Review of “Run Away Home: Tempered” by Catherine Manett

Score: 91/100 (9.1 out of 10)

Home isn't always a place, and family isn't always determined by blood.

Run Away Home: Tempered is an ambitious and interesting debut novel by Catherine Manett that explores a very unique family dynamic: that of three former foster kids choosing to live together for their mutual benefit and survival. Even though this is a family dynamic that will be unfamiliar to over 95% of the population, it is compelling and fascinating nonetheless.

Also compelling and fascinating is the tension and drama that this arrangement creates, which naturally makes for good literature!

So, let's get into it...

This book follows three core characters: Peter, Hayley, and Daniel (often just called “Danny”), all three of whom are former foster children.

At age 21, Peter is the oldest and most mature of the three. He takes up a paternal role, adopting Danny and forming a romantic partnership with Hayley, albeit a tenuous one. Peter has two primary vices or weaknesses: his apparent alcoholism or drinking problem (which plays a part later on) and his drive to sacrifice and take care of everyone—often allowing them to take advantage of him.

We're not sure what his astrological sign is, but Peter sounds like a typical Pisces—soft, sensitive, loving, compassionate, and caring. His drinking problem might even be an allusion to that. Keep in mind, Hayley (and presumably the author) is big on astrology, so it's not entirely unreasonable to assume that he might be the Piscean in this scenario.

Hayley is a 20-year-old drug addict (particularly hooked on Oxycodone pills) who has grown tired and weary of her living situation with Peter and Danny. Hayley and Peter have an abysmal, barely-existent sex life due to various factors including Peter overworking himself, Danny's presence, and general tension. Speaking of Danny, Hayley profoundly resents having a third-wheel in the home and having to be a surrogate mother to him. She views Danny as a ball and chain around her ankle and as a barrier to Peter and Hayley being alone to enjoy a presumably intimate and romantic life together. She hates having to share Peter's love, attention, and affection with Danny. This seems to spring from a history of trust and attachment issues.

Now this is going to sound a little bad considering that Hayley is arguably the villain (or one of the villains) of this book, but she is probably the most interesting and—dare we say—relatable in the book. Yes, part of us should probably hate her because she's ultimately an ungrateful, conniving, scheming, somewhat-evil, somewhat-homicidal b**ch, but she has some good reasons and motivations for feeling and being this way. We also have to admit that Hayley was simply the most compelling character and the one who was the most interesting to read about. She is such a hot mess! Her rationale and reasoning is heavily tainted by drugs and trauma. This girl must have a legion of demons circling her and running through her mind and body at all times!

It's tragic and sad.

Then there's Danny, the deuteragonist or tritagonist of this book (depending on how you look at things). Danny is a 13-year-old foster child who is fortuitously adopted by Peter, who happens to be his former foster brother. Now, Danny is a character whom we have mixed opinions about. On one hand, his life and story are incredibly sad. His situation is also quite tragic, just short of being a homeless, unloved bum. Danny is, in a matter of speaking, lost and confused. Danny doesn't know who any of his birth parents were and he doesn't even know what race or ethnicity he is. Similar to the experiences of many foster children we've met, he feels unloved, forgotten, and unwanted.

However, the fact of the matter is, he is wanted. Peter constantly sticks his neck out and puts his life/livelihood on the line for this kid. And that's perhaps the most frustrating thing about Danny. Similar to Hayley, Danny comes across as incredibly ungrateful and even malicious at times. He slams doors, screams, yells, throws tantrums, and gets annoyed by the slightest of things. He almost reminds us of a stereotypical child actor—frankly, pretty annoying. Danny does have one relatable trait that we can get behind (and becomes significant toward the end of the book): he's competitive. Despite his struggles, Danny strives to do good in school, not just to make his de facto dad proud, but to achieve something great. He seems to develop a friendly rivalry with Matt that is quite amusing.

Now, there are two other major characters that we should mention: Kara and Tristian.

Kara serves as a kind of foil to Hayley with her genuine, non-abusive, non-exploitative love for Peter.

Tristian is, effectively, the main villain or antagonist of this book. Tristian is Hayley's ex-lover and the one who presumably got her addicted to drugs. He is also the one who comes up with the dastardly, maniacally-evil scheme that brings us to the book's epic climax.

Now, the premise of this book and the last act are truly incredible! The writing and execution of the rest of this book... maybe not so much. This book drags and has serious pacing issues for the first three-fourths of it.

One of the most ambitious things about this book—and one of its biggest issues—is that the author decided to combine the first-person perspective with ever-changing perspectives. This is one of those books in which we get everyone's perspective for some reason, even Tristian's!

So, the book keeps flipping from one person's point of view to another person's point of view, sometimes even on the same page. This sounds fun, fine, and great in theory, but it makes the narrative seem choppy and clunky.

We also feel that there's a lot of unnecessary filler in this book. There are scenes where some chickens in a chicken coop get disturbed, some things go on with Applebees, and the characters try to kill a spider. Were these scenes/mentions really necessary for the plot to happen? We don't think so.

If anything, they filled space and interrupted pacing.

Now, this book has some other bright spots. For example, we get beautiful lines like:

“She's a drug all on her own, I'll keep chasing her high as long as I live...She's the noise that creates the silence, the ringing in my ears, the something that creates nothing... Nothing but her. She fills that void.”

We also get an interesting use of a motif in the form of the song and phrase “Que Sera Sera” (“whatever will be, will be”). This is kinda how certain characters view their lives, which is rather pessimistic—essentially surrendering to the fact that if they're meant to suffer, they will suffer.

There's great promise in the rest of the series!

Check it out on Amazon!