Brother/Sister

Sean Olin

- 3.5 • 2 Ratings

- £4.99

- £4.99

WILL
How many times do I have to say it? Yes, I see the picture. It's a body, obviously. It's a dead body.

ASHELEY
You have to understand, I love my brother. I'm scared of him too, but . . . regardless of what he has or hasn't done, I feel for him, you know.

WILL
I don't care what happens to me, really, I don't. But Asheley . . . she had nothing to do with any of this.

ASHELEY
It's not like it sounds. He had a good heart. He trusted me. And I always did the best I could to help him.

WILL
It's not her fault. None of it. Okay then. The guy in the photo. I killed him . . . but I had to. I had no choice. Why? That's complicated. That'll take a while.

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 2 MAY 2011

Olin (Killing Britney) never quite approaches the lurid level of taboo that the title, tagline ("Just give them a chance to explain"), and cover art suggest, but an escalating crime spree and two unreliable narrators ought to hold readers' attention. Siblings Will and Asheley are both outcasts, although Asheley, with her surfer boyfriend and membership on the softball team, is clearly the better adjusted of the two. Their alcoholic mother's frequent trips to rehab don't help their social status, and it's during one of these stints that they decide to throw a party. When Asheley's boyfriend, Craig, assaults her, Will steps in, with fatal consequences. They cover up their actions and the consequences of that choice, as well as Will's escalating and creepy jealousy over his sister, lead to more danger for the siblings and those around them. Olin adeptly captures two distinct and occasionally contradictory teenage voices, subtly establishing their untrustworthiness, but neither the book's setup (two teens providing hours of minutiae to Mexican police) nor a last-sentence twist serves the story well. Ages 14 up.

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