Book Review: Coram Boy

Since I've just finished Coram Boy and this section has recently been added, I thought I'd post a review of the book.

Some spoilers.

Long winded synopsis:
Coram Boy by Jamila Gavin is a book set in England in the 1800's revolving around six people who, whilst from different backgrounds, have intertwined lives. There's Otis and Meshak Gardiner, a father and son who are paid to take illegitimate children and children who parents cannot afford to care for, pretending that they will take them to the Coram Foundlings Hospital to be nurtured, but instead, they kill the children. Brutal con artists, in essence. Alexander and Melissa are two teenagers who have an illegitimate child. Melissa's mother arranges for the baby to be taken by Otis and Meshak, not knowing that the baby will not actually be taken to the Foundlings Hospital. The baby is taken by Otis and Meshak, but stuff happens, Meshak rebels and the baby is really taken to the Foundlings Hospital. Eventually, the baby is reunited with his parents and they all live happily ever after. And then there's Toby, a black slave who serves no actual purpose to the book, but is there anyway.

Being aimed at children, I expected the book to be simplified and dumbed-down. I was wrong; in fact, the book is too complicated, to the point where I found it difficult to empathise with any of the characters due to the switching perspectives. The characters were also very two-dimenaional. I felt as if I was reading a unique and very complex soap opera at times, to be honest.

The writing style is brilliant, though. Perhaps if the the story and characters were more engaging, I would've enjoyed reading it instead of being so confused.