VBT# Nine Lives - Erin Lee

Review: Nine Lives - Erin Lee - February 2016 

When I was younger in my mid -late teens I loved reading books about bad situations made good in families , like books from Torey Hayden and ones that could be found in the 920.9362 section of the library. One of the new authors I have recently discovered Erin Lee has written a couple of fictional books based on similar experiences.  In these type of books we normally see actual abuse cases happening where the children are removed because of parental neglect and danger, but we don't really see the cases of where the children have lied and the consequences that follow.  From personal experience, I have seen some of what can happen when a child or parent lies to CYFs or the police and the consequences that it has on the family members or those out elsewhere - all because of one little lie that grew . In Nine Lives, we meet a family where they don't believe in birth control and are quite strict towards their children - they have had nine children. The story revolves around mainly the middle three children Sadie, Laina and Faith - they felt their parents were far too strict and figured with their dad out of the picture they could be rewarded with the freedom that their friends all had. So they concocted a plan together to report their dad for sexual abuse , their plan worked and a bit too good as well as their dad ended up in prison for a long sentence and was labelled a sexual abuser.  He was a dad who was into church and had never touched his children inappropiately but because of a few white lies that grew , he ended up in prison and is family fell apart - torn by what was lies and what was the truth and how their actions caused consequences for not just the three of them and their dad but for all nine members of their family.  Nine Lives by Erin Lee was an eye-opener for those who aren't aware of the other side of the system , but for readers like myself who have seen this first-hand - it was a reminder that situations like this can occur. This is the second book I have read by Erin Lee and I am looking forward to reading more of her fictionalised truths if she continues in this area of work.