Over the years I have read a lot of books by Robert Swindells, and have often found them somewhat disturbing. This book just shouts out that it could be disturbing, and so it has been on my TBR shelf for some years just waiting for me to get around to it, and I have been avoiding it.

Which is a pity, as it turns out, because it really was very good!

Martha is the daughter of religious parents from an ultra strict Christian or Christian like sect. She dresses plainly, and lives a life without modern distractions like computers or TV (the book was written before smartphones, so they don't figure either). She is, nevertheless, in a state middle school, where she is bullied because she is different.

And then along comes Scott, a new boy in the school, whose engaging, winning, and wonderfully plausible character shines through the pages of this work. We spend half of our time in Scott's head, and half of the time in Martha's, and both characters are well drawn, but it is Scott who brings a touch of humour, and a good dose of normality to a book about something very strange indeed... because Martha's family has a secret. A secret called Abomination.

To avoid spoilers I won't say any more, but this book is well written, and despite the religious nature of some characters, it does not descend into any silly attacks on religion but rather looks at the choices some very flawed people might make, and the repercussions of these. ( )

I Finished this book because I'm on the lookout for a book To read with my students and this seemed like a good choice. It has very good characters, an interesting story, though the ending left me a bit frustrated. It is very realistic and you cannot expect non-adult characters to make adult choices, but it still left me wanting things to be different for them. ( )

Reviewed by Grandma Bev for TeensReadToo.com

Martha is bullied at school because of her clothes and introverted personality, but Scott is also new at this school, and feels sorry for Martha. Soon he, too, is being bullied by the other kids.

In ABOMINATION, the bad guys are a religious extremist group that encourages child abuse, dictates what its parishioners wear, and regulates how they behave. It is a condemning look at a religious faction in which the families do not have television, computers, or cell phones.

Twelve-year-old Martha is not allowed to have friends, and can never invite anyone to their house...they might learn of the actual Abomination that lives in the basement.

Her older sister, Mary, was expelled from the family at age 16 for bad behavior, and now sends an occasional post card to Martha, which is promptly torn up by their father, and then retrieved and saved by Martha. Though Martha is required to feed and care for the Abomination, the identity of this creature is not revealed until near the end of the book.

When Martha realizes what has actually happened with her sister, she and Scott decide to try to contact her, and the suspense kicks into high gear as the kids defy Martha's parents to right a terrible wrong.

Swindells has crafted a compelling novel that will keep you reading to the very last page. ( )

Yr 9 - Yr 10.
Martha is different. She longs to have friends and to be accepted by her class-mates. But her parents belong to a strict religious group. They have rules that mean no computers, no TV, no trendy clothes … and no friends. Martha also has a secret. Its name is Abomination and it must never be discovered. But when Scott makes friends with Martha, she has a choice to make. Should she tell him about her terrible secret? ( )

Very interesting story. Shows the danger posed by the over zealous religious fanatics on the defenceless and innocent. ( )