Reviewed by Grandma Bev for TeensReadToo.com
Martha is bullied at school because of her clothes and introverted personality, but Scott is also new at this school, and feels sorry for Martha. Soon he, too, is being bullied by the other kids.
In ABOMINATION, the bad guys are a religious extremist group that encourages child abuse, dictates what its parishioners wear, and regulates how they behave. It is a condemning look at a religious faction in which the families do not have television, computers, or cell phones.
Twelve-year-old Martha is not allowed to have friends, and can never invite anyone to their house...they might learn of the actual Abomination that lives in the basement.
Her older sister, Mary, was expelled from the family at age 16 for bad behavior, and now sends an occasional post card to Martha, which is promptly torn up by their father, and then retrieved and saved by Martha. Though Martha is required to feed and care for the Abomination, the identity of this creature is not revealed until near the end of the book.
When Martha realizes what has actually happened with her sister, she and Scott decide to try to contact her, and the suspense kicks into high gear as the kids defy Martha's parents to right a terrible wrong.
Swindells has crafted a compelling novel that will keep you reading to the very last page.
Martha is bullied at school because of her clothes and introverted personality, but Scott is also new at this school, and feels sorry for Martha. Soon he, too, is being bullied by the other kids.
In ABOMINATION, the bad guys are a religious extremist group that encourages child abuse, dictates what its parishioners wear, and regulates how they behave. It is a condemning look at a religious faction in which the families do not have television, computers, or cell phones.
Twelve-year-old Martha is not allowed to have friends, and can never invite anyone to their house...they might learn of the actual Abomination that lives in the basement.
Her older sister, Mary, was expelled from the family at age 16 for bad behavior, and now sends an occasional post card to Martha, which is promptly torn up by their father, and then retrieved and saved by Martha. Though Martha is required to feed and care for the Abomination, the identity of this creature is not revealed until near the end of the book.
When Martha realizes what has actually happened with her sister, she and Scott decide to try to contact her, and the suspense kicks into high gear as the kids defy Martha's parents to right a terrible wrong.
Swindells has crafted a compelling novel that will keep you reading to the very last page.
