Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com

Drew, Skitz, and Hector are a tribe. They've known each other since they were little kids, and you can almost always find them together. As a tribe, they watch each other's backs. When one takes a fall, they usually all do, because that's just the way a tribe works. They get in trouble together, quite a bit, at the Catholic school they attend. They can make up their own trouble, too, especially when Skitz and sometimes Hector accompany Drew on his newspaper route.

There's another tribe involved in SINS OF THE FATHER, though, and they're made up of Fathers Blarney, Mullarkey, and Shenanigan. Sometimes they're iron-fisted, sometimes they're full of baloney, sometimes they're just regular priests doing the best they can to keep three boys under control.

But Drew is worried when his tribe starts getting out of hand. The normally calm and cool Hector is acting strange, and when Drew suggests a possible reason for the personality change (involving one of the Fathers of the Church), Hector goes a little crazy. Skitz, too, who can never shut up, especially at the most inappropriate times, is talking even more than usual.

What follows are events that will put the boys' friendship to the test.

Although SINS OF THE FATHERS can be interpreted both literally and figuratively, this is a story that, ultimately, focuses on the three boys and their loyalty to one another. Being a tribe means watching each other's backs, yes, but it also means a whole lot more. For Drew, Skitz, and Hector, life may never be exactly the same, but there's truth in the fact that friendship can get you through anything. ( )

There's much to like about this YA book--quirky characters, fun dialogue, compelling relationships. And yet, the timing is distractingly elusive--Drew watches for the Hancock Tower windows to fall out (the big story upon the building's completion in 1973) while the Bruins are losing to the Mighty Ducks (a team that formed in 1993). Drew refers to the vinyl record as if it were a relic...meanwhile the atmosphere of the book shouts out Baby Boomer Childhood, as if it were a half-hearted attempt to bring the author's recollections of childhood in Boston into the present so kids will read it.

I so wanted to like these tough Boston Catholic boys, but, who were they? I kept checking back to see if maybe I'd gotten the ages wrong. Their dialogue is too smooth, their jokes are too clever, and they just aren't gawky enough. As 16-year-olds, maybe. But 13? Not even in the movies.

The crux of the book is the "tribe" of three sticking together through the changes in Drew and his friends. The sticking together part is clearly defined. The "tribe" part...well, never having been a 13-year-old tough Boston Catholic boy I'll give the author the benefit of the doubt on that one. But the rest is so subtle it risks being lost on the intended audience. Hector goes from being a model Catholic who beats up fellow "tribe" member Skitz for no apparent reason, to being a quieter Catholic who prays longer after confession and beats up a water rat. Meanwhile, Skitz's experimentation with glue-sniffing is illustrated by one scene in which he acts goofier than his usual goofy self.

Lynch has got some great stuff going on, though. I'd try another by him just for the fact that he can find a dozen clever ways of having boys tell each other "shuddup." ( )

Three 13-year-old friends struggle with the revelation that one of them, an altar boy, is being abused by a priest. ( )