The Radleys Review

Title: The Radleys

Author: Matt Haig

Release Date: 5^th July 2010

Publisher: Walker Books

Meet the Radleys: An entire family in identity crisis

Rowan: Never sleeps: wears factor 60 sunblock. It’s a fact: Rowan Radley is a freak.

Clara: Wants to turn vegan, but the lack of meat is making her sick. So is her family.

Dad: Midlife GP with a permanent headache. He’s thirsty: So thirsty.

Mum: Papers over the cracks in family suburbia. She wouldn’t lie to her kids… would she?

Enter Uncle Will – Cool, exciting, deadly, the prodigal uncle returns, trailing secrets in his wake.

And BLOOD. Quite a lot of sweet, sweet BLOOD.

The Radleys is a book about family life. The only difference is, the Radleys are a family of vampires and two quarters of the family doesn’t even know! Rowan and Clara’s parents, Helen and Peter, thought that keeping the family secret from them would be the best thing to do. They abstain from drinking blood and attempt a normal life, holding down normal jobs and having the neighbours round for tea (to share a meal, NOT as the meal). However, when Clara, a strict believer in animal rights, decides she is becoming a vegan, she doesn’t realise just how ill this will make her. A bad night out leads to more than she bargained for and the Radleys’ world is turned upside down. With the arrival of Uncle Will, Peter’s brother, come to assist in cleaning up the mess, things go from bad to worse. Can Rowan accept who and what he is? Can Clara get out of trouble? And what exactly has gone on between Helen and Will? How can things ever be made right?

This book is brilliant and will make you laugh out loud! A black comedy throughout, the story gives us insights into the difficulties the vampires face as well as the traumas the people around them have to suffer. Dealing with the general issues all teenagers face, such as trying to find love and parental worries, the book approaches teenage life in an innovative way while making you laugh constantly. But beware, this novel is not for the faint hearted (!) and involves blood drinking, blackmail and murder by the bucket.

All the characters are really complex and well developed, although my favourite is Rowan, possibly because he is the more sensitive one of the bunch and also gets the happy ending he really deserves. Uncle Will is also a brilliant character and closer to the blood sucking fiend of our nightmares than any of the others, he too gets an ending he deserves!  

Another one of those novels that I cannot recommend enough! Will challenge your ideas of what it means to be a vampire and also what it means to be human, as the characters are pushed to their limits by their instincts and the violent passions of others.

5/5 A brilliant black comedy- a must read!