There are things that can be grouped as ‘unnecessary’ in this world, and The Story of Tom Brennan by J.C. Burke definitely falls into that category. Despite the fact that this book is targeted at teenagers, not all of them seem to enjoy reading the book. This is because first of all, many of them could not relate to any of the characters and secondly, Burke over-dragged a number of scenes. These made the novel ineffective and surely did not help the readers to enjoy reading. Tom Brennan is a 17 year-old rugby player and is a member of a family that was once respected in the town of Mumbili. But one night, drunk Daniel, ‘an accident waiting to happen’ (Page 34), kills two people and paralyses his cousin, Fin. The accident changes everything for the Brennan’s. For Tom to become an object of hatred and the fact that it was all caused by his brother, Daniel, whom he obeyed and followed like an idol, is tough for him to deal with. What makes it even worse is, his mum is still stuck in her own agony and is of no help.
The concept itself is actually appealing. Yet Burke downgrades her novel by not making Tom to be relatable to the readers. As Tom is the protagonist in this novel, it is very important that the readers relate and sympathise to the protagonist. Burke needs to understand that not all teenagers live in the country,
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‘I caught a glimpse of Mum’s hair spread out on a pillow. The rest of her was a lump under the sheet… She didn’t answer.’ (Page 16) She hardly ever gets out of her bed and does not even talk to any of the family members. Tom, a young individual, has to find his own way without any help from his mum. Tess do not try to develop herself – all she does is lie on the bed. Like Aunty Kath argues, ‘At least that’d be doing something, it’s not too late for that’ (Page 155) She does not improve any situations and I can 100% guarantee that teenagers hate those characters who over-drags the scenes, like