Fine, A: Blood Family

Anne Fine is one of our most distinguished writers for children. She has written over fifty highly acclaimed books and has won numerous awards, including the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize and both the Whitbread Children's Book of the Year and the Carnegie Medal twice over. Anne was appointed the Children's Laureate from 2001-3, and her work has been translated into over forty languages. In 2003 she became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and was awarded an OBE. Anne lives in County Durham.

"A riveting read" The Bookseller "Excellent" -- Marilyn Brocklehurst The Bookseller "Written with clear sight, understanding and elegance ... Blood Family covers the age-old debate between nature and nurture. It asks if our past can ever be banished. It's about guilt, grief, and anger. But it's also about redemption. It's beautifully, carefully, written. And it feels very, very truthful. I believed every single word - from the degradation of Edward's early life, through the biddable but disassociated child in the early aftermath and the often crass actions of social services, right to the inevitable breakdown in Edward's adolescence. It's the best story in the kitchen sink style I've read in a long time. And I think it'll win prizes" -- Jill Murphy The Bookbag "Strong stuff from a writer who is never afraid to be outspoken" -- Nicholas Tucker Independent "To me Blood Family felt like a totally different Anne Fine from what I've read before. It is well written, and draws you in from the beginning. (This book) is less about the importance of blood families, and more about how things can go right - or wrong - for anyone, at any time. It's worth remembering. Things can easily go right. Things don't have to be all disastrous and wrong. No matter what kind of start to life you had, it can become good" The Bookwitch