The Law of Entanglement
Laurinda Lawrence
Publication Date:
17 Sep. 2020
Format:
Paperback / softback
ISBN 9780648082026
Seventeen-year-old amateur photographer, Blue-Wren, wants to belong, but no one wants to know you when your mum's a compulsive hoarder. Her uncle, the town undertaker, is just another nail in the coffin of rejection.
A chance encounter with popular Jacob, the boy who ignores her existence, could change all that"¦
Jacob, Tatum's rising athletic star, wants his little brother back. The empty wheelchair in the corner is a constant reminder he's gone. Jacob isn't interested in the small town's smothering pity, or his controlling father's overbearing expectations. He wants out. But first, he must save Pluto, his brother's beloved rescue-dog; a symbol of the "ghost' in their lives--a ghost his dad is determined to forget.
If saving Pluto means friendship with the social-reject, so be it. Only no-one can ever find out. What Jacob doesn't know is that Blue-Wren has secrets too. Big secrets.
Secrets become lies, become more lies. As they discover more about each other their connection deepens. Both of them secretly long for what no one will ever accept.
Suspicions are aroused. Bullies rise up. The town is against her.
Then there's that unforgivable thing she did. That thing she can't undo. That thing Jacob will hate her for...
Will the unravelling of truth tear them apart?
The Law of Entanglement is a captivating and beautiful coming-of-age love story that will take you on a hopeful journey of discovery.
Information
Book Type: Senior HighAge Group: 16 years +
Traffic Lights: Amber/Red
Class Novel: Yes
Good Reads Rating: 5/5
Literary Rating: 5/5
Review
It seems like most of the people who live in Tatum think Blue-Wren is weird. She's rarely seen without a camera in her hands and her dead brother's ugly red cap on her head. They'd like nothing better than to drive her and her mother out of town, their outrage fuelled by the "terrible eyesore' that is their home--her mum's hoarding has been completely out of control since the tragedy.
Blue was eight-years-old before she realized they lived differently than other people. Her dad left that year as well. Blue-Wren was apparently his favourite, but there's no doubt they were better off without him--her parents' relationship was toxic and violent.
The only space Blue has to herself is a little shed out the back where she has set up her photography lab. It's an escape from her mum who likes Blue to be at her beck and call, and has no problem throwing things at her if she doesn't instantly do what she's told. She fires demands from the ratty old recliner chair she's been sleeping in for the past 1117 days--the same number of days that have passed since Tom died--as she watches TV, surrounded by the detritus of her life.
Blue-Wren's Uncle Graham runs Hillgrove Family Funeral Parlour. She tells her mum she wants to go and help him as there is a funeral on, but really she is sneaking out to see her best friend Jeremiah. His brother (her classmate Jacob) has been home for the holidays so they haven't been able to see each other for weeks.
Jacob is the trophy son, the standout, while Jeremiah with his broken body and his brilliant mind is left to sit in his wheelchair. Their dad controls everything, but especially Jacob. He's determined nothing will stand in the way of his becoming a champion runner.
As Blue rides past their home, she sees that Jeremiah isn't sitting in a wheelchair on his front verandah, and his Hogwarts' flag isn't flying from his window to signal that it is safe for her to visit him.
Soon after, she arrives at the funeral home, and is shocked to see Jeremiah's face on the order of service her uncle asks her to pass out. All she can do is shrink into the background like she always does and try not to show her pain--no-one knows they were friends, not his father, who is the local police sergeant, or Jacob who has been in her class for the last two years yet never spoken a word to her.
When Blue-Wren's old teacher hands Jeremiah's journal to his father, expressing Jeremiah's wish that he would read it, Sergeant Mason wants nothing to do with it. Jacob takes it and places it in the coffin, gently tucking it beside him and draping his flag over the top. Blue can't stand the thought that they can't even be bothered to read the words Jeremiah clearly wanted to say and in a moment of madness, steals it from the coffin"¦
Just a couple of short weeks later, Jacob finds his father stripping his brother's bedroom of everything, caring little for Jacob's feelings. To make matter's worse, he intends to give Pluto, Jeremiah's much-loved dog who Jacob had promised to take care of, to the pound. There's no room for sentimentality in Sergeant Mason's world.
Jacob has no idea that Blue even knew Jeremiah, but he knows she loves animals. He's so desperate to keep Pluto that he's willing to pretend to become her friend if it means she will secretly look after Pluto for him.
When their English teacher pairs them up to work together on an assignment, Jacob and Blue are thrown even more into each other's company. A friendship develops between them, but Jacob still ignores her in public and his friends still treat her like rubbish, especially his best mate Tyler who seems to go out of his way to make her life a misery.
Friendship turns to strong attraction, and the antagonism of his school friends--and the town--towards Blue-Wren and her mother will force Jacob to choose what kind of person he is going to be. But as another tragedy changes Blue-Wren's life forever, the secrets that have been kept so carefully begin to unravel ...
Favourite quote: At some point Blue-Wren stopped being the Blue-Wren I thought she was and became the Blue-Wren she really is.
Themes
friendship, grief, loss, hoarding, mental illness, bullying, the power of hope, lies, photography, love, suicide, choices
Content Notes
1. Language: pissed (aka angry) x 18, shit x 62, f**k x 25, bloody x 3, bastard x 3, bitch x 1, dick-brain x 2. 2. Mild desire and attraction leads to sexual tension between Blue-Wren and Jacob. There's some hot kissing (chapter 23), tongue kissing (p244) etc. but when things start getting more serious and they start removing their outer clothing, Blue-Wren realises she's not really ready to take that step, and is only really doing it because she desperately wants to be wanted. As soon as she says no, Jacob stops (chapter 31). 3. Blue-Wren told Jacob her brother was killed in Afghanistan, but the truth is he took his own life. She found his body on her 13th birthday. The lie was more so that she could pretend to herself that was what really happened. 4. Tyler is actually Blue-Wren's secret half brother. It's his pain at finding out the dad he loves is not actually his biological dad, that has caused him to continuously lash out at her in misplaced blame. He later tells her the truth and their relationship changes. 5. Blue-Wren's mother is killed when their house catches on fire due to a faulty heater. The piles of rubbish stopped them getting to her in time.
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