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A review by cocoonofbooks
Tell The Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt
4.0
This book is a little challenging to review because it felt uneven to me — the ending was very strong and emotionally powerful, but at times in the middle I didn't have a lot of motivation to keep reading, or to pick it back up again. I liked the narrator, the character of June, a lot, but I also found her motivations and decisions hard to relate to sometimes. Still, I'm going to come down on the side of recommending it, because there's a lot that's done well.
The premise of the story is that the main character, who's fourteen, has a very close relationship with her uncle (so close that her sister mocks her for it). Her uncle, formerly a famous artist, paints a last portrait of the two sisters before dying of AIDS. Not only does the portrait become an important representation of June's family relationships (I won't say more than that), but June finds herself unwillingly drawn to the one person who loved her uncle as much as she did — his partner, Toby, whom her family has rejected, believing he maliciously gave her uncle AIDS.
The book is set in 1980s New York and, having read other books that hit you over the head with '80s nostalgia, I appreciated the subtler ways the author wove in the pop culture and current events of the time. Given the story she wanted to tell, the setting seemed entirely appropriate and well chosen.
Considering everything I liked and disliked about the book, I would say it's worth a read, especially if you like books about family relationships or about not fitting in, or you're just looking for a book that might make you cry.
The premise of the story is that the main character, who's fourteen, has a very close relationship with her uncle (so close that her sister mocks her for it). Her uncle, formerly a famous artist, paints a last portrait of the two sisters before dying of AIDS. Not only does the portrait become an important representation of June's family relationships (I won't say more than that), but June finds herself unwillingly drawn to the one person who loved her uncle as much as she did — his partner, Toby, whom her family has rejected, believing he maliciously gave her uncle AIDS.
The book is set in 1980s New York and, having read other books that hit you over the head with '80s nostalgia, I appreciated the subtler ways the author wove in the pop culture and current events of the time. Given the story she wanted to tell, the setting seemed entirely appropriate and well chosen.
Considering everything I liked and disliked about the book, I would say it's worth a read, especially if you like books about family relationships or about not fitting in, or you're just looking for a book that might make you cry.