Home Truths by Jill MacLean

Fifteen year old Brick MacAvoy's parents are a hard case. His mother is always away at work, leaving Brick to babysit his sister, and his father has a temper that he releases on Brick. With a self-absorbed mother, and an abusive father, it's no wonder that Brick has been saving up all the money he can so that on his sixteen birthday, he can leave his house, his town, and everything that has always tormented him. So when he gets the chance to scrape Rolf Langille's shingles for a hundred dollars, he jumps at it without a second thought. As he starts to come over more to Mr. Langille's, he realises that not everyone is like his mother and father, and soon he starts to question everything. Is Brick a bully? And does he still want to move out when he's sixteen? That would mean leaving his sister behind....

*******************************Opinions***********************

Jill MacLean has done it again. This is the third book that I have read by her, and every time, she amazes me to no extent. Home Truths was a very compelling, and down to earth novel about a teenage boy with an abusive father. The characters and events that took place were so emotional, and well written that you could really feel what the protagonist was feeling. The details were very precise and written in a style that had me wanting more.

Brick was a very interesting character. He was abused at home by his father, yet he himself bullied those who were smaller then him, and he didn't realise what he was doing until a girl he was sort of crushing on told him. On the inside, though, Brick is a very caring person who takes his sister out for ice cream, and reads her books at night, and so every time Bricks father hit him for something he didn't do, I always felt like "Argh!" The fact that I was feeling for the character just goes to show how much I was into it.

Also, I like the topic Jill chose to write about. It really relates to what some teens go through these days, and it shows that not everything is always hopeless. The book, by the way, is a nominee for the Red Maple award this year, and I can for sure say that my vote is going towards Jill MacLean.