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A review by secre
Next of Kin by Kia Abdullah
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Ugh. I was all set to give this a full five star rating. And yet by the last page, I’m at a two star rating. What is it with authors and the stupid, ‘sensational’ twists? This was a stunning book for the vast majority, delving into the tragic consequences of a forgotten baby in a hot car. It’s a rare but well known phenomenon and claims the lives of 38 children a year on average in the USA. It’s even more rare in the UK as our weather is more changeable, and we have far fewer really hot days. But it happens. And if this novel had just stuck to the damn brief, it would have been powerful and thought provoking. Instead I’m just annoyed.
I really, really hate it when authors take a solid premise and stick in a wildly unlikely twist to jazz up the conclusion. And that’s what happened here. Strangely enough, I had my suspicions fairly early on that all wasn’t as it seemed. There were elements that didn’t quite sit right. But I ignored my suspicions and figured it was just the author’s style. Well, it was the author’s style, I guess. Just the style in question is ludicrous twists.
Maybe two stars is harsh, but I’m rarely quite so peeved on finishing a novel. And I think it’s the wasted damn potential that gets me. You’ve taken a serious, tragic and catastrophic series of events - forgotten baby syndrome - and deliberately made it tawdry, tacky and sordid. With 33 families in 2022 left shell shocked and grieving because that one moment of inattention leading to the death of their child, Abdullah has taken their story and made it less. In the face how much judgement and anguish is experienced, the guilt and shame of forgetting your own child and causing their death, it doesn’t seem like too much to ask for the topic to be dealt with sensitively. And for 80% of this, that would seem to be the case. But it’s thrown away and discarded in the final chapters. Left to the side for the sake of the sensationalist twist.
So yeah, maybe the two stars is harsh. But I can’t justify going any higher considering my gut wrenching disgust at how this was handled by the end. It would have been better finishing abruptly at the 80% mark instead of this … charade of tragedy.
I really, really hate it when authors take a solid premise and stick in a wildly unlikely twist to jazz up the conclusion. And that’s what happened here. Strangely enough, I had my suspicions fairly early on that all wasn’t as it seemed. There were elements that didn’t quite sit right. But I ignored my suspicions and figured it was just the author’s style. Well, it was the author’s style, I guess. Just the style in question is ludicrous twists.
Maybe two stars is harsh, but I’m rarely quite so peeved on finishing a novel. And I think it’s the wasted damn potential that gets me. You’ve taken a serious, tragic and catastrophic series of events - forgotten baby syndrome - and deliberately made it tawdry, tacky and sordid. With 33 families in 2022 left shell shocked and grieving because that one moment of inattention leading to the death of their child, Abdullah has taken their story and made it less. In the face how much judgement and anguish is experienced, the guilt and shame of forgetting your own child and causing their death, it doesn’t seem like too much to ask for the topic to be dealt with sensitively. And for 80% of this, that would seem to be the case. But it’s thrown away and discarded in the final chapters. Left to the side for the sake of the sensationalist twist.
So yeah, maybe the two stars is harsh. But I can’t justify going any higher considering my gut wrenching disgust at how this was handled by the end. It would have been better finishing abruptly at the 80% mark instead of this … charade of tragedy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Chronic illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Suicide