Broken

by Barbara Spencer

When Jem Love’s family is torn apart by his mother’s drug habit, and his young brother and sister taken into care, Jem is determined to get his family back together. But what can a 14 year-old boy do in a world dominated by adults? Jem complains that what he really needs is a god whom he can telephone for help, and who might just happen to have a spare angel or two to send him. He knows that's pretty stupid, God is more likely to say he's old enough to deal with the situation himself. In any case, likely candidates for the role are pretty thin on the ground. There's only Katrina Jones, a hard drinking, wise-cracking social worker, and Spooky Jarvis who runs foul of the law as often as he has birthdays …

266 pages, Paperback

First published June 2, 2015

About the author

In 1967, considering herself to be destined for a life of mediocrity, Barbara Spencer hi-tailed it to the West Indies to watch cricket, the precursor to a highly colourful career spanning three continents, in which she was caught up in riots, wars and choosing Miss World. She eventually settled in Somerset, to bring up a family, tap-dance and teach at the local swimming club. But, as her daughter says: 'teaching swimming and tap dancing does rather lack the wow factor, Mum.'
After a dozen books for children and YA's after another memorable visit to Amsterdam, Barbara changed tack and embarked on a series of books associated at various times with the city. Beginning with 'The Year the Swans Came' an historical romance, which was published in 2018. The Click of a Pebble, book 1 of the trilogy Children of Zeus, followed with Books 2 & 3, and finally the sequel to Swans: Sunset on Golden Wings in April 2021which links up the stories of all the characters and brings them all to a conclusion.

Reviews

[Seumas Gallacher · Rating 5 out of 5]

...an insightful, sensitive read...

...the authoress has delivered a story that reflects the all-too-often real life in broken families... but she has done more than that... she has imbued the narrative with insight and sensitivity through skilful and masterly writing... the chapters flow easily from one to the next, tracking the travails of the eldest sibling of three whose mother can’t handle the single-parent situation she finds herself in... but the tale is not so much about the mother’s failure of her children, but how one of the two main characters, her fourteen-year old son, Jem, tries to overcome the series of obstacles thrown at him while he strives to keep the family together... the distaff player, social worker, Katrina, is beset with her own personal challenges, which wrap beautifully through the telling of Jem’s journey... at the first chapter, I felt this story may not be for me, but I’m glad I got as far as the first two or three chapters... after that, I could not leave the book alone... an excellent uncliched read...

[Chameleon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Broken by Barbara Spencer was a wonderful read. She does an excellent job of character building, and the range of emotions this story elicited from me was surprising. Despite the title and the description, I had the notion that it would be a lighthearted read, and in some respects it was. Katrina, the heavy hitting social worker made me smile even through her misery with her sarcastic humor. But Jem's story was emotionally gripping, and I really just wanted to wrap my arms around him and tell him everything would be ok.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves to read of the hope and determination that a helping hand can bring to those who simply can't do for themselves.