food for thought

Unfortunately, school shootings have lost some of their shock value in this day and age. Yet this novel draws from the Columbine and Paducah shootings of the late 1990s in whose aftermath the issue of bullying was first addressed (among other things, of course).

Picoult tells the story from varying viewpoints and introduces you to the people involved before they even become involved in a school shooting that kills 10 students and a teacher. By the end of the novel, you're almost exhausted from trying to blame someone, anyone, for what happened - and failing.

This is not a crime novel or a thriller. It's a story about the basic human need for comfort and security in any shape or form.

To me, the most interesting aspect was the look at the parents of the school shooter Peter. At how their life is utterly ruined in nineteen minutes and at how they cope with what their son has done ... and in how far they themselves are to blame. Or are they? Here, too, no easy answers.

This could have become a melodramatic sob story. Instead Picoult turns it into very rich food for thought ... and an all-around great read.

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4 Leute fanden das hilfreich

Interesting, but not supriising, though long

One aspect of audiobooks is improving my English, I am German. The book was quite ok, the story is not extraordinary, a bit how I would expect it. More than 21 hours is long to listen, but you get story for your money. The author seems to try to weigh both sides.

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