Helpful Score: 4
This is a very disturbing book. I have to say that I had a lot of trouble connecting to the characters though. In this woman's position, I would have divorced my husband so fast it'd set a record, if only in some attempt to try to make sure my son was put in a position to have some accountability and responsibility for his actions. Not to even mention the several other things she does that I think are firmly counter-intuitive to the situation at hand. I can understand the sentiment of in some way hating your child, since there are many children that are naturally very difficult to love, but in many ways she fails to take what I'd like to think most people would consider the most basic of precautions to make sure her troubled child doesn't hurt anyone. So, in many ways this book is like a textbook case on all the reasons so many of the parents of kids who commit school shootings are questioned so strongly afterwards for their parenting decisions. You hear them say they knew their child had problems, they knew they had access to weapons, they knew they were majorly troubled, and yet in many cases they can't explain why they did nothing to block off the access to weapons or otherwise try to keep their child from being a danger to others.
Maybe that's the reason this book is so compelling. Even those parents of the most troubled children, who acknowledge their children's issues, still cannot fathom the fact that their child may be truly dangerous to the extent that they would kill someone. And in that fact resides the power of the story. Parents love their children in some way, regardless of what that child does. And partly because of that, even the most aware parent will not fully grasp what their child is capable of. And as a result, it sometimes falls to them to still love one whose actions make them seemingly unlovable.
Maybe that's the reason this book is so compelling. Even those parents of the most troubled children, who acknowledge their children's issues, still cannot fathom the fact that their child may be truly dangerous to the extent that they would kill someone. And in that fact resides the power of the story. Parents love their children in some way, regardless of what that child does. And partly because of that, even the most aware parent will not fully grasp what their child is capable of. And as a result, it sometimes falls to them to still love one whose actions make them seemingly unlovable.
Back to all reviews by this member
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details
