Jones cuts deep. The characters come off the page in 3D -- fully developed, heart-achingly real, and people you want to gather up and protect, in the case of Eli and Abi. The book pulls no punches. It hurts to read; there are loose ends and broken hearts woven throughout. These aren't caricatures; their stories are stories that play out every day in real life and break countless real people.

It's also very well-written. Sharp-witted and playful even through the heaviest subject matter, Jones is a book that will stick with me for awhile.

I love Neil Smith's writing, both Bang Crunch and Boo are huge favourites. Jones was such a beautiful story, it is going to stay with me for some time. The relationship between the Abi and Eli, brother and sister is by turns hilarious and heart breaking. Somehow Smith even manages to make you feel some kind of empathy for their Mother even though her decisions are indefensible. It is a hard book to talk about without spoilers, it is so rich.