there with a beaten up Jon and Gwen.
Ray wants his money.
But Rachel has other plans.
Stashed with the money was a gun, a gun that Rachel uses to shoot Ray and save her family.

I must say I absolutely loved this novel. From beginning to end it held me captive, page after page. It was raw, highly emotional and at times quite confronting.

A sad tale about two young children and what they have to go through. To go hungry, to go dirty, and to go days left on their own.
I found it heart-warming because of the bond that Jesse and Rachel shared, brother and sister always looking out for each other.

Overall a beautifully written, thought provoking novel about two young children and their fight for survival, and their journey along the way.

5 stars

So I'm beginning to think that the "50 Books You Can't Put Down" list is one that you can buy your way on. This is the second book from that list that I have read and with both I have been able to put it down and walk away... however, due to the fact that I like to finish books (no matter how gruelling the process may be), I picked it back up and kept at it. Helped a lot to take the book away on holidays, making it the only thing I could read while kicking back and relaxing.

Blood by Tony Birch is a story set in Australia about a thirteen year old boy, Jesse, who "lives" with his selfish, broke mother, Gwen, and his little sister, Rachel, as they move from one place to another; usually in pursuit of a man for Gwen or a job. Basically, the story takes us on a trip through Gwen's hapless love life - where she tries to force her children to get along with the man that she is currently following around, only to find that they are on the run again. Eventually culminating in Gwen, not only choosing the wrong man, but a killer; placing the kids lives at risk.

As much as I understood what Birch was trying to put forward in the telling of this tale, I did not like the characters and therefore had no empathy for them. I know that people like Gwen exist - women moving from one violent relationship to another - however the fact that she only ever showed love for her kids with each failed relationship, made me totally dislike her.

The story moved very slowly and I got bored... a lot. However with the final chapter, things started to get my attention. The characters of Jesse and Rachel started evolving and showing some signs of building towards better things. Prior to that, they just seemed to be going through the motions. So, within the last 53 pages of the book, I began empathising with at least two of the characters, which made the book a little more enjoyable.

I actually wanted to find out whether the two kids would make it to their grandfather's house in the end - even though I could already see what would happen after Jesse announced to Ray Crow that he liked being at his Pop's place in Melbourne and Rachel later said "One day, I'll pay you back, Jesse", after she had found out that he hurt himself in order to be back with his sister. It was clear that Ray Crow would meet them at their grandfather's house and Rachel would be the one to kill him.

The ending was a little obvious, but the use of the tarot cards as symbols for what they were about to go through was a nice touch. Not sure how this was short-listed for a Miles Franklin Literary Award, as there was little in the story that was appealing.

I don't know why I read books like this. Real, dark & gritty stories about kids being neglected & buffeted about by selfish adults, I know this world, was glad to get out of it so I don't know why I return there in literary form, maybe because we return to what we know, again & again, even if we hate it. The familiar has a comfort, even if the comfort to be found is old & worn out, with his stuffing coming out, like Rachel's worn out old teddy bear.
My mother & Gwen would've been great friends when the money was there & the booze or drugs flowing, my mum was a great laugh when she was in a good mood. But she too liked bad men who threatened the world's order, even if it was inevitable she would be at the receiving end of his violence from time to time.
I ran away when I was 13, same age as Jesse, but I left my brother & sisters behind. We were only half siblings after all, a distinction that means nothing to children, is just a reminder adults throw at you when they are jealous of your ties to each other. What other reason could there be for telling you your sister is only a 'half' sister. When Gwen throws that at Rachel & Jesse, Jesse bonds them in blood forever and it becomes a story to be retold in hard times, how Jesse & Rachel will always be together.
The only thing i didn't like about the writing style was that the prologue didn't become intergrated into the story, it happens after the book is finished. I think this book should be required reading for community service & social work students, when i was studying we had to provide a response to a crappy old 80s movie about children being removed from an English mother, as an Australian this would be much more relevant.
This isn't a review, it's a walk down memory lane into the underbelly of being an unnoticed & unregarded kid in an adults world.
You should read this book, there are no scenes to give you nightmares but a lot to give you pause in your daily life.

Blood is a terribly sad and often bleak but still engrossing read. It is narrated in first person by the twelve-year-old Jesse and focuses in on his no-hoper family. His mother, Gwen, has a transitory existence and she drags the children along with her, from dead-end job to dead-end job, to dead end man to dead end man. Jesse has learnt to be OK with breaking the law and to expect little for anyone, often being the only one to look after himself and his little sister, Rachel.

In some ways, I feel as though this could be better – most characters are there to be Jesse's burdens and I never really felt the strength of his bond with Rachel. He is her primary caregiver, but it felt more like he was the only one who would look after her, whereas she was more of a burden to him, and often a frustrating/annoying one at that. I also felt that the mother’s complexities could have been drawn out more, rather than being sort of left until the last chapter. There are also plot points that felt very predictable, though there were moments where my predictions were completely overturned.

Finally, I would have also liked to have more of an ending, to see where the family ends up now that they’ve reached a crisis point. That may be me, still clinging to that desire to get an ending where everything is wrapped up neatly and we get a chance of happiness, rather an ending filled with uncertainty.

However, this is a solid, engrossing read for me and it does make sense that Jesse has a simplistic, black and white view of the world – he’s still a child, but a child who is living in a dangerous environment where he can only truly rely on himself. Although I can fault it, this was a great read and a real page-turner.

I really enjoyed Tony Birch’s The white girl recently and have now read this earlier work that was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin in 2012 ( won by Anna Funder’s All that I am). Blood is a terrific read. Birch is a great story teller and the characters of thirteen year old Jesse, his half sister Rachel and mother Gwen are as real as can be. Jesse tries to provide some stability for his sister, as the kids are dragged from pillar to post as Gwen has tawdry relationships with one violent no- hoper after another. Their brief respite in the care of Gwen’s bible loving recovered alcoholic is the only glimmer of light in their otherwise sad lives and one that they strive to return to as they try to escape from the clutches of Gwen’s most recent man. It’s quite a page-turner with lots of heart. Although Birch is known as an indigenous writer, indigenous issues have only a brief nod as Jesse’s father was Aboriginal. I think this book would appeal to those who enjoyed Jasper Jones and would appeal to adolescents as well as adults.