DWJ's parents were truly awful - everything short of physical and sexual abuse: neglect to an extent that the kids were sent to school with serious untreated illnesses, mental games, verbal abuse, etc. etc. She seems to have become a reasonable parent herself, however. I'm not at all surprised that most of her aprents are at best clueless and worst toxic. Among her books, Archer's Goon has the best parents, I think: fallible but more or less (and I actually think the mother, Catriona, is one of the better realistic moms in children's fantasy).
The Time of the Ghost is a good read, BTW - spooky, poignant, and at times screamingly funny. But I think the troubling family situation puts a lot of reviewers off.
I also enjoyed Conrad's Luck, and found Pinhoe's Egg somewhat weak.
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DWJ's parents were truly awful - everything short of physical and sexual abuse: neglect to an extent that the kids were sent to school with serious untreated illnesses, mental games, verbal abuse, etc. etc. She seems to have become a reasonable parent herself, however. I'm not at all surprised that most of her aprents are at best clueless and worst toxic. Among her books, Archer's Goon has the best parents, I think: fallible but more or less (and I actually think the mother, Catriona, is one of the better realistic moms in children's fantasy).
The Time of the Ghost is a good read, BTW - spooky, poignant, and at times screamingly funny. But I think the troubling family situation puts a lot of reviewers off.
I also enjoyed Conrad's Luck, and found Pinhoe's Egg somewhat weak.