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I give this book only two stars less for the writing quality and more for the content which I found very disturbing and repulsive, as well as depressing. I know it is meant to provoke thought and conversation, and I am sure that it would and does. I just found it too be too distasteful to me personally. I'm also not sure we need to be giving young adults extra cause to look upon life with cynicism and to question whether all is meaningless, since adolescents often struggle with depression and extreme emotions, as it is. There is a coldness throughout this book and vacancy of morality and decency that just really bothered me. I can see why some would think it amazing and powerful, and truth be told, it will stay with me for a long time, I suspect. But it's not a story I enjoyed in any way, shape or form. I also found the premise to be very weak. I found it hard to believe that these young teens would do what they did simply because a boy was taunting them about the meaninglessness of life. I also found his hanging out in a plum tree year-round to be extremely hard to believe. But perhaps that plot element was meant to keep his side of the story straightforward, with Pierre Anthon always easy to find. More than anything, it felt bereft of any spirituality or morality, and that just didn't sit well with me. But I recognize that this would not bother many readers, so it's likely this book will be very well-liked by many, and it appears that it is and has been. I also understand that the author was probably intending to critique this kind of nihilism and barbarism in order to reveal how very meaningful life is and how ugly things get if we deny its meaning. Viewed through that lens, I can see myself appreciating the novel a bit more.