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Blood Wounds
Blood can both wound and heal . . .
Sixteen-year-old Willa is fortunate to have a happy blended family. But a frantic phone call from Pryor, Texas, shatters the calm. Willa’s birth father has murdered his second wife and daughters . . . and the police think he’s on his way east to hunt down Willa and her mother. As this disturbing tragedy inevitably exposes family secrets to Willa and her community, she struggles with her own destructive secret.
Sixteen-year-old Willa is fortunate to have a happy blended family. But a frantic phone call from Pryor, Texas, shatters the calm. Willa’s birth father has murdered his second wife and daughters . . . and the police think he’s on his way east to hunt down Willa and her mother. As this disturbing tragedy inevitably exposes family secrets to Willa and her community, she struggles with her own destructive secret.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2011
49 people are currently reading
2588 people want to read
About the author
Susan Beth Pfeffer
92 books1,935 followersSusan Beth Pfeffer was an American author best known for young adult and science fiction. After writing for 35 years, she received wider notice for her series of post-apocalyptic novels, officially titled "The Life as We Knew It Series", but often called "The Last Survivors" or "Moon Crash" series, some of which appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 316 reviews
September 7, 2011
Willa's life in the beginning is awesome. A freaking holy grail of a blended family. Particularly with her stepfather, Jack, and his ex-wife, there seemed to be a real sense of 'do what's best for the girls', the 'girls' being Willa's two stepsisters. I was actually really happy to see that kind of compatibility for a blended family happen in a book. Made me think it could be real.
Too bad it was a setup.
Blood Wounds, in case you can't tell by the mugshot cover, is not a happy times book. In fact, I'm surprised that Willa is Miss Mugshot on the cover, because frankly, she's one of two, maybe three, characters who acted with any decency, and the other two were minor characters. Unless the mugshot is supposed to represent how she consistently gets trapped and bullied by the horrible selfishness of her family. And for the record, her family is a great big ball of 'you people suck', and that goes for both her blended family and the one she never knew on her biological dad's (and mom's) hometown of SmallTown, Texas. There is a lot going on in this book, but most of it is undercurrent until about halfway and then it steadily reveals itself all the way through to the end. You will not get what this book is really about from the synopsis - I thought I'd be reading a book about a girl and her mom on the run from her crazy father for the entire book, with Willa learning family secrets from her mom and facing hard truths along the way. While they do go into hiding for a short section and while Willa does do the latter in a sense, it's not in the way you think it'll happen. It's much more about Willa making her peace with a family she never knew, finding her own voice within the family she grew up in, and trying to figure things out by confronting the her mother's past and the facade of perfection that her blended family exudes.
The plot is steady the whole way through. There is a moment of anxiety when the cops show up at Willa's house and no one seems to know where her mom is; but otherwise, the plot is pretty even keel and flows on a diet of Willa coming to terms with who her parents are/were, and how she fits into the many family dynamics she has to contend with. You may have noticed my temper flare a wee little bit in the paragraph above. That's because I really do not like her blended family. I get family loyalty, but there was this sneaky sense of, "If you really love me, you'll do things my way" that was always present in conversations and influencing actions. For the record, such emotional manipulations are not 'love'; they are bulls%$#. In particular, I really don't like Willa's mother. To be fair, I didn't really dislike her until the end, and she's an extremely complex person. Actually, I wouldn't mind reading an 'adult' fiction novel with her as the protagonist. As much as I didn't like her, she's seemed to have had a difficult life caused both by her own crappy decisions, as well as consequences beyond her control. I feel like her story and own 'coming-of-age' could be just as significant as Willa's, I didn't really see her come full circle. Truthfully? I'm predicting splitsville for her and Jack. I feel like their entire family was based on a pyramid scheme of emotional usury.
I read the entire book pretty quickly, it flowed at a steady pace, and Willia has a decent voice. I really admired who she became at the end of the book. She really handled herself, and if she were real, she'd grow up to be someone you'd be proud to know. However, Blood Wounds wasn't a stellar read for me. This is a tough review for a book with tough issues, but there was something 'off' for me. I really wish it had either been about just Willa coming to terms with what her father had done and the family she never knew -OR- had been about her blended family situation. There was certainly enough dysfunction to support the latter. Blood Wounds has decent writing, but there was a little too much crazy in the plot for me to handle. I think in the end, Willa had so much dysfunction in her life that it made be feel like there was no support for the book itself. I need a little hope or some redemption with my stories, and in the end, I just don't feel like I had enough give me that.
Too bad it was a setup.
Blood Wounds, in case you can't tell by the mugshot cover, is not a happy times book. In fact, I'm surprised that Willa is Miss Mugshot on the cover, because frankly, she's one of two, maybe three, characters who acted with any decency, and the other two were minor characters. Unless the mugshot is supposed to represent how she consistently gets trapped and bullied by the horrible selfishness of her family. And for the record, her family is a great big ball of 'you people suck', and that goes for both her blended family and the one she never knew on her biological dad's (and mom's) hometown of SmallTown, Texas. There is a lot going on in this book, but most of it is undercurrent until about halfway and then it steadily reveals itself all the way through to the end. You will not get what this book is really about from the synopsis - I thought I'd be reading a book about a girl and her mom on the run from her crazy father for the entire book, with Willa learning family secrets from her mom and facing hard truths along the way. While they do go into hiding for a short section and while Willa does do the latter in a sense, it's not in the way you think it'll happen. It's much more about Willa making her peace with a family she never knew, finding her own voice within the family she grew up in, and trying to figure things out by confronting the her mother's past and the facade of perfection that her blended family exudes.
The plot is steady the whole way through. There is a moment of anxiety when the cops show up at Willa's house and no one seems to know where her mom is; but otherwise, the plot is pretty even keel and flows on a diet of Willa coming to terms with who her parents are/were, and how she fits into the many family dynamics she has to contend with. You may have noticed my temper flare a wee little bit in the paragraph above. That's because I really do not like her blended family. I get family loyalty, but there was this sneaky sense of, "If you really love me, you'll do things my way" that was always present in conversations and influencing actions. For the record, such emotional manipulations are not 'love'; they are bulls%$#. In particular, I really don't like Willa's mother. To be fair, I didn't really dislike her until the end, and she's an extremely complex person. Actually, I wouldn't mind reading an 'adult' fiction novel with her as the protagonist. As much as I didn't like her, she's seemed to have had a difficult life caused both by her own crappy decisions, as well as consequences beyond her control. I feel like her story and own 'coming-of-age' could be just as significant as Willa's, I didn't really see her come full circle. Truthfully? I'm predicting splitsville for her and Jack. I feel like their entire family was based on a pyramid scheme of emotional usury.
I read the entire book pretty quickly, it flowed at a steady pace, and Willia has a decent voice. I really admired who she became at the end of the book. She really handled herself, and if she were real, she'd grow up to be someone you'd be proud to know. However, Blood Wounds wasn't a stellar read for me. This is a tough review for a book with tough issues, but there was something 'off' for me. I really wish it had either been about just Willa coming to terms with what her father had done and the family she never knew -OR- had been about her blended family situation. There was certainly enough dysfunction to support the latter. Blood Wounds has decent writing, but there was a little too much crazy in the plot for me to handle. I think in the end, Willa had so much dysfunction in her life that it made be feel like there was no support for the book itself. I need a little hope or some redemption with my stories, and in the end, I just don't feel like I had enough give me that.
December 11, 2011
I've finally realized that while author Susan Beth Pfeffer may be good at creating amazingly complex situations, she is not so good at writing well rounded characters who experience growth or change as a result of the situations she puts them into. In Blood Wounds protagonist Willa is a seventeen year old living with her mother, stepfather and step sisters. Although "step" families are so common today, Willa's not-by-blood family is the focal point of much drama (despite the fact that Willa's mother married her stepfather when Willa was five.) In addition Willa cuts herself to relieve stress, her biological father is an abusive, drunk, born-again Christian who goes on a killing spree, slaughtering his new wife and their children. Willa's mother escaped from small town hell when Willa was a toddler, and since then does not talk about her family. However, this novel is about Willa discovering her self and her family (or is it about her cutting? Or her murdering biological father? Or her blended step-family?) At any rate, we also learn that Willa has a biological Uncle who is a member of a cult, a half-brother who may or may not be no good, and Whew!
But for all of that drama, (Can you keep track?) we see practically zero character development. The novel begins with Willa being a fairly reasonable and articulate teenager, who lives in a family of well spoken, bland people. Guess what? This book ends the same way. Although this book is about family, I can't tell you a thing about Willa's mother, step or biological fathers or her step sisters because they are written with no personality. Furthermore, after having read this book I can't even tell you why Willa's biological father went on the killing spree (Well, I can ~ it's to create drama). However, during a crisis of to cut or not to cut Willa does experience a, a... hallucination? vision? erm, I'm not sure what to call it, but there is a point when Willa envisions her biological father killing his family, and his reasons for doing so. The crazy thing is that at the end of this revelation, Willa thinks something along the lines of she knows what she envisioned was true because of the blood! Wha? Being a "blood relative" means you can somehow envision what a person has done? Know their rationale? I think we can all call bullshit on this one!
Although I had been a fan of Susan Beth Pfeffer’s Last Survivor’s series, the lack of character development always left me unsatisfied. I always assumed that as the series continued, the characters would become more complex and engaging. However, Blood Wounds has taught me that that is not necessarily so. I enjoyed the writing here, and even the craziness to a point. But the situations presented are simply too ridiculous. They may have worked had they been spread out over a few novels or had Willa gone through some fucked up inner conflict. But that is not the case. People say the right thing, do the right thing and come out okay in the end. Despite abuse, murder, cults, alcoholism, broken homes, divorce, inheritance, cutting, jealousy, small towns… I know there must be more. The point is, this book is stuffed full with stuff, but it is obviously just there for shock value.
But for all of that drama, (Can you keep track?) we see practically zero character development. The novel begins with Willa being a fairly reasonable and articulate teenager, who lives in a family of well spoken, bland people. Guess what? This book ends the same way. Although this book is about family, I can't tell you a thing about Willa's mother, step or biological fathers or her step sisters because they are written with no personality. Furthermore, after having read this book I can't even tell you why Willa's biological father went on the killing spree (Well, I can ~ it's to create drama). However, during a crisis of to cut or not to cut Willa does experience a, a... hallucination? vision? erm, I'm not sure what to call it, but there is a point when Willa envisions her biological father killing his family, and his reasons for doing so. The crazy thing is that at the end of this revelation, Willa thinks something along the lines of she knows what she envisioned was true because of the blood! Wha? Being a "blood relative" means you can somehow envision what a person has done? Know their rationale? I think we can all call bullshit on this one!
Although I had been a fan of Susan Beth Pfeffer’s Last Survivor’s series, the lack of character development always left me unsatisfied. I always assumed that as the series continued, the characters would become more complex and engaging. However, Blood Wounds has taught me that that is not necessarily so. I enjoyed the writing here, and even the craziness to a point. But the situations presented are simply too ridiculous. They may have worked had they been spread out over a few novels or had Willa gone through some fucked up inner conflict. But that is not the case. People say the right thing, do the right thing and come out okay in the end. Despite abuse, murder, cults, alcoholism, broken homes, divorce, inheritance, cutting, jealousy, small towns… I know there must be more. The point is, this book is stuffed full with stuff, but it is obviously just there for shock value.
June 13, 2023
3 stars.
CW: Self-harm, Murder
Years ago before I even made a goodreads account I did read Susan Beth Pfeffer's Life As We Knew It series (haven't read the 4th book) and I remember not only loving the series but was impressed by how Susan managed to write such a very chaotic yet hopeful story of survival. At the time I did see Blood Wounds but never really got the chance to read it. It wasn't until a few months ago that I remembered it and I did want to get around to reading it.
So I did and it was a good enough story. Although it did suffer from Telling-and-not-Showing. Because while there were moments in the story that did go over the ideas of family and grief, some of it felt rushed and quick to the point. Not to mention the self-harm aspect which was done in a way that makes me wonder if it needed to be there to begin with.
Blood Wounds is about Willa living a relatively normal life with her blended family. Her mother re-married some time ago and Willa now has a step-dad and two step-sisters. That sense of normalcy is broken when they get news that Willa's birth father had murdered his family and is on the way to where they live.
Blood Wounds is a short book that can easily be finished within a day or two and so much is packed into it that it both helps and hinders the story, characters, and the themes. Blood Wounds at it's core is about family and grief. What does it mean to have a family? Is blood thicker than water? Can you grieve for someone you don't know but share blood with? For the most part, these questions do give Willa a chance to try and cope with what has happened to her life but with this being a short book, some of the messages did come off as rushed. Sometimes we as the reader are told about some things are told rather than shown. We're told about how Willa feels and how others are dealing with this traumatic event but we're not shown enough with how they're trying to cope with it. That isn't to say the story doesn't have moments where we're shown raw emotions because there are. The story could've benefited with more pages and giving Willa more time to air out her issues.
Blood Wounds is in an odd place. On one hand it does tackle themes of family and grief. On the other hand, with how short the story is, those themes are often rushed. Despite that, I still think Blood Wounds was a good enough story.
CW: Self-harm, Murder
Years ago before I even made a goodreads account I did read Susan Beth Pfeffer's Life As We Knew It series (haven't read the 4th book) and I remember not only loving the series but was impressed by how Susan managed to write such a very chaotic yet hopeful story of survival. At the time I did see Blood Wounds but never really got the chance to read it. It wasn't until a few months ago that I remembered it and I did want to get around to reading it.
So I did and it was a good enough story. Although it did suffer from Telling-and-not-Showing. Because while there were moments in the story that did go over the ideas of family and grief, some of it felt rushed and quick to the point. Not to mention the self-harm aspect which was done in a way that makes me wonder if it needed to be there to begin with.
Blood Wounds is about Willa living a relatively normal life with her blended family. Her mother re-married some time ago and Willa now has a step-dad and two step-sisters. That sense of normalcy is broken when they get news that Willa's birth father had murdered his family and is on the way to where they live.
Blood Wounds is a short book that can easily be finished within a day or two and so much is packed into it that it both helps and hinders the story, characters, and the themes. Blood Wounds at it's core is about family and grief. What does it mean to have a family? Is blood thicker than water? Can you grieve for someone you don't know but share blood with? For the most part, these questions do give Willa a chance to try and cope with what has happened to her life but with this being a short book, some of the messages did come off as rushed. Sometimes we as the reader are told about some things are told rather than shown. We're told about how Willa feels and how others are dealing with this traumatic event but we're not shown enough with how they're trying to cope with it. That isn't to say the story doesn't have moments where we're shown raw emotions because there are. The story could've benefited with more pages and giving Willa more time to air out her issues.
Blood Wounds is in an odd place. On one hand it does tackle themes of family and grief. On the other hand, with how short the story is, those themes are often rushed. Despite that, I still think Blood Wounds was a good enough story.
May 24, 2012
Killer dad on the loose! Yes, this book has an awesome hook, and a serious amount of bloodshed. If you get queasy at the thought of blood, avoid! But that's only half the story, with the other being dysfunctional family, with a quiet but prickly girl, Willa, stepping up to an unusual situation. The two stories fit uneasily together, and the underlying metaphor couldn't be more heavy handed.
Willa is a cutter, which explains the title. Her perfectly happy (yes, that's meant ironically) blended family doesn't do conflict, so it's a bit of a shock when Willa's biological father kills his second wife and one of Willa's half sisters, that she didn't even know about (not a spoiler, this happens at the beginning of the book) and then heads her way. Will Willa pretend she's fine, and stay quiet like she's done for years, or is this finally what's going to jar her out of her passivity? Come on, guess!
I liked Willa's obstinacy, I thought that part of the story was great. The other characters weren't that well developed, and the family story wasn't integrated well with the suspense part. It was jarring when Willa imagined what had happened during the killing spree - it seemed tacked on. And the resolution, as satisfying as it was for those of us who like hopeful endings, happened awfully neatly and quickly at the end. Everything's all better now!
Read this for the plot, if you like stories about troubled teens.
Willa is a cutter, which explains the title. Her perfectly happy (yes, that's meant ironically) blended family doesn't do conflict, so it's a bit of a shock when Willa's biological father kills his second wife and one of Willa's half sisters, that she didn't even know about (not a spoiler, this happens at the beginning of the book) and then heads her way. Will Willa pretend she's fine, and stay quiet like she's done for years, or is this finally what's going to jar her out of her passivity? Come on, guess!
I liked Willa's obstinacy, I thought that part of the story was great. The other characters weren't that well developed, and the family story wasn't integrated well with the suspense part. It was jarring when Willa imagined what had happened during the killing spree - it seemed tacked on. And the resolution, as satisfying as it was for those of us who like hopeful endings, happened awfully neatly and quickly at the end. Everything's all better now!
Read this for the plot, if you like stories about troubled teens.
August 2, 2012
Hi, my name is Kristy and I'm addicted to Susan Beth Pfeffer.
This week has been a gobble fest for me, I'm at the beach and have yet to read a "beach book", but who cares right?!???!!
This book is nothing like the Life or Someting like it series.. at all.
This book is about a girl who never knew her father or her step-brother and sisters. A Father who is a killer. Digging into your past. Finding out if your past defines you. Figuring out no family is perfect. Acceptance. Peace. Fear. Regrets. Making life changing decisons.
bottom line: super short, sad/interesting story, a little lacking. Not my fave of Pfeffer's, but not bad.. at all.
3 stars
This week has been a gobble fest for me, I'm at the beach and have yet to read a "beach book", but who cares right?!???!!
This book is nothing like the Life or Someting like it series.. at all.
This book is about a girl who never knew her father or her step-brother and sisters. A Father who is a killer. Digging into your past. Finding out if your past defines you. Figuring out no family is perfect. Acceptance. Peace. Fear. Regrets. Making life changing decisons.
bottom line: super short, sad/interesting story, a little lacking. Not my fave of Pfeffer's, but not bad.. at all.
3 stars
April 20, 2013
I read through some of the other reviews for this book before settling in to write mine--I sometimes do that out of curiosity, and lately out of worry that I'm going to be the first negative review if I didn't like a book. This was one of those cases--but I was relieved to see I wasn't the only reader who had issues with this book.
On the surface, it seems like a really deep and relevant book. But that's the problem--the whole thing is surface. None of it gelled for me, and the story and characters fell flat. This book is SO short for something that tackles cutting, socioeconomic issues, blended families, domestic violence, and murder. The characters ended up coming across as emotionless and the events happened too fast, even though most of the dialog was redundant and didn't move the story forward.
I found the opening confusing. It took me several pages to sort out the family members since it wasn't stated upfront that it was a blended family--so I thought the step-dad was a brother at first, then one of the step-sisters called him Dad, and there was reference to "Mom" who turned out to be Val, and Willa's mom who is Terri.
There was no description, either. Not of characters or setting. Nothing. I felt like I was reading faceless voices in a void most of the time. And the voice of the book came across as very young, at times annoyingly young.
Anyway, the opening showed a very happy family, and then Willa starts thinking about wanting to cut. It's all very matter-of-fact, and I get no real emotion from her regarding it. This is a very serious subject, and it ends up getting lost in the story about Willa's father, whom she's never known anything about other than his name and he lives in Texas, and then suddenly the cops are at her door telling her he killed his wife and Willa's half-sisters.
There is a sudden turn in Willa, who decides she has to find her "family"--even though she's got an amazing and loving step-dad and mom, and her step-sisters seem to really care for her, too. I don't get at all the idea that Willa comes to that she's supposed to just act the way she's expected and whatever--not one person treats her that way!
It also drove me crazy how the news was all dropped on her--not just the initial news of her father, but other things throughout the story--and how she came to correct conclusions about things without all the information. It was as if the author didn't want to have other characters tell her everything so she's not accused of info-dumping, but Willa's conclusions aren't realistic. And other characters do the same thing, seemingly answering questions that were never really asked.
I finally ended up skimming the last half of the book--which really wouldn't have taken long to actually read because it is so short--but I was tired of Willa, tired of the other characters, and tired of the unrealistic reactions and logistical planning (so much talk about who will drive whom where, and who will fly where with whom).
Overall, this is just not a novel I can recommend. It suffered of too many ingredients in too small a pot, and what I really love about novels--deep characters and rich story worlds--were completely lacking.
On the surface, it seems like a really deep and relevant book. But that's the problem--the whole thing is surface. None of it gelled for me, and the story and characters fell flat. This book is SO short for something that tackles cutting, socioeconomic issues, blended families, domestic violence, and murder. The characters ended up coming across as emotionless and the events happened too fast, even though most of the dialog was redundant and didn't move the story forward.
I found the opening confusing. It took me several pages to sort out the family members since it wasn't stated upfront that it was a blended family--so I thought the step-dad was a brother at first, then one of the step-sisters called him Dad, and there was reference to "Mom" who turned out to be Val, and Willa's mom who is Terri.
There was no description, either. Not of characters or setting. Nothing. I felt like I was reading faceless voices in a void most of the time. And the voice of the book came across as very young, at times annoyingly young.
Anyway, the opening showed a very happy family, and then Willa starts thinking about wanting to cut. It's all very matter-of-fact, and I get no real emotion from her regarding it. This is a very serious subject, and it ends up getting lost in the story about Willa's father, whom she's never known anything about other than his name and he lives in Texas, and then suddenly the cops are at her door telling her he killed his wife and Willa's half-sisters.
There is a sudden turn in Willa, who decides she has to find her "family"--even though she's got an amazing and loving step-dad and mom, and her step-sisters seem to really care for her, too. I don't get at all the idea that Willa comes to that she's supposed to just act the way she's expected and whatever--not one person treats her that way!
It also drove me crazy how the news was all dropped on her--not just the initial news of her father, but other things throughout the story--and how she came to correct conclusions about things without all the information. It was as if the author didn't want to have other characters tell her everything so she's not accused of info-dumping, but Willa's conclusions aren't realistic. And other characters do the same thing, seemingly answering questions that were never really asked.
I finally ended up skimming the last half of the book--which really wouldn't have taken long to actually read because it is so short--but I was tired of Willa, tired of the other characters, and tired of the unrealistic reactions and logistical planning (so much talk about who will drive whom where, and who will fly where with whom).
Overall, this is just not a novel I can recommend. It suffered of too many ingredients in too small a pot, and what I really love about novels--deep characters and rich story worlds--were completely lacking.
June 26, 2017
نویسنده در این کتاب، یه واقعه بزرگی که زندگی رو تغییر میده، به یه اتفاق شخصی تبدیلش میکنه که روی کسانی که درش حضور داشتن بیشترین تاثیر رو میزاره. ویلا، یه زندگی عالی داره، پدرخوانده ش و مادرش، بهش میرسن، پول براش خرج میکنن و زندگیش عالیه. اما داستان فقط این نیست. ویلا مخفیانه، برای اینکه فشار استرسی که هر روزه برای اینکه همه رو شاد و راضی نگه داره، خالی کنه، خودش رو با تیغ میبره. متوجه میشه که پدرش که توی بچگیش ترکش کرده، زن جدیدش رو 3 تا بچه ش رو میکشه و این مساله اذیتش میکنه و سعی میکنه بفهمه چرا این اتفاق افتاده.
کتاب خوب و انگیزه بخشی بود. نشون میداد که چطور میشه توی شرایط سخت، تصمیمات درست رو گرفت. نثرش ساده بود و سریع هم جلو میرفت.
کتاب خوب و انگیزه بخشی بود. نشون میداد که چطور میشه توی شرایط سخت، تصمیمات درست رو گرفت. نثرش ساده بود و سریع هم جلو میرفت.
September 10, 2011
In a nutshell, I liked this book. The pacing is great. The story is entertaining, even with the serious themes it carries. It carried my attention well and was easy to digest.
I do have a few additional thoughts, however, that I would like to share:
1. Willa. Willa has been through so much in this story...from being a part of a blended family, to feeling inferior to her (much wealthier) stepsisters and always having to rearrange her life around their activities, to finding out that she has siblings that she never knew about, to finding out her father is a murder, and even more big, huge stuff. It is hard enough to see Willa being pushed around, but even harder for me to endure Willa being so down on herself. She has basically no self esteem or voice whatsoever, it seems. She always seems to be taking one for the team. And she deals with all of this in unhealthy ways. It is just unfortunate to me that Willa is so sad. I wanted her to gain a little umph in the story, having gone through stuff even some grown-ups couldn't handle, but she just didn't seem to develop as much as I would have hoped for as a character.
2. Secondary characters. I say it all the time: I love a story with well-developed secondary characters. This can make or break a book for me. This story had tons of characters in it. Most of them had quite a bit of face time in the story. Most of them had flaws or problems, which was super interesting...and made an awesome opportunity for character development. Despite the opportunity, however, there was not much in the way of character maturity and I think this is largely due to the length of the book. I would have loved to find out, for example, more of Trace's (Willa's long-lost brother) back story and I would have loved to see a little more of Willa and Trace interacting together as siblings. The same applies to all of the secondary characters. Another example of this would be Willa's stepfather Jack. Some of Jack's past transgressions were mentioned to Willa, and this affected her negatively, even to where she thought about it a couple of times after she found out. Nothing was ever discussed between them, however, and there was no resolution with this; it was left as a loose end of sorts.
3. Willa's parents. I have talked before about being disappointed with the way parenting is handled in YA literature. It is a trend, I think, that there are "bad parents" or absentee parents in many of the YA books circulating out there, and it makes me really sad. I am excited to see that there is a nuclear family in this book and that they all seem to love one another, even going as far as talking about how they eat dinner together at least one night per week no matter what. It gets a little messy, though, with Willa's mother keeping information about her father from her...and the fact that she has other siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Willa's mother also allows her own daughter to be treated unfairly (with regard to her stepdaughters, even treating Willa unfairly herself) for years, over and over again, in order to keep peace with her husband and his ex-wife. This is where the nuclear family crosses over into bad parenting. The difference here, as opposed to the trend in other YA books, is that it is an integral part of the story and there is some to this resolution in the end.
4. Book length. I really feel that Blood Wounds could have gone from good to excellent in my opinion if it were a little bit longer and a little more detailed. I always completely respect the vision of the author in creating their stories, and I rarely would suggest something so bold, but I really believe that in this case expanding the story would mean a great deal to the development of all of the characters, including Willa. If the story were longer, there would also be more of a chance to tie up the loose ends that were left out there in keeping the novel short. In particular, it would be an excellent chance for us to see Willa being treated more fairly in comparison with her stepsisters--which would really change her life for the better and give her a boost in her confidence and self-esteem.
All-in-all, I'm really glad that I read Blood Wounds and despite what it looks like given the length of my thoughts above, I really did like it. I just think that a longer book would have made it awesome.
I do have a few additional thoughts, however, that I would like to share:
1. Willa. Willa has been through so much in this story...from being a part of a blended family, to feeling inferior to her (much wealthier) stepsisters and always having to rearrange her life around their activities, to finding out that she has siblings that she never knew about, to finding out her father is a murder, and even more big, huge stuff. It is hard enough to see Willa being pushed around, but even harder for me to endure Willa being so down on herself. She has basically no self esteem or voice whatsoever, it seems. She always seems to be taking one for the team. And she deals with all of this in unhealthy ways. It is just unfortunate to me that Willa is so sad. I wanted her to gain a little umph in the story, having gone through stuff even some grown-ups couldn't handle, but she just didn't seem to develop as much as I would have hoped for as a character.
2. Secondary characters. I say it all the time: I love a story with well-developed secondary characters. This can make or break a book for me. This story had tons of characters in it. Most of them had quite a bit of face time in the story. Most of them had flaws or problems, which was super interesting...and made an awesome opportunity for character development. Despite the opportunity, however, there was not much in the way of character maturity and I think this is largely due to the length of the book. I would have loved to find out, for example, more of Trace's (Willa's long-lost brother) back story and I would have loved to see a little more of Willa and Trace interacting together as siblings. The same applies to all of the secondary characters. Another example of this would be Willa's stepfather Jack. Some of Jack's past transgressions were mentioned to Willa, and this affected her negatively, even to where she thought about it a couple of times after she found out. Nothing was ever discussed between them, however, and there was no resolution with this; it was left as a loose end of sorts.
3. Willa's parents. I have talked before about being disappointed with the way parenting is handled in YA literature. It is a trend, I think, that there are "bad parents" or absentee parents in many of the YA books circulating out there, and it makes me really sad. I am excited to see that there is a nuclear family in this book and that they all seem to love one another, even going as far as talking about how they eat dinner together at least one night per week no matter what. It gets a little messy, though, with Willa's mother keeping information about her father from her...and the fact that she has other siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Willa's mother also allows her own daughter to be treated unfairly (with regard to her stepdaughters, even treating Willa unfairly herself) for years, over and over again, in order to keep peace with her husband and his ex-wife. This is where the nuclear family crosses over into bad parenting. The difference here, as opposed to the trend in other YA books, is that it is an integral part of the story and there is some to this resolution in the end.
4. Book length. I really feel that Blood Wounds could have gone from good to excellent in my opinion if it were a little bit longer and a little more detailed. I always completely respect the vision of the author in creating their stories, and I rarely would suggest something so bold, but I really believe that in this case expanding the story would mean a great deal to the development of all of the characters, including Willa. If the story were longer, there would also be more of a chance to tie up the loose ends that were left out there in keeping the novel short. In particular, it would be an excellent chance for us to see Willa being treated more fairly in comparison with her stepsisters--which would really change her life for the better and give her a boost in her confidence and self-esteem.
All-in-all, I'm really glad that I read Blood Wounds and despite what it looks like given the length of my thoughts above, I really did like it. I just think that a longer book would have made it awesome.
November 7, 2013
It is a terrible book. Why I kept reading it is a mystery to me.
She isn't a likeable character and the way she talks is in an adult voice. Maybe things are different in Texas and middle America, but out here on the coast kids aren't always ready to say 'yes please, no thank you, I'm so sorry', etc.. This is supposed to be a girl in crisis--someone who is cutting. It is an important topic but I never felt the angst.
Everyone is so lovey-dovey especially for a blended family with three teenage girls. At the end you realize there is a strong undertow pulling down the family. It would have been a better book if readers could be made to feel the hidden current pulling them under too.
I never get it when authors make a big deal about blood family. The whole end of the book was stupid on so many levels. What happened to her half sisters was horrible but it was unrealistic for her to relate to them. The fact that she didn't remember how abusive her father was is hard to believe. If you are terrified of your dad when you are four you most likely wouldn't forget that.
There are other books by this author that are better. Skip this one.
She isn't a likeable character and the way she talks is in an adult voice. Maybe things are different in Texas and middle America, but out here on the coast kids aren't always ready to say 'yes please, no thank you, I'm so sorry', etc.. This is supposed to be a girl in crisis--someone who is cutting. It is an important topic but I never felt the angst.
Everyone is so lovey-dovey especially for a blended family with three teenage girls. At the end you realize there is a strong undertow pulling down the family. It would have been a better book if readers could be made to feel the hidden current pulling them under too.
I never get it when authors make a big deal about blood family. The whole end of the book was stupid on so many levels. What happened to her half sisters was horrible but it was unrealistic for her to relate to them. The fact that she didn't remember how abusive her father was is hard to believe. If you are terrified of your dad when you are four you most likely wouldn't forget that.
There are other books by this author that are better. Skip this one.
March 4, 2012
Rebecca Weimert
Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Willa lives with her mother, stepfather, and two stepsisters. Always feeling left out Willa cuts herself to relieve the stress she feels in her home. Willa’s mother worked hard to give her a good family life, but her past comes back to haunt her. Willa’s biological father has murdered his wife and children and is coming for Willa, but is caught and killed by the police. The horrible deaths of her family shakes Willa’s world and she is not sure who she is anymore. She travels to Texas to attend the funeral of her sisters and reveals even more family secrets. Through the heartache Willa learns acceptance and forgiveness.
This story left me on the edge of my seat, wondering what new secret will be revealed next. Through Willa’s point of view I felt the heartache she felt when she was out casted by her stepsisters, and when she saw the truth about her real father and the family her mother left behind. The story ended well which left me feeling happy that Willa finally had what she needed, money and a happier family.
Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Willa lives with her mother, stepfather, and two stepsisters. Always feeling left out Willa cuts herself to relieve the stress she feels in her home. Willa’s mother worked hard to give her a good family life, but her past comes back to haunt her. Willa’s biological father has murdered his wife and children and is coming for Willa, but is caught and killed by the police. The horrible deaths of her family shakes Willa’s world and she is not sure who she is anymore. She travels to Texas to attend the funeral of her sisters and reveals even more family secrets. Through the heartache Willa learns acceptance and forgiveness.
This story left me on the edge of my seat, wondering what new secret will be revealed next. Through Willa’s point of view I felt the heartache she felt when she was out casted by her stepsisters, and when she saw the truth about her real father and the family her mother left behind. The story ended well which left me feeling happy that Willa finally had what she needed, money and a happier family.
October 25, 2011
I was so disappointed w this book. I gave it a lot longer than I normally would with a book because I love this author's previous works, but I realized halfway through last night that it was more of a chore than a pleasure to read.
Every author has a dud occasionally and I'm sad to say this is hers. The main character's voice is very immature - she sounds more like 12 than 16. This may have been intentional but in the end, everything here just felt off.
Every author has a dud occasionally and I'm sad to say this is hers. The main character's voice is very immature - she sounds more like 12 than 16. This may have been intentional but in the end, everything here just felt off.
January 9, 2019
Not quite what I expected, but maybe better? The actual violence and suspense are over and done with in the first quarter of the book (though Pfeffer spares no quarter in describing gruesomeness as far as teen-book content can be stretched, later even imagining the killings from the murderer's perspective), but the idea of "blood" in all its meanings is continually tied back to the story.
The majority of this book is about a meek girl beginning to struggle with her place in a blended family, the difference in relationship between stepsisters she's grown up with and half-sisters she never knew, and the vague sense of loss/something missing from having been taken away from all her blood relatives and the small town where she was born as a small child, barely old enough to remember any of it.
A good portion is also about her returning alone to that town for the funerals, staying with her godmother and attempting to find a personal connection there while coming to terms with her one degree of separation from horrific violence, and what it means to be someone's only living heir.
Speaking of which, there are some really interesting touches on wealth disparity -- her parents lived in poverty when they were together; her stepsisters' mother is a multi-millionaire but her stepfather is not, so the other girls have been lavished with expensive possessions and privilege all their lives while Willa has been raised within the boundaries of a normal middle-class salary, not exactly impoverished but certainly not able to have the same vacations, high end clothes, or private lessons.
Outwardly, she's fine with that, but the internal pressure has turned her into a cutter. Again there is a father/daughter parallel as, albeit with very different intents and purposes, both are drawn to blades. Wealth disparity also plays into a major final conflict, in ways I did not expect.
Lastly, there is so much focus on family that this manages to turn out to be one of the rare contemporary YA novels without romance, and where the only teenage boy to be found is one she's related to. Nice!
The majority of this book is about a meek girl beginning to struggle with her place in a blended family, the difference in relationship between stepsisters she's grown up with and half-sisters she never knew, and the vague sense of loss/something missing from having been taken away from all her blood relatives and the small town where she was born as a small child, barely old enough to remember any of it.
A good portion is also about her returning alone to that town for the funerals, staying with her godmother and attempting to find a personal connection there while coming to terms with her one degree of separation from horrific violence, and what it means to be someone's only living heir.
Speaking of which, there are some really interesting touches on wealth disparity -- her parents lived in poverty when they were together; her stepsisters' mother is a multi-millionaire but her stepfather is not, so the other girls have been lavished with expensive possessions and privilege all their lives while Willa has been raised within the boundaries of a normal middle-class salary, not exactly impoverished but certainly not able to have the same vacations, high end clothes, or private lessons.
Outwardly, she's fine with that, but the internal pressure has turned her into a cutter. Again there is a father/daughter parallel as, albeit with very different intents and purposes, both are drawn to blades. Wealth disparity also plays into a major final conflict, in ways I did not expect.
Lastly, there is so much focus on family that this manages to turn out to be one of the rare contemporary YA novels without romance, and where the only teenage boy to be found is one she's related to. Nice!
Read
February 22, 2023I loved the author's "Life As We Knew It" series so I was prepared to like this book. I could not even give it one star since all the characters were so unlikable.
February 7, 2012
"No saints in this world, sweetie. Just different kinds of sinners."
—Faye, Blood Wounds, P. 164
Susan Beth Pfeffer has a way with suspense. She can make readers feel as if the cold-blooded killer could be hiding around any corner, or could outwit even the most well-planned security net to burst through the door at any moment and commence his murderous rampage. And, for the first seventy pages or so of Blood Wounds, that's just the sort of tense, suspenseful writing that we get, loaded with all kinds of potential energy in the plot and the possibility for the story to suddenly twist in any one of a million shocking new directions at any moment. This is Susan Beth Pfeffer near her best, at least judging from her books that I've read so far, and few authors do it better. Ultimately, though, Blood Wounds is much more a story of family drama than of scintillating suspense, the sad tale of a person who has spun out of control and can't get it back together again before crossing the line and committing a series of despicable acts that ranks up there with some of the most notorious violent crimes in recent history.
Willa Coffey is a daughter of a relatively well-adapted blended family, living with her stepsisters, mother and stepfather, when the first unsure reports begin to surface that her biological father, a man living with his own wife and children in Texas, has murdered his new family, and may be on his way east to track down his oldest daughter, Willa. Seconds can mean the difference between life and death as Willa's father is believed to be closing in on where she now lives, and the police waste no time in transferring Willa and her family to a secure hotel where they can be protected around the clock until her father is captured. Dwayne Coffey may be a resourceful man, but how can he track down where Willa is when the utmost care has been taken to ensure that no navigable trail was left behind? Even if he did somehow manage to find her, how could he possibly get past the police guard to actually come face to face with his daughter?
For years, Willa has known next to nothing about her old life from when her mother was still married to her father, and the sudden tragic killings stir within her an interest to learn more. There are relatives she knew nothing about in Texas, including her three little sisters, helpless young girls whom police reports confirm were, in fact, the victims of the horrific murders perpetrated by Willa's father. Answers to some of the most profound questions of her life lie in Texas, Willa knows, and deep down she realizes that only by going out there and confronting the excruciating details from her and her mother's dubious past will she have a chance to finally earn back a little bit of peace for herself.
Though her blended family had seemed so well-adjusted at the beginning of Blood Wounds, Willa actually had another personal problem before her father began the killing. Willa's standard response to the levels of stress in her life, stress caused mostly by the subtle disparity of treatment between her and her stepsisters by her stepfather, Jack, is that of a cutter. To release the tension when it builds, Willa routinely slices little cuts into her body. These wounds are just enough to make her bleed, and they cause enough pain to shut out all of the other worse feelings while never being life-threatening. Her mother and stepfather, of course, know nothing about it. As Willa embarks on her journey of self-discovery by looking to her past, though, she may also find that to come to grips with who she is and how she fits in with both sides of her family, she will also have to confront the basic instincts that prompt her to cut...and learn once and for all how to express her true emotions to her family even while knowing that they may not accept her for who she is.
In my view, Blood Wounds feels like two separate novels: the suspenseful manhunt conducted by the police while Willa hides out in presumed safety, and the drama of the family encounters that she endures while searching for the truth about a branch of her family that she hardly even knew existed. It's a good story, though, certainly worth being told, and will probably resonate with readers who have faced any of the various forms of trouble dealt with in the plot.
—Faye, Blood Wounds, P. 164
Susan Beth Pfeffer has a way with suspense. She can make readers feel as if the cold-blooded killer could be hiding around any corner, or could outwit even the most well-planned security net to burst through the door at any moment and commence his murderous rampage. And, for the first seventy pages or so of Blood Wounds, that's just the sort of tense, suspenseful writing that we get, loaded with all kinds of potential energy in the plot and the possibility for the story to suddenly twist in any one of a million shocking new directions at any moment. This is Susan Beth Pfeffer near her best, at least judging from her books that I've read so far, and few authors do it better. Ultimately, though, Blood Wounds is much more a story of family drama than of scintillating suspense, the sad tale of a person who has spun out of control and can't get it back together again before crossing the line and committing a series of despicable acts that ranks up there with some of the most notorious violent crimes in recent history.
Willa Coffey is a daughter of a relatively well-adapted blended family, living with her stepsisters, mother and stepfather, when the first unsure reports begin to surface that her biological father, a man living with his own wife and children in Texas, has murdered his new family, and may be on his way east to track down his oldest daughter, Willa. Seconds can mean the difference between life and death as Willa's father is believed to be closing in on where she now lives, and the police waste no time in transferring Willa and her family to a secure hotel where they can be protected around the clock until her father is captured. Dwayne Coffey may be a resourceful man, but how can he track down where Willa is when the utmost care has been taken to ensure that no navigable trail was left behind? Even if he did somehow manage to find her, how could he possibly get past the police guard to actually come face to face with his daughter?
For years, Willa has known next to nothing about her old life from when her mother was still married to her father, and the sudden tragic killings stir within her an interest to learn more. There are relatives she knew nothing about in Texas, including her three little sisters, helpless young girls whom police reports confirm were, in fact, the victims of the horrific murders perpetrated by Willa's father. Answers to some of the most profound questions of her life lie in Texas, Willa knows, and deep down she realizes that only by going out there and confronting the excruciating details from her and her mother's dubious past will she have a chance to finally earn back a little bit of peace for herself.
Though her blended family had seemed so well-adjusted at the beginning of Blood Wounds, Willa actually had another personal problem before her father began the killing. Willa's standard response to the levels of stress in her life, stress caused mostly by the subtle disparity of treatment between her and her stepsisters by her stepfather, Jack, is that of a cutter. To release the tension when it builds, Willa routinely slices little cuts into her body. These wounds are just enough to make her bleed, and they cause enough pain to shut out all of the other worse feelings while never being life-threatening. Her mother and stepfather, of course, know nothing about it. As Willa embarks on her journey of self-discovery by looking to her past, though, she may also find that to come to grips with who she is and how she fits in with both sides of her family, she will also have to confront the basic instincts that prompt her to cut...and learn once and for all how to express her true emotions to her family even while knowing that they may not accept her for who she is.
In my view, Blood Wounds feels like two separate novels: the suspenseful manhunt conducted by the police while Willa hides out in presumed safety, and the drama of the family encounters that she endures while searching for the truth about a branch of her family that she hardly even knew existed. It's a good story, though, certainly worth being told, and will probably resonate with readers who have faced any of the various forms of trouble dealt with in the plot.
August 30, 2011
When I read the synopsis for this book I thought I was in for a suspenseful, action-packed thriller. Yeah, I was wrong. I was thinking I would be reading about Willa in a Witness Protection kind of program while her crazy father stalked her and she found out crazy secrets her mom had kept. Hmmm...yeah, wrong again! I was very disappointed in this book. This is not to say that you won't like it but it wasn't what I expected at all.
Willa is living with her mom and step-dad and two step-sisters. Her family is very happy and seems to have it all. Plus, they get along great. Until the one night when Willa's real dad goes on a killing rampage and comes after Willa and her mom. Then secrets come out and Willa has no clue who she really is anymore.
I found this book to be extremely unrealistic is so many ways. There are a ton of unanswered questions that never get resolved. Why in the world did Willa's father kill his family? Why was he coming after her? How did the police know he was coming after her? Why did Willa feel this extreme closeness to a family she never even knew?
The story starts out with Willa's mom's best friend calling in a panic wanting to make sure that Terri (Willa's mom) is okay. When Willa finally gets ahold of her mom's friend, she is told that "Budge" has done something bad and her mom may be in danger. Then the police show up. Since no one is able to get ahold of Terri, the police go ahead and tell Willa that her father has killed his current wife and three daughters and is now on his way to find Willa. There are no parents there and Willa is forced to deal with this herself. Yeah, police don't do that. I know...I married to one. There is always a parent/grandparent or even a neighbor there.
There is a very short section with Willa and her mom in police protection. There is no suspense, no action, no scary stuff. It's actually quite boring. Then, Willa's father is caught (which is yet another weird, unexplained and unrealistic scene) and that's the end of the exciting part.
Willa is then adamant that she attend the funerals of her father's family. Why? She wasn't even aware that they existed but she felt such a strong bond towards them? I find that hard to believe. But she heads down to Texas and finds out that she will inherit everything that there is to inherit. Again, I am not sure how the laws work in Texas but I know here (in Washington) a step-child is not entitled anything from the step-mom unless she's in the Will. Just because her step-sister died last, Willa is entitled to it. Didn't ring true to me.
Then there is the fact that Willa cuts herself. Only, she does it in the first few chapters when she is stressed about her living step-sisters, school, etc. Easy things. Then she has to deal with the extremely stressful, potentially dangerous time and she doesn't cut herself at all. In fact, she doesn't even talk about it and I forgot she even did it until the end. Faced with having to move again during her senior year, she wants to start cutting again. I would have thought she would have needed to cut during all the trauma but maybe I just don't understand because I have never cut.
Willa's character is almost perfect. She is polite, obeys her parents, gives up everything with no problem. Yeah right...she is 16. I'm thinking not. She hardly ever let her emotions go and when she did, an adult, whether it was her parents or her parents' friends would reel her back in. There was hardly any fighting, no major anger, nothing. And when Willa decides to go to Texas, her parents don't want her to but her "grandma" friend volunteers not only to go with her but to pay for it, her parents give up the fight. Then they don't even go with her because her mom vowed to never go back. Really?!
So, I was very disappointed with this book. It wasn't at all what I was expecting or hoping for. The synopsis is a bit misleading and the plot is lacking. The characters are not well-formed at all and there are too many questions left over at the end. But, that's only my opinion. Pick it up and give it a try if you want and let me know what you though!
Willa is living with her mom and step-dad and two step-sisters. Her family is very happy and seems to have it all. Plus, they get along great. Until the one night when Willa's real dad goes on a killing rampage and comes after Willa and her mom. Then secrets come out and Willa has no clue who she really is anymore.
I found this book to be extremely unrealistic is so many ways. There are a ton of unanswered questions that never get resolved. Why in the world did Willa's father kill his family? Why was he coming after her? How did the police know he was coming after her? Why did Willa feel this extreme closeness to a family she never even knew?
The story starts out with Willa's mom's best friend calling in a panic wanting to make sure that Terri (Willa's mom) is okay. When Willa finally gets ahold of her mom's friend, she is told that "Budge" has done something bad and her mom may be in danger. Then the police show up. Since no one is able to get ahold of Terri, the police go ahead and tell Willa that her father has killed his current wife and three daughters and is now on his way to find Willa. There are no parents there and Willa is forced to deal with this herself. Yeah, police don't do that. I know...I married to one. There is always a parent/grandparent or even a neighbor there.
There is a very short section with Willa and her mom in police protection. There is no suspense, no action, no scary stuff. It's actually quite boring. Then, Willa's father is caught (which is yet another weird, unexplained and unrealistic scene) and that's the end of the exciting part.
Willa is then adamant that she attend the funerals of her father's family. Why? She wasn't even aware that they existed but she felt such a strong bond towards them? I find that hard to believe. But she heads down to Texas and finds out that she will inherit everything that there is to inherit. Again, I am not sure how the laws work in Texas but I know here (in Washington) a step-child is not entitled anything from the step-mom unless she's in the Will. Just because her step-sister died last, Willa is entitled to it. Didn't ring true to me.
Then there is the fact that Willa cuts herself. Only, she does it in the first few chapters when she is stressed about her living step-sisters, school, etc. Easy things. Then she has to deal with the extremely stressful, potentially dangerous time and she doesn't cut herself at all. In fact, she doesn't even talk about it and I forgot she even did it until the end. Faced with having to move again during her senior year, she wants to start cutting again. I would have thought she would have needed to cut during all the trauma but maybe I just don't understand because I have never cut.
Willa's character is almost perfect. She is polite, obeys her parents, gives up everything with no problem. Yeah right...she is 16. I'm thinking not. She hardly ever let her emotions go and when she did, an adult, whether it was her parents or her parents' friends would reel her back in. There was hardly any fighting, no major anger, nothing. And when Willa decides to go to Texas, her parents don't want her to but her "grandma" friend volunteers not only to go with her but to pay for it, her parents give up the fight. Then they don't even go with her because her mom vowed to never go back. Really?!
So, I was very disappointed with this book. It wasn't at all what I was expecting or hoping for. The synopsis is a bit misleading and the plot is lacking. The characters are not well-formed at all and there are too many questions left over at the end. But, that's only my opinion. Pick it up and give it a try if you want and let me know what you though!
July 15, 2011
Willa has always felt like she needed to do her best and stay under the radar. Living with her mother in a house paid for by her step-father's ex-wife for Willa's step-sisters, she's always done without while her step-sisters had whatever they wanted. Willa never knew her father, and so it comes as a surprise when she learns that he has just killed the half-sisters and step-mother she never knew she had. Now the country is scandalized by the horror he has brought down upon his family, and Willa feels the urge to understand. She wants to know who her father was, her mother's secrets, and if she has any of his bad blood inside of herself.
Blood Wounds is a really terrifying and touching story because it is the kind of thing that happens all the time, yet we all think it could not happen to us. Murder-suicides are a sad fact of life in 20th and 21st century America. This book takes a look at those who are left behind to pick up the pieces after one of these terrible events occurs. It also shows the way that some people want to blame the family of the murderer, although they aren't the ones at fault. Willa never even knew her father, yet the townsfolk look down on her just for having been his daughter. It's a good lesson to remember when we read about these kinds of crimes in the newspaper.
Reading through the story, you really feel for Willa and her situation. Things weren't great for her even before her father went on his murder spree, with her being the poor daughter next to two spoiled step-sisters. Things are even worse now: her school views her as the daughter of some hick killer, while her father's hometown sees her as the rich daughter who left and never looked back. There's a lot of family drama at play, and most readers will be able to relate to a relationship at some level, even if you didn't grow up in a household like the one presented. The conflicts are universal.
This book is heartbreaking, so don't go into it looking for laughs. I was really glad that the storyline wasn't complicated by some romance, which would have cheapened the drama. Blood Wounds was a heartbreaking book to read, but still drew me in and made me think.
Blood Wounds is a really terrifying and touching story because it is the kind of thing that happens all the time, yet we all think it could not happen to us. Murder-suicides are a sad fact of life in 20th and 21st century America. This book takes a look at those who are left behind to pick up the pieces after one of these terrible events occurs. It also shows the way that some people want to blame the family of the murderer, although they aren't the ones at fault. Willa never even knew her father, yet the townsfolk look down on her just for having been his daughter. It's a good lesson to remember when we read about these kinds of crimes in the newspaper.
Reading through the story, you really feel for Willa and her situation. Things weren't great for her even before her father went on his murder spree, with her being the poor daughter next to two spoiled step-sisters. Things are even worse now: her school views her as the daughter of some hick killer, while her father's hometown sees her as the rich daughter who left and never looked back. There's a lot of family drama at play, and most readers will be able to relate to a relationship at some level, even if you didn't grow up in a household like the one presented. The conflicts are universal.
This book is heartbreaking, so don't go into it looking for laughs. I was really glad that the storyline wasn't complicated by some romance, which would have cheapened the drama. Blood Wounds was a heartbreaking book to read, but still drew me in and made me think.
January 16, 2012
Willa Coffey is a quiet girl who doesn't expect much. She lives with her mom, step-dad Jack and her two step-sisters, Alyssa and Brooke. Jacks ex-wife Val makes sure that Alyssa and Brooke have everything that money can buy and Willa is usually left on the outskirts looking in. Her mom and Jack cannot afford those things for Willa. She doesn't express her discontent, but instead hides in the basement and cuts herself.
When she receives a phone call from her mom's best friend while she is home alone, her whole world is turned upside down. It seems her dad, her real dad, has killed his new wife and little girls and is on his way to her house. The police get involved and everyone freaks out about how Willa is the daughter of a killer.
Willa decides to put herself first for once and demands that she get to go to Pryor, a small town hundreds of miles away, to attend her sisters' funerals. Even though she has never met them and hasn't seen her dad since she was four, she feels she needs to find out where she came from.
There, she learns more about herself, her mom and what it means to be happy. When she returns to her home, her mom and Jack once again set her world atilt. Because of Brooke and Alyssa's special schools, they must move once again, right before Willa's senior year. She contemplates cutting deeper this time and removing herself from the situation for good.
Blood Wounds is a page-turning read that pauses you to think about what humans to do one another. How one thoughtless action can wound another deeply. The characters are brought to life by the author's creative writing and the turmoil that Willa goes through is still fresh in this reader's mind. Definitely thought-provoking.
When she receives a phone call from her mom's best friend while she is home alone, her whole world is turned upside down. It seems her dad, her real dad, has killed his new wife and little girls and is on his way to her house. The police get involved and everyone freaks out about how Willa is the daughter of a killer.
Willa decides to put herself first for once and demands that she get to go to Pryor, a small town hundreds of miles away, to attend her sisters' funerals. Even though she has never met them and hasn't seen her dad since she was four, she feels she needs to find out where she came from.
There, she learns more about herself, her mom and what it means to be happy. When she returns to her home, her mom and Jack once again set her world atilt. Because of Brooke and Alyssa's special schools, they must move once again, right before Willa's senior year. She contemplates cutting deeper this time and removing herself from the situation for good.
Blood Wounds is a page-turning read that pauses you to think about what humans to do one another. How one thoughtless action can wound another deeply. The characters are brought to life by the author's creative writing and the turmoil that Willa goes through is still fresh in this reader's mind. Definitely thought-provoking.
November 7, 2011
In this book, Pfeffer turns from a life-changing natural disaster to a more personal disaster with consequences for all those directly involved as well as those who are only the fringes of the event. High school junior Willa seems to have a perfect life. Her stepfather and mother are devoted to her, and she and her two stepsisters get along just fine. If their access to money through their mother means that they have much material objects than Willa, she has never really minded. However, there are clues that all is not as smooth as it might seem since Willa secretly cuts herself to ease the pressure she feels to conform and please those around her. But when her father, left behind when she was four, unexpectedly kills his wife and three young children, everything changes. Although she is horrified by the actions of her father, she also longs to know more about the town where he grew up. She ends up traveling to a small town in Texas with a family friend, and making some surprising connections. Although some parts of the book were engaging, there were many motivation points that were left unanswered, and the secrets that start to spill out seem to have been too well-hidden to matter. There are also somewhat bizarre decisions on the part of some of the adults in her life; for instance, why would anyone give her the key to the house where the murders took place and insist that she look for whatever she wants to keep from the possessions there? Once Willa starts to make healthy decisions, it's not clear what prompted the changes in her life. Many teens will enjoy this one, but it simply didn't ring true for me in many respects.
July 22, 2011
Susan Beth Pfeffer is a master story teller in such a unique way, she portrays immense levels of human emotions in her characters.
Blood Wounds will be released later in the year and in it is the story of Willa, a high school aged girl who tries so hard at living the perfect life, that when her past catches up to her it comes in the grisly package of her estranged father and the horrible crimes he has committed against his family.
Susan brings into her story such immense emotion on some normal actions and feelings in life that families go through together, especially split and new families and the trials they face.
There is the past family unresolved and the new family that is full is sacrifice and awash with resented anger.
Blood Wounds really delves into the blended family element and the need and strive we need to feel as to come out as this picture perfect happy element even though we don't feel that was and we cannot possibly all be equal in the eyes of all of our parents.
I felt that the most impactful part of the story that put me to tears was the line, "I couldn't ask for anything!"
The title for this book was perfect: Blood Wounds.
Is it the blood that binds us? The blood beside us? The blood we find comfort in? The wounds we hide, the wounds we hide from the world?
Susan. Beth Pfeffer creates an amazingly human cast of characters that will pier and tear up your heart and make you realize that we are not all as perfect as we want to be and to go beyond trying to make everything right, but love what you have and those around you. No matter what you have.
Blood Wounds will be released later in the year and in it is the story of Willa, a high school aged girl who tries so hard at living the perfect life, that when her past catches up to her it comes in the grisly package of her estranged father and the horrible crimes he has committed against his family.
Susan brings into her story such immense emotion on some normal actions and feelings in life that families go through together, especially split and new families and the trials they face.
There is the past family unresolved and the new family that is full is sacrifice and awash with resented anger.
Blood Wounds really delves into the blended family element and the need and strive we need to feel as to come out as this picture perfect happy element even though we don't feel that was and we cannot possibly all be equal in the eyes of all of our parents.
I felt that the most impactful part of the story that put me to tears was the line, "I couldn't ask for anything!"
The title for this book was perfect: Blood Wounds.
Is it the blood that binds us? The blood beside us? The blood we find comfort in? The wounds we hide, the wounds we hide from the world?
Susan. Beth Pfeffer creates an amazingly human cast of characters that will pier and tear up your heart and make you realize that we are not all as perfect as we want to be and to go beyond trying to make everything right, but love what you have and those around you. No matter what you have.
November 6, 2011
I normally wouldn't have picked this book up but it was written by Susan Beth Pfeffer and I loved her Life As We Knew It books. I recommend those books to just about everybody I come in contact with (so if you haven't read them, go out, get them and read them. They're terrific.) Blood Wounds centers on Willa. Willa is part of a blended family and has two stepsisters who she likes but also envies and resents. Her stepsister's mother pays for them to go to fancy schools, travel and compete in very expensive hobbies; whereas Willa doesn't have the money to do these things. Then, one day, Willa gets word that her biological father (who she hasn't seen since she was a toddler) has killed his current wife and daughters and may be heading to Willa's home to kill her. The story focuses on the ramifications from her father's actions and how it affects Willa and the people she loves.
I didn't identify with Willa because I've never been in any of her situations but I did root for her. I wanted Willa to find her way through these problems and come out on the good side. I felt for her. In the end, that's what I think the author wanted. There's some hard and raw stuff to deal with in this story and I think that won't appeal to a lot of readers. But I liked it. Pfeffer is very good at fleshing her characters out and making them real.
I didn't identify with Willa because I've never been in any of her situations but I did root for her. I wanted Willa to find her way through these problems and come out on the good side. I felt for her. In the end, that's what I think the author wanted. There's some hard and raw stuff to deal with in this story and I think that won't appeal to a lot of readers. But I liked it. Pfeffer is very good at fleshing her characters out and making them real.
February 2, 2012
Willa is a part of a blended family that appears to have it all. She and her two step sisters seem to get along great and she loves her stepdad as if he was her real dad. But then one phone call changes all that when she finds out her biological father has murdered his second family. The police think that her father is headed to kill her and her mother and so Willa and her mom must go into police protection. Willa soon finds out that her mother has held a lot of the truth from her and now her father is a killer. Willa soon decides to go back to their original hometown and get the answers to many unanswered questions. Her blended family is torn apart by all the tragedy and Willa must find a way to make all their problems work out.
I really thought this was a psychological thriller with some great insights into blended families. I appreciate the fact that it showed that no family is perfect, no matter how they may appear. The domestic violence was strong and I was concerned that Willa had to be a cutter. I think the story would have been better without putting that in there. I would recommend this book to high school and up, absolutely no one younger.
I really thought this was a psychological thriller with some great insights into blended families. I appreciate the fact that it showed that no family is perfect, no matter how they may appear. The domestic violence was strong and I was concerned that Willa had to be a cutter. I think the story would have been better without putting that in there. I would recommend this book to high school and up, absolutely no one younger.
May 25, 2011
I won this arc from following the Authors blog. She had a little contest, and my name got pulled from the hat. yay!
Anyway, I loved her moon books. If you know this Author, then you know what books I'm speaking of. If not.. go to her profile and check them out.. they are a must read! :) What I love about this Author is the realism she puts into her writing. I was happy to see that in Blood Wounds as well.
I can see how the description can be a little misleading though. It really is mostly about the aftermath. family, feelings, old secrets.. just dealing with it all. Though it wasn't exactly what I was expecting from reading the back.. it was written so well that it didn't matter.
There were parts in the book that just broke my heart. Blood wounds is a very interesting read. When I wasn't reading.. I was thinking about it.. a tough one to put down.
I feel honored to have had the chance to read this before it comes out.. and I highly recommend. I was quite moved by the whole story.
January 1, 2016
Grade: D
Willa's biological father goes on a rampage killing his wife and daughters, and the police think he may be coming from her. Her mom is a wreck and stepfather flies her two step sisters to their mother's fracturing the family Willa believed was so solid. Now she wonders whether her family will ever be whole and happy again, or if they ever were.
BLOOD WOUNDS scratches the surface of some difficult issues and provides easy answer and explanations for complex problems. Susan Beth Pfeffer wrote Willa as a cutter, but her self mutilation left more like an unemotional, poorly researched afterthought that was added to give Willa some depth and perhaps attract an additional audience.
Pfeffer used much more telling and explaining than showing. What should have been a tension filled story felt flat. I never felt like Willa was in danger either physically or psychologically.
THEMES: family, step families, siblings, domestic violence
BLOOD WOUNDS felt like a missed opportunity, a great premised poorly executed.
Willa's biological father goes on a rampage killing his wife and daughters, and the police think he may be coming from her. Her mom is a wreck and stepfather flies her two step sisters to their mother's fracturing the family Willa believed was so solid. Now she wonders whether her family will ever be whole and happy again, or if they ever were.
BLOOD WOUNDS scratches the surface of some difficult issues and provides easy answer and explanations for complex problems. Susan Beth Pfeffer wrote Willa as a cutter, but her self mutilation left more like an unemotional, poorly researched afterthought that was added to give Willa some depth and perhaps attract an additional audience.
Pfeffer used much more telling and explaining than showing. What should have been a tension filled story felt flat. I never felt like Willa was in danger either physically or psychologically.
THEMES: family, step families, siblings, domestic violence
BLOOD WOUNDS felt like a missed opportunity, a great premised poorly executed.
November 1, 2011
I liked this book but it was disturbing on many levels.
Willa is a teen growing up in a blended family. Her family is wonderful and on the surface, it seems ideal. She has a loving mother, a loving step-father, and two step-sisters who she has a good relationship with.
Everything changes when she returns a phone call to her mother's friend. Her biological father is on the run with one of his daughters. His wife and two of his daughters are found dead in their home. This begins a psychological journey for Willa. She has to come to come to terms with her father's actions, mourn the sisters that she never met, and deal with her secrets. Her secret for me was the most disturbing, and for that reason alone I would not recommend this book to young YA readers. She cuts herself to escape when she is stressed.
This is a good book, just be prepared for an emotional journey.
Willa is a teen growing up in a blended family. Her family is wonderful and on the surface, it seems ideal. She has a loving mother, a loving step-father, and two step-sisters who she has a good relationship with.
Everything changes when she returns a phone call to her mother's friend. Her biological father is on the run with one of his daughters. His wife and two of his daughters are found dead in their home. This begins a psychological journey for Willa. She has to come to come to terms with her father's actions, mourn the sisters that she never met, and deal with her secrets. Her secret for me was the most disturbing, and for that reason alone I would not recommend this book to young YA readers. She cuts herself to escape when she is stressed.
This is a good book, just be prepared for an emotional journey.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 9, 2012
Wow. What an amazing book.
Pfeffer has a gift. She can take readers to the dark places in our souls and back out again. We're changed by the journey, tempered, and drained. Her fiction explores what it means to be a family, to have others to rely on or that rely upon you. And she explores what it means when you are alone and don't have that support. Finally, she shows the moments when kids see their parents as real, as flawed, as loving and as hateful.
Someday, I hope that I will be able to write with one tenth of Pfeffer's power.
Pfeffer has a gift. She can take readers to the dark places in our souls and back out again. We're changed by the journey, tempered, and drained. Her fiction explores what it means to be a family, to have others to rely on or that rely upon you. And she explores what it means when you are alone and don't have that support. Finally, she shows the moments when kids see their parents as real, as flawed, as loving and as hateful.
Someday, I hope that I will be able to write with one tenth of Pfeffer's power.
February 18, 2012
I couldn't put down this book by one of my favorite YA authors. All appears happy in Willa's blended family, but there is a lot going on just under the surface. The book took some turns that I wasn't expecting. I would recommend this for readers looking for a realistic page-turner. some parts will be disturbing to sensitive readers.
May 12, 2011
All tell and no show makes Blood Wounds a dull book.
I was misled by the back synopsis, but even when I shifted my expectations so I knew I was reading a family drama and not a thriller, the book was no good. It failed on both levels.
I was misled by the back synopsis, but even when I shifted my expectations so I knew I was reading a family drama and not a thriller, the book was no good. It failed on both levels.
February 1, 2017
This book was over the top for everything - I couldn't stand it. Everything was over exaggerated, which just made it hard to believe / read. I personally wouldn't recommend it if you're looking for a suspenseful book.
June 19, 2011
A dark and powerful family drama.
November 25, 2011
Brilliant! I love how Susan Beth Pfeffer creates characters who are instantly believable and interesting. I couldn't put this book down. I read it in one sitting.
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