Official Review: The Problem Children by Barb McIntyre

[sbanks147]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Problem Children" by Barb McIntyre.]

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The Problem Children by Barb McIntyre was a great book, and did not disappoint. The book starts out with the parents talking about how bad their children can be, and how one especially, Steve, has an evil streak. After a short introduction from their parents point of view, the story jumps to when the kids are in their thirties and starts with Steve thinking about how he’s about to be able to get so much money because their father just died and cheat his brother and sister out of their shares of ownership of their father’s store. Soon, his sister Sam brings in his brother Mike unexpectedly, seemingly a homeless man who has lost his mind. Mike had been running from the police as he was being accused of killing their father. The story then shortly switches to how Mike hid from the cops and found out who the real culprit was, who turned out to be in their family but just wasn’t him. About halfway through the story after Mike’s story has been shared it switches to his sister Sam’s point of view, which starts with her being in jail shortly after blowing up her own house.

This book was great with how the author would start out with a dramatic outcome in the beginning but wouldn’t give any reasons as to how or why that happened. This really hooks the reader right from the start, and I was especially intrigued by Sam’s story beginning with the fact that she blew up her own house and someone happened to die in it, and she was in jail. She seemed to be the innocent one of the family and it was a huge surprise to read that she was in jail after reading how she couldn’t even get away with lying to anybody because she was so bad at it and didn’t need to often.

Having the points of view change made the book unique. I like that this book mostly focused on Mike and Sam, with a little bit from Steve and the parents. Too many points of view make it hard to really remember everything, and I liked how this story was much longer for those two and really went into detail. Having mostly only these two points of view also lets the reader develop more of a connection with the character, and is able to relate more.

There are some very unique, interesting characters in this book, especially Mike’s girlfriend Mary. She has Asperger’s Syndrome, inhibiting her ability to show emotion, but with Mike she is able to do more things than she was ever able to do before, such as travel outside of the country. She is always spewing out really random, but interesting facts, such as “studies have shown a correlation between oxytocin and human bonding, increases in trust, and decreases in fear.” She keeps everyone informed, and even helps Sam out after her house is blown up to get her insurance. Mary definitely adds a lot to this book, and is present throughout most of it. There are also other interesting, smaller characters, such as Sam’s children who get along with Mary, the man Jason who Sam cheated on her husband with, and some of the characters that were in the jail with Sam, to name a few.

I would definitely recommend this book to my friends who like to read as it is very entertaining. It is a little long, but it does not seem too long while reading it. It actually gives the reader more time to connect to the characters, and to see through a few huge, life-altering events that happen to the characters. This book shows what people can endure and do endure, and how much better life can get even when it seems like you are at the bottom with no way out. There is always hope, and these characters show that it is best to stay positive and try to see the good side of everything while working your way out of whatever hole you are in, because you will get out of it eventually.

I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars.

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[Zannie]

It It would be worth a read just to find more about Asperges

[Megan Young]

Yes I agree

[Dphaber]

Hmm, this one seems to be a little different from what I've already read by McIntyre... Good to see she's branching out.

[sbanks147]

Yea, this one was a good bit different, she only focused on two people for the majority of the story, instead of switching views and telling many multiple stories. The two people in this book are also related, and their stories slightly coincide. It was a nice change.

[saturday+deviant]

I reviewed her short stories "Things Are Not Always as They Seem" and I have to say that I want to read this as well. I like her ideas.

[robstar68]

This book is brilliant written like an agetha christie novel, a well put together who done it, well worth a read.