Sins of the Father

October 23, 2006
Secrets and their devastating effects is the theme of Lynch's (Freewill
) intense novel that hints at sexual abuse by a priest. Narrator Drew, Skitz and Hector attend a Catholic school and have been friends since their first day, but this year, the year of their Confirmation, threatens to unravel the tribe. Skitz may be expelled from Blessed Sacrament, while Hector, ("the most Dudley Do-Right guy there is") acts as if he's guilty of something. Helplessly, Drew watches as Hector consumes excessive amounts of St. Joseph's aspirin. What is troubling his friend? When a young priest, Father Mullarkey, joins Blessed Sacrament, Drew is drawn to Mullarkey's unconventional opinions of religion and surprised by the man's nontraditional taste in music. On the same day that Hector, voted Altar Boy of the Year, misses attending a mass, Drew comes across a very hung-over Father Mullarkey. While talking in Mullarkey's private chambers, (a converted garage bay), Mullarkey makes what Drew feels is a sexual pass. Later that night, when a very drunk and stoned Mullarkey shows up at Drew's house to tell Drew he's been transferred, the boy begins to piece things together regarding Hector's anger. Told in Drew's sensitive voice, the story exposes the darker side of Catholic education, though one might question why Lynch chose such silly names (Mullarkey, Shenanigan, Blarney) for a book on such a serious matter. The book's humor and the depiction of close male adolescent friendship leaven the book's heavier themes. Ages 14-up.

September 1, 2009
Abrahams mothers bequest is a wake-up call to reform his ways, and with typical self-absorption he merges his two families. Michael and Deborah Thomas have always known about their father, who impregnated both their mother, Leah, and his current wife, Saralyn, contemporaneously; but Leah always put Abrahams desires above her own and her childrens needs, even going so far as to continue the affair and bear him a second child once he married, and never demanding their due. Sweet-tempered Deborah is eager to accept her fathers overtures, but manipulative Michael wants only revenge. An equally self-absorbed Saralyn fights tooth and nail to prevent the Thomases from becoming a part of her family, and Isaac, their half-brother and the only one surprised by the news, feels betrayed by the father he worked so hard to please. Bensons newest inspirational family drama raises more issues than it resolves, but the themes will resound with many readers and her portrayal of a newly reformed, albeit occasionally backsliding, sinner is masterful.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)