Jo has lost her husband to another woman. Left with their three children, she does her best to make a decent life for them. When her live-in lover hurts her, Jo packs up the kids and takes off for London. Between stations, her teen daughter, Ella, jumps from the train and runs. Exhausted by life, Jo lets her.

Over the next few days, Jo and her other two children stay with her grandparents, and Ella makes her way back to familiar surroundings. Jo never reports Ella missing, never tries to find her. Instead, she focuses on finding her equilibrium. Ella will find her way, Jo decides.

From seaside Kent to metropolitan London, a broken family must reach out to bridge the gap created by betrayal, inattention, and pain.

While Davey’s style is engaging and, at times, entertaining, the overall plot leaves a fair bit to be desired. Each character takes a journey with the potential to learn and grow beyond their current circumstances. Unfortunately, it seems that the potential is barely reached, if at all. At the end of the story, the reader is hard pressed to say what they have taken from this novel. She remains the same part-loving, part-indifferent mother that she was at the beginning, mired in her own problems while her children struggle to find meaning in life at home. A stunning lack of consequences for not taking action to find her runaway daughter makes it had to cheer for Jo.

It was hard to like Jo. The book was written as Jo’s story, but it really should have been Ella’s. This is where the heart of the book resides. If Davey had made this Ella’s story and combined it with her fine writing style and a more meaningful conclusion, this could have been a hit. As it is now, First Aid limps to a finish that leaves a lot to be desired.

Reviewed by Christina Wantz Fixemer
8/8/2006

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