Bomber Jackets by Rob Santana; An Insightful, Witty, and Sincere Queer Romance in 1970’s New York

 Bomber Jackets by Rob Santana; An Insightful, Witty, and Sincere Queer Romance in 1970’s New York 

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: I suppose that it's fitting that I would review Rob Santana’s latest novel during Pride Month. As many long time Readers of this blog know that Rob Santana is a long time favorite of mine because Readers don't know what to expect when reading his novels except that it will be unexpected. What you read at the beginning of the book is not the same book when the final page is read.

 The Oscar Goes To deals with the glamor and gossip of Hollywood and becomes a tragic story about the mental breakdown of an abused starlet who commits suicide live on air. Little Blue Eyes starts as a heartwarming family drama about a single woman finding an abandoned baby and transforms into a heady custody battle and savage indictment of racism, class struggles, and addiction. Freeze Frame evolves from a quirky romance between two eccentric characters into an emotional crime drama as a murder is accidentally captured on film and various characters are destroyed by it. Not to mention the short works in which Jane Austen and Adolf Hitler are written in different ways.

Santana's latest and very timely book, Bomber Jackets also creates various tones into one text. It starts out as a desolate Crime Mystery as Patrick Madden, a landlord/building super, is interrogated by a police officer about a murder in which he was either a witness or a participant with his fellow gang members cousin Junior and friends, Frank Rapallo and Bambi. It then turns into a witty Queer Romance between Patrick and Erica Velez, a saucy and delightful transvestite tenant. Finally, it becomes an insightful and sincere Bildungsroman as Patrick finds his life irrevocably changed by the tug of war between his gang and his love interest, his loyalties between who he was to who he could be.

The darker aspects of the book’s Crime Mystery beginning are augmented by its setting and tone. It's probably no coincidence that Santana chose this particular time and place. As many know, New York City was in a severe economic crisis in the 1970’s. Well the whole country was but NYC’s situation was so bad that it faced near bankruptcy in 1975. This led to the infamous New York Times headline “Ford to City: Drop Dead” when the President refused to bail out the city though he later relented. There was massive unemployment, cuts in municipal services, declines in the subway system, and the so-called “white flight” when middle class families fled to the suburbs creating a larger racial and class divide. A city wide blackout in 1977, increased crime in places like the South Bronx, Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn, and Times Square, and the Son of Sam killing spree only increased the anxiety and uncertainty. 

On the positive side there was an explosive rise in arts and culture much of which is still recognized today. Graffiti art and hip hop were created specifically because of this economic crisis. (Hip hop actually benefited from it by performers hosting street parties and using used technology, second hand clothing, scratched records, and inexpensive items to create the sound and aesthetic). Disco offered escapist entertainment as many danced their troubles away, did drugs, and traded partners. Along with disco was a rise in Queer culture as many LGBT+ people came out and wrote, sang, performed, painted, and possibly for the first time felt free to live their truths.

The New Hollywood filmmakers like Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Walter Hill, and Sidney Lumet, and television shows like All In the Family, Kojak, Taxi, Rhoda, and Barney Miller addressed the times head on. Authors, poets, and musicians like Lawrence Block, Judy Blume, Peter Maas, Don DeLillo, Donald Westlake, Alice Childless, Frank O'Hara, Audre Lorde, Patti Smith, Lou Reed, John Kander, and Billy Joel captured that gritty time with their words and music. This is the milieu in which Patrick lives.

Patrick lives in a dilapidated apartment building with his stepmother, Yanna as his mother drifts from parental responsibilities and his father is in a coma. He collects rent and makes repairs or contacts other people to make those repairs. He has to face many complaining and threatening financially struggling tenants who need roofs over their heads but aren't looking forward to paying for them. Outside is pure kill or be killed Social Darwinism. If one doesn't get mugged, held up, raped, shot, or stabbed, there is always the fear that they will run into Son of Sam lurking in the shadows waiting for another victim. It's a desperate, bitter, and anxious existence.

Patrick is part of a mini-gang called the Bomber Jackets with Rapallo, Junior, and Bambi. His pals are also on the lower rungs of the economic ladder and work in dead end jobs, have unhappy marriages, and boast of criminal reputations. They endlessly mock each other with sarcastic quips and playful threats towards one another and those outside their circle. It's a means to vent out their frustrations, cover up their emotions, face their own insecurities by needling others for their weaknesses. Their antics start out mostly harmless but with a sardonic sharp edge that hints at darker intentions.

Those edges become larger and the intentions become more pronounced when a minority moves in and around Patrick's apartment, LGBT+ people. A presumed gay couple moves into the neighborhood. When Erica moves into Patrick's apartment, they are uncertain whether a man or a woman has moved in. (To answer the question, Erica identifies as female but sometimes wears her previous men’s clothing to avoid being harassed or when meeting her estranged family.) 

As often happens (and we can certainly see now), when people are struggling, they will take their frustrations out on someone different, an other. So Patrick’s gang attacks the LGBT+ around them. They catcall them, insult them, stalk them, and play childish but harmful pranks like throwing bugs and roaches into their apartments. Those interactions become more volatile as the book goes on, particularly as Rapallo becomes more violent and unpredictable. 

With the dark setting comes the Queer Romance between Patrick and Erica. Once Patrick gets over his confusion about Erica's gender identity, he becomes a close friend, which he admits to the police officers interrogating him. While Patrick questioned his friend's attacks on the LGBT+ community, he mostly remains neutral and inactive. He thinks that Rapallo and the others are idiots, but can't quite break away from them partly out of fear of what they will do, confusion about his own identity and sexuality, and misplaced loyalty to people he knew for most of his life. 

It takes Erica to make Patrick look at himself and take some action. Erica is flashy, charming, flirtatious, witty, saucy, independent, and fearless, someone who draws Patrick in with her vitality and effervescence. Her clothing, wigs, and style show us a woman who could be a skilled performer and that life is her stage. She quips at Patrick with lines like “Look at me. This Uptown Girl aims to hit fast ‘cause I'm there to assassinate.”

Erica has flashes of being a Manic Pixy Dream Girl but she also has layers that keeps her from being just a stereotype or a tool that brings out Patrick’s better qualities with no story of her own. Even though she wants to go to Drag Balls, she suffers from insecurity and panic attacks when she's there. She longed to be with people like herself, but once she is, she is intimidated partly because she spent so much time in the closet that it has become her comfort zone. She is more comfortable being outrageous and standing out from people who are seemingly normal than she is with people who are like her. It's a struggle but she is willing to adapt and refocus herself, playing on those hidden character traits as well as her more public persona.

In fact the few times when Erica is in male clothing, and reverts back to her assigned gender identity at birth, Eric, is when she shows the most vulnerability. She is quiet, uncertain, shy, self-conscious, and clearly miserable. As Eric, she hides and stays invisible drifting into the crowd that she would have made them pay attention and look at her as Erica. She reverts to make her family happy and to stay safe but it takes a toll on her. As Patrick bonds with and falls in love with Erica, he sees that her female identity is her real identity and the male identity that she is forced to wear is the disguise. 

As Patrick and Erica grow closer and accept each other, he begins to see his former friend's darker side and is less apathetic towards their actions. He has to make a choice between his old loyalties and new love. In doing so, like Erica he accepts and lives his own truth. 

Freeze Frame by Rob Santana; Santana Captures Quirky Romance Turned Crime Thriller

Freeze Frame by Rob Santana; Santana Captures Quirky Romance Turned Crime Thriller 

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: Rob Santana is an expert at writing the unexpected.

The Oscar Goes To features the titular awards ceremony interrupted by the Best Actress Winner’s on air suicide. Little Blue Eyes turns a potentially heartwarming story about a woman taking in an abandoned baby into a thriller about addiction, racism, and human trafficking. Even real people like Adolf Hitler and Jane Austen are taken to strange unexpected dimensions. When you read one of Santana's books you don't know what will happen. All you do know is that it won't be anything like the book that you thought it was going to be at the beginning.

His latest novel, Freeze Frame, starts out as a quirky romantic comedy drama that builds into a psychological crime thriller and gives you enough time to appreciate the transition.

Future filmmaker, Kim Poynter loves taking videos of the people around him particularly of Nova Muller, the pretty girl from across the street. He's in love with her but since she already has a boyfriend, Zane, he settles into the friend zone, for now. He is preparing to record Nova’s brother's wedding during the time that both he and Nova discover some horrible secrets about their families. The suspicion and tension from these secrets build until the wedding when Kim happens to capture a crime that will change his and Nova's lives forever. 

Freeze Frame is the type of book that has a slow build up before it reaches the climax. If done right, it can be a benefit by letting one get to know the characters and the conflicts. If done wrong, it can be a sluggish detriment as the Reader waits for something exciting to happen. Santana does it right. He allows us to understand his characters, particularly Kim and Nova, and see them as rich vibrant people before their worlds fall apart around them. 

Kim struggles with his own ambitions and expectations from his family. He has an eye for film and is interested in capturing the world around him. It is how he expresses himself by measuring every camera angle, preparing every shot, and making his work into works of cinematic art even if they are weddings, parties, and every day events. They aren't ordinary to him. They allow him to understand the people that he is recording and allow them to recognize his dedication. 

Kim's materialistic parents however are not supportive of his drive. They want to know why he isn't more interested in earning money and making investments. Look at them. They put their money into Lehman Brothers and that is certainly “too big to fail.” Right? (This book is set in the late 2000’s before the financial crisis.) 

Besides his parent's lack of financial foresight, they are also having marital troubles. Kim captures a compromising situation involving his parents and it changes their relationship forever. 

Kim captures videos because for him they symbolize perfection. If he doesn't like something he can edit it or change it. The negative parts can be removed. Unfortunately, that cannot happen after he puts the camera down. He has to deal with real life with all of its complications, messiness, and hypocrisy.

Nova is the opposite of Kim in many ways. Kim uses his camera to create a fanciful perfect world, but Nova uses herself. She acts like the smart attractive girl next door. The Miss Everything who is going places. What everyone thinks that they see is a brilliant beautiful good girl. What they don't see is a troubled young woman with a suspicious nature, a surly attitude, and complicated relationships with those around her.

She doesn't get along with her father who is overprotective of her in ways that could veer towards inappropriate. There is a bond that at times might be loving but can also be suffocating even threatening.

Their relationship gets progressively worse throughout the book until it completely deteriorates in a way that is sad but inevitable.

Nova also doesn't like her future sister in law at all. Her only supporter is her brother and even that will soon change. Her relationship with Zane is crumbling. He can be incredibly possessive and verbally abusive. Nova has some serious emotional issues that need working through and her friendship with Kim gives her the chance to be honest.

The build-up of Kim and Nova's “will they won't they” potential relationship is a quirky romantic comedy drama, the story of two misfits, that are two-thirds of a love triangle and are from dysfunctional families, that find their way to each other. Then it takes a 180 degree turn and this sweet and cute potential romance is not so sweet or cute.

Things occur that cause them to question their relationships with friends, family, and each other. One or more secrets are brought forward and a violent act is committed. This violent act spirals the book into a thriller. Kim records it and has to weigh whether to reveal it to the authorities and how to hide it from nefarious people who want it to stay private. 

The characterization that was present at the beginning gives way more to plot. But since the Reader has gotten to know Kim and Nova, that makes their situation more dire and the conflicts surrounding them more pronounced. They are left with some difficult choices to make and either way could result in more difficulties. They are hard choices but once made are clearly understood because of what we had experienced with the characters beforehand.

Freeze Frame captures a memorable quirky romance turned crime thriller. It is the picture of an excellent read and is among Santana's best.

 

Lit List Short Reviews Imagine, A Kinder Gentler Hitler: An Utter Fantasy by Rob Santana; Druidess: Gates of Eden by Theophilus Monroe

 Lit List Short Reviews Imagine, A Kinder Gentler Hitler: An Utter Fantasy by Rob Santana; Druidess: Gates of Eden by Theophilus Monroe

Imagine, A Kinder Gentler Hitler: An Utter Fantasy by Rob Santana

Spoilers: If you have read books by Rob Santana, you should know to expect the unexpected. An Academy Awards ceremony would be interrupted by the onstage public suicide of the Best Actress winner, like in his book, The Oscar Goes To. (Her ghost is laughing at Will Smith and Chris Rock and  calling them wusses.) An abandoned baby in a dumpster would lead to conflicts involving racism, drug addiction, poverty, and child trafficking, like in Little Blue Eyes. Yes, Santana knows how to make something innocent and disturbing exist side by side.

So it probably wouldn't be too weird for Santana to write an Alternate History or even that it would feature Adolf Hitler. Alternate Histories starring Adolf Hitler are actually quite common, such as if What If The Nazis won WWII, What if Britain and/or The U.S. were led by supporters of the German dictator. Phillip Roth's The Plot Against America, and Phillip K. Dick's The Man in High Castle are good examples of such works.

 One of the more haunting versions is the short story, "Painted Bridges" by Barbara Delaplace in which Hitler remained a painter but still retained his Antisemitism, insanity, and ability to control others, but through his art not his oration. 

So Alternate Hitler is not that unusual especially for an author with a style like Santana's to write. But what this author does to give his work that distinct Santana touch is to turn his version into a picture book!

Yes, you read that right. Santana writes an Alternate History with Adolf Hitler as a nice guy in the form of a picture book. It is strange. It's questionable. It leaves a lot of things open ended. It is completely insane, but the right kind of insane. It's impossible to look away from it. It's something that shouldn't work, but somehow it does.

The illustrations are bright collage style, that border on trippiness. I mean the cover shows Hitler with wings. It looks like something out of Terry Gilliam's animated sequences from Monty Python. It's like playing into someone's fever dream which makes sense since the initial idea does exactly that.

There are some interesting possibilities that are changed because of Hitler's personality shift from brutal Antisemitic dictator and personification of evil to nice guy. For one thing, the post-WWI depression in which Hitler and the Nazi Party used to scapegoat Communists and Jews ends prematurely by the kinder gentler version of Hitler introducing television and the Autobahn early. Hitler has a nice friendly phone chat with Roosevelt which results in them becoming allies and defending each other against their eventual enemies, Russia and Japan.

 In fact the German and American leader's phone conversation is amusing in and of itself. It seems to come out of Dr. Strangelove ("Hi, Adolf, yes I'm fine. You're fine. It's great that we're both fine, Adolf.") 

Tongue is planted firmly in cheek with this alternate scenario and if you get past the weirdness, it's kind of a strange humorous short read. 

This book opens up possibilities about how different the world could be if one slight change were made. However, because this version takes the form of a picture book, it only introduced the original germ or spark of this alternate scenario. Yes, Hitler is a nice guy. His Antisemitism has vanished. The Nazi Party isn't united by his rhetoric and the Holocaust doesn't happen. That's good news, but there are others concerns that this book's short form doesn't allow Santana to bring to surface.

Antisemitism did not begin and end with Hitler. It existed centuries before he was even born. The Protocols of the Elders of Zion (1919) was a deplorable book of conspiracy theories that accused the Jewish people of being a secret cabal with intentions on ruling the world. Many read it and believed it. Henry Ford reportedly kept a copy by his bedside. There's more than a possibility that if Hitler hadn't had that hatred ingrained in him and the power to speak about it, someone else may have. For example, Josef Goebbels, his Minister of Propaganda, knew how to stretch the truth to fit his agenda. 

This book also still portrays Stalin as being a dictator and he had no conscience or qualms about imprisoning or executing enemies. If Hitler hadn't orchestrated the Holocaust, would he? He was certainly responsible for a lot of deaths. Maybe millions more would be on his hands. In fact, since the Nazis also initially targeted Communists as well as Jews, wouldn't making the Russians and Germans sworn enemies but on opposite sides not have changed things very much?

Speaking of Stalin, there are post-World War II questions to ask. Would the Cold War have begun sooner? In fact, if Hitler didn't commit suicide in this timeline would he have lived to see Germany separated? How would Nice Guy Alternate Hitler have handled the Soviet Union in subsequent years? Remember, the Nazis targeted Communists as well as Jews. They would certainly have no reason to ally with them and their scientists would have no reason to flee Nazi Germany and seek asylum in the U.S. If so, how terrifying is the prospect that two European countries fairly close together both have the ability to make nuclear weapons and are sworn enemies? The United States may not have become a superpower unless Germany shared that science but Europe would have a lot deadlier possibilities. 

What about the Middle East? Would Israel still be allied with the United States? Heck, would it even exist as a nation? How would the issues within those countries have changed or been altered?

These are all ideas that the frame of a picture book can't cover by itself. Santana just presents the original idea, but perhaps he could expand upon it in a novel or a series.

This is a strange book with a completely strange concept. But it definitely is humorous and might ask some intriguing questions.

 

Druidess: Gates of Eden by Theophilus Monroe

Spoilers: I must admit while reading the first chapters of Theophilus Monroe's Druidess: Gates of Eden, I had reservations and misgivings. When the first major conflict involves a young white Irish American woman who is descended from a long line of druids against the reincarnation of an African American former slave woman who practices voodoo in what appears to be a battle of good vs. evil, I admit that my first thought was, "Uh oh." I am glad my first impressions weren't warranted and that I stuck with it. Instead, what I found is a well written character driven fantasy in which different forms of cultural magic are practiced and given equal time and respect.

Joni Campbell is awakened by Isabella, the ghost of of a former slave, who needs her to help her fight Messalina, her older sister who in life made a pact with Baron Samedi, a voodoo loa (or spirit) to help her seek vengeance against her former masters and their descendants. This is important to Joni, who is not only the descendant of one of the sisters' former masters, but her mother and father's family lines come from powerful Irish druids. 

Joni barely has time to process this before Messalina arrives packing heat uh magic and puts Joni's mother in the hospital. So Joni, Isabella, and their new friend, Roger Thundershield, a Choctaw whose family has a historical connection with the Campbells, use their diverse tremendous powers to face Messalina and Samedi.

This is a very smart short novel with two memorable lead characters. 

Joni is a refreshing protagonist in the "Magical Girl" Fantasy Subgenre. She doesn't go through the obligatory "I just want to be normal" whine. It helps that her interest in her family history and reading her ancestor's journal means that she already knows who Isabella is after she introduces herself. Not to mention she already has a belief in the supernatural as evidenced by her comfortable ease with communicating with Isabella's ghost and her acceptance of her family's magical legacy. 

Of course, there are some more dramatic shocking things that throw a curve in her feelings towards her ancestors. They shake her and force her to see another darker more sinister side within her family that she has turned a blind eye towards but now must acknowledge.

However, Joni is determined to help others, especially when people around her are getting hurt. Joni recognizes that she is the heir to an important legacy and she owns it. She even aspires to improve upon the grave wrongs that her ancestors did.

On the other side is Messalina. Thankfully, Monroe makes her just as interesting a character as Joni. Sometimes, the Reader's sympathies shift towards her. She is driven by the rage of having been born and raised a slave. She was molested by a former master and even though the Campbells were kind to the sisters, Messalina has already been severely damaged so she couldn't trust them. (After all, how kind can a person be if they still profit from the buying and selling of human beings?)

 She is fueled by even more hatred at the racism she still sees around her in modern day. One can understand her perspective. However, like many good antagonists, she takes her anger a step too far and attacks innocent people. The truth is, all she wanted was freedom. However, in trying to obtain that she became bonded to another master who was more volatile and crueler than any human one.

There are other characters that are interesting as well. Isabella is wise beyond her youthful appearance and is a great guide to help Joni. Roger also follows his own family lineage and remains loyal towards Joni to the point where he staunchly refuses to give her up when he is being tortured. 

There are some very magical creatures that help and hinder these young people. Joni has a few conversations with some of the Celtic gods that offer suggestions and allow her to find things out for himself. Roger has a powerful relative who packs a surprising enchanting punch. Even Baton Samedi, who is shameless in devouring souls and using Messalina in furthering his agenda of getting more souls, has moments of charm and charisma. A passage where Messalina and Samedi are arguing in a hospital makes them seem more like a comedy team than a malicious duo bent on destroying souls and getting revenge.

Another compelling aspect to the book is how the various cultural magics are written. The book speaks of Celtic, Native American, and Haitian American lore. It's fascinating how these  magical practices bump into each other and how they are looked at by those who observe them. It shows that magic can wear many faces and can change through the eyes of the person observing it. For example, while one might assume that Voodoo is seen as an evil practice, this book shows that's not necessarily true. Isabella herself practices some aspects to it and another character shows a talent towards it. It's more of when a character is bent on hatred and destruction, they are going to attract a spirit who may not have their best interest in mind. 

The Celtic magic practiced by Joni may be seen as good in the book, but members of her family have used it for less altruistic reasons. They followed rigid restrictions to the letter without weighing the emotional consequences. Their hands certainly weren't clean when it came to using their rituals and magic for selfish ends either.

This book shows that no matter the form, magic itself is not evil. However, some using it might have more hateful or selfish intentions that could be turned towards evil purposes.

Druidess appears to be part of several different series written by Monroe as a shared universe. It definitely leaves some things open ended and reveals some other new characters that show magical aptitude. Druidess is definitely a great start.

Weekly Reader: Little Blue Eyes by Rob Santana; Little Baby Brings Big Trouble and Tough Decisions

 

Weekly Reader: Little Blue Eyes by Rob Santana; Little Baby Brings Big Trouble and Tough Decisions

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Rob Santana has made a career of writing about people making rash and reckless decisions, usually in moments of desperation. His previous work, The Oscar Goes To and his latest work, Little Blue Eyes feature people that do things like appear in adult films, steal and withhold information, deal and buy drugs, and practically kidnap children. These decisions are often abhorrent and create problems for the characters. But Santana writes these characters with a lot of understanding so that the Reader sees that they were made not from intended malice but by other forces like poverty, addiction, revenge, envy, and simple desperation to improve one's life no matter the circumstances. They act and don't stop to consider the consequences. It's later that the consequences come back to haunt them.

That is the situation faced by Elena Mitchell, protagonist of Little Blue Eyes. Elena has been recently let go from her position at a bank even though a lesser qualified woman was promoted in her place. (The Latina/African-American Elena suspects racism since the blond woman not only cannot do the job but can't speak Spanish very well which is a requirement and in which Elena is fluent.) Worse, her sister Terry is moving in with her soon-to-be-fiance and they are having a baby. Terry rubs further salt on the wound of Elena's life that she is unable to bear children, a painful reminder for her.

 While on a fruitless job search, she hears a cry from behind a dumpster. A small Caucasian baby boy with blue eyes stares at her. Elena picks up the little one and falls into confusion and love. 

After some indecision and contacting the wrong people, Elena decides to raise the baby herself and name him Todd. That is slightly complicated when she arouses suspicion as a biracial woman carrying a white baby in an economically disadvantaged neighborhood of mostly black and Latino residents. (She tells them that she is babysitting.) Of course it isn't too long before the police, a dangerous baby broker and his team, and Todd's less-than-stellar birth parents are on the case and Elena finds herself in a world of trouble.

There are conflicts within the book and unfortunately many of them are caused by Elena's actions. The first thing that Elena does is take Todd to a hospital which is good and makes sense. But the second thing that she does is unexplainable. Instead of contacting any authority figures, adoption agency, or family services, she calls a baby broker, Carlos Ruiz. Not only that but she tells him that the baby is white, a prime catch for baby brokers, since they can sell Caucasian infants to wealthy white families and make a profit. True, Elena changes her mind and grows attached to Baby Todd. The book also makes it clear that she is not a cruel heartless person. She is driven by poverty and possibly mistrust of the police or other official services. She sees no reasonable way out. The worst that she can be thought of is reckless and thoughtless. However, her calling Carlos leads to worse complications that could have been easily resolved if she hadn't called him.

To be fair, Elena may make rash and hasty decisions but once she starts actually caring for Todd, she holds his best interests at heart. She protects him as a lioness would protect her cub, often bringing him along on job interviews, or introducing him to friends and family. She properly feeds, cleans up after, and nurtures the little one and protects him from danger. (Granted, danger she put him in herself.) When things get too dangerous, she makes a very tough decision out of love. It becomes clear that contacting Carlos was a mistake, but it doesn't diminish her love for Todd or her role in his life.

By contrast, Todd's birth parents, Sharon and Nick, make plenty of mistakes and are proven to be inferior parents. They are a pair of addicts who are more interested in their next fix than caring for a baby.

The whole reason that Todd is behind a dumpster in the first place is because Nick coerced Sharon into abandoning him at the hospital waiting room and he was left outside by accident. When they finally regret their decision to give Todd up, they harass and stalk people to get answers. (This is not only foolish but unnecessary since it's later revealed that Sharon's uncle is a cop and they could have just asked him. Though they probably didn't want him to know about their addiction or their shameful neglect of Todd.) There is a lot of covert racism as they harass Elena's neighbors and mistrust them on sight.

While they are more self centered than Elena, Nick and Sharon are also seen as driven and desperate people. They are certainly more unlikeable than Elena but they are seen as people who are so bound to their addictions that they put their own lives and that of their child at risk. Even when they search for Todd, it seems to be less out of love and more out of desperation. There is a moment though that the Reader encounters the hurting and suffering would inside and how they regret the path that their addictions led them on as they realize that they could have been a happy family, but were unable to be.

 Little Blue Eyes becomes a clear choice between a baby's addicted seriously messed up birth parents or an unemployed troubled potential adopted mother. While all three have their flaws, only one actually has the baby's best interest in mind and proves to be the real loving parent.