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A review by dani005
Send by Patty Blount
5.0
4.5
I really, really liked this book, even if it did have its hang ups.
I loved this book for its honest brutality. The characters were so raw and real, however I wish that we had gotten to know a bit more about some of the secondary characters.... a bit more of the history of Brandon and Jeff and what happened between them.... I wish we got to see some more strength from Julie. Yes, she's messed up and she's got some trauma to deal with, but what made her so determined and so forgiving in this book is something I would have liked to have read more about.
The ending wasn't enough I don't think; it wasn’t a strong enough conclusion... I needed something more to wrap it up... its like an essay with no conclusion; there's nothing to tie all of the body paragraphs together and to help clarify questions for the reader.
I love it when books leave you with questions about the ideas that the book presents, but not about the characters or the plot or what happens now. I love books that leave you with a good impression from its foreshadowing of what is going to happen.... so that you are better able to realize where these people have come from and where they are going. It helps to show the depth of the book's characters and so I found that some of that depth was lacking.
Why did the author end with ken feeling the way he did with no further insights or indulgences.... it wasn't much different from the beginning except that now it seems he isn't so much obsessed with his guilt but there is something else that he has to deal with. It's like we only got to see half of Ken's healing. Like we only got to see the first couple of stages of how he attempts to get over what he did....
I didn't feel like the book covered as much as it could have. It could have covered so much more of the realities that each individual character had to deal with....
Julie
Ken
Jeff
Brandon
Even Julie’s dad.
I had so much more I was curious about. I saw each character behave and act in certain ways at times but what had prompted these actions I couldn't define or fully understand because it was as though I was missing some of the history that had established these actions in the first place.
I loved the book's depth of Ken and how he struggles within himself. I loved that different view that the book portrayed, that different twist on bullying.
Growing up in junior high I find that now cyber bullying and bullying in general is actually being addressed so much more, but what we haven't stopped to consider, is the other side of the whole problem; the bully themselves.
Kid's I don't believe are genetically decided to be evil. I really do believe that how these kids were brought up and the environment and circumstances they have to live with affects their judgment and their capabilities of how they are able to express themselves in times of hardship.
A kid who grew up in an angry and violent atmosphere learn how to react on impulses when things occur that they don’t tolerate when they see they’re parents lash out with perhaps physical or verbal abuse as a response to their own intolerance towards something. These kids learn then that if they don't tolerate something or someone for whatever reason (impulses of emotion or physical stimuli) could spike a reaction similar to the ones they witness at home. They would probably resort to violence, either physical or verbal to help demonstrate their intolerance. Does that make this kid bad?
That idea, does ONE mistake; that ONE time the teasing went too far, make us bad people, is taken in this book and looked at from Ken’s perspective, the bully in his situation.
The ideas presented are honest and open and they come at you with their simplicity and their complexity to make us realize that these ideas about the, “antagonists, in all kinds of situations, are always considered BAD” may not be able to be considered as just black and white.
Although, I was slightly disappointed by the end, and its lack of depth that was portrayed in it’s characters and their flaws (don't get me wrong, they were honestly VERY REAL characters however I wanted a bit more depth to their personalities and their motives and the history that affected the way they did things....), I did still love this book for its complexity and simplicity and how realistic and raw and passionate it was. I highly recommend it!
I really, really liked this book, even if it did have its hang ups.
I loved this book for its honest brutality. The characters were so raw and real, however I wish that we had gotten to know a bit more about some of the secondary characters.... a bit more of the history of Brandon and Jeff and what happened between them.... I wish we got to see some more strength from Julie. Yes, she's messed up and she's got some trauma to deal with, but what made her so determined and so forgiving in this book is something I would have liked to have read more about.
The ending wasn't enough I don't think; it wasn’t a strong enough conclusion... I needed something more to wrap it up... its like an essay with no conclusion; there's nothing to tie all of the body paragraphs together and to help clarify questions for the reader.
I love it when books leave you with questions about the ideas that the book presents, but not about the characters or the plot or what happens now. I love books that leave you with a good impression from its foreshadowing of what is going to happen.... so that you are better able to realize where these people have come from and where they are going. It helps to show the depth of the book's characters and so I found that some of that depth was lacking.
Why did the author end with ken feeling the way he did with no further insights or indulgences.... it wasn't much different from the beginning except that now it seems he isn't so much obsessed with his guilt but there is something else that he has to deal with. It's like we only got to see half of Ken's healing. Like we only got to see the first couple of stages of how he attempts to get over what he did....
I didn't feel like the book covered as much as it could have. It could have covered so much more of the realities that each individual character had to deal with....
Julie
Ken
Jeff
Brandon
Even Julie’s dad.
I had so much more I was curious about. I saw each character behave and act in certain ways at times but what had prompted these actions I couldn't define or fully understand because it was as though I was missing some of the history that had established these actions in the first place.
I loved the book's depth of Ken and how he struggles within himself. I loved that different view that the book portrayed, that different twist on bullying.
Growing up in junior high I find that now cyber bullying and bullying in general is actually being addressed so much more, but what we haven't stopped to consider, is the other side of the whole problem; the bully themselves.
Kid's I don't believe are genetically decided to be evil. I really do believe that how these kids were brought up and the environment and circumstances they have to live with affects their judgment and their capabilities of how they are able to express themselves in times of hardship.
A kid who grew up in an angry and violent atmosphere learn how to react on impulses when things occur that they don’t tolerate when they see they’re parents lash out with perhaps physical or verbal abuse as a response to their own intolerance towards something. These kids learn then that if they don't tolerate something or someone for whatever reason (impulses of emotion or physical stimuli) could spike a reaction similar to the ones they witness at home. They would probably resort to violence, either physical or verbal to help demonstrate their intolerance. Does that make this kid bad?
That idea, does ONE mistake; that ONE time the teasing went too far, make us bad people, is taken in this book and looked at from Ken’s perspective, the bully in his situation.
The ideas presented are honest and open and they come at you with their simplicity and their complexity to make us realize that these ideas about the, “antagonists, in all kinds of situations, are always considered BAD” may not be able to be considered as just black and white.
Although, I was slightly disappointed by the end, and its lack of depth that was portrayed in it’s characters and their flaws (don't get me wrong, they were honestly VERY REAL characters however I wanted a bit more depth to their personalities and their motives and the history that affected the way they did things....), I did still love this book for its complexity and simplicity and how realistic and raw and passionate it was. I highly recommend it!