Bartholomew Fletcher – always called Bart if he had anything to do with it – broke his left leg playing touch football. That is, Jack Chandra, who was supposed to be Bart’s best friend, broke it for him. Bart knew the collision, and the way Jack had stuck his foot out, was quite deliberate.
Bart and Jack have been best mates for ages, so when Jack goes away unexpectedly, Bart misses him. He doesn’t expect that Jack will come back angry – angry enough to deliberately break his leg. With his leg in plaster and his friend unwilling to talk, Bart has time to ponder the situation, but little idea ho to resolve it.
Bart’s new girlfriend, Kylie, tries to help Bart sort out the problem but Jack doesn’t want to know about it. When Jack’s girlfriend is killed in an accident he seems out of control and the friendship seems unfixable. But Bart isn’t willing to turn his back on the friendship and as he tries to solve his own problems he doesn’t lose hope of helping Jack, too.
Blood Brothers is an absorbing young adult novel. Author Peter Corris is multi-published as a writer of adult fiction and nonfiction, but this is his first foray into writing for a younger readership. At times his narrative seems a little adult – with changes of perspective even within scenes making it even more adult-sounding. Yet in spite of this, the story deals with both an intriguing mystery and some issues which teens will relate to, including issues of parentage, teen relationships and search for identity.
Blood Brothers, by Peter Corris
Lothian, 2007
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