In this emotionally charged novel Jodi Picoult delves beneath the surface of small town America to explore the ubiquitous issue of school bullying and the less ubiquitous but increasingly frequent result of such bullying - a school massacre.
Peter Houghton has suffered heavily with verbal and physical abuse at the hands of
classmates. The fictious story follows events before & after his shocking act of vengeance (predates Sandy Hook & Uvalde, Texas).
Picoult's novel weaves two timelines together: flashbacks, and the present as it unfolds around Peter and the developing case that will decide his fate.
Picoult delves into the effects on the town’s residents - virtually no character comes out as blameless.
Gun control is one of the most prolific issues in American politics in the present day. Between 2011-2014, a mass shooting occurred every 64 days. Many writers have explored the gun debate, but it was Jodi Picoult who best captured the tragedy and complexity of this issue for me. Everyone should read this book. So many facets to the human species and an inside look at families and all our flaws.

Likely one of the most difficult books I've ever read, equally one of the most important books. For anyone who has ever raised a child, been part of a community, or lived in a society, the fear of you or someone you know and love being involved in some type of mass violent event in today's world is a reality. Conversely, so is the thought that it may be someone you know, even if a few degrees separated, who committed the acts.

We do not, nor can we ever know where someone's breaking point is and all the goodness brought to that person, all the appeals of love and understanding, may not be enough. We all think it couldn't or wouldn't be our child who could commit such a heinous act as a mass shooting, but what if...?

What if it were your child who was bullied to the point of breaking? What if a never-ending drip of "soft" violence (a push, a shove, a spitball, a noogy, a trip, an upturned lunch tray, a word "fag," "homo," "dyke," "fatty," "stinky," a mass email of humiliation were sent to an entire school) occurred to a child continuously until they suffered post-traumatic stress to the point of withdrawal, living in their own world (computers, gaming, anywhere to escape the meanness of the "cool kids"), until one day they snapped -- could you see that happening? I can.

This book hurt me deep in places I have tried to forget, didn't know other people knew, and was shocked to read about. I have been that broken child and have seen my children go through brutal punishment to be accepted, and sometimes worse, not accepted. I have seen my baby's soft, loving eyes turn hard, black, hateful at the hands of bullies. This is real.

Does it mean all bullied children will become murderers or that this is an acceptable reason to murder - let's not be naive. The point: This is out there. This is happening. We cannot just ban the book because it speaks graphically of violence and think that will make the violence or the events leading up to it go away. On the contrary. We should all read this book. Feel those feelings. Empathize with the pain, the hurt, the life that the least of these feel. No one is above being bullied.

God help us if we keep turning away from reality and not holding initiators of bullying accountable. Read the book. Then go sit and reflect. We must and we can do better.

Remember, young bullies turn into old ones and they run the world. ( )

Best friends Alex Cormier, a judge and Lacy Houghton, a midwife, meet when their children Josie Cormier and Peter Houghton are young. Both children deal in different ways to try to fit in with the popular crowd that dominates school social life, while both mothers are more or less oblivious to their children’s emotional struggles.
Picoult’s craft is top-notch. She spins a compelling story, including meticulous legal procedures, clearly draws her characters, brings them to life using individualized details. While it’s a captivating read, don’t expect to find any new and original insights into the social lives of children or parenting.
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I remember sitting down to read this book on my break, and the next thing I know, I'm 15 minutes past my time. This book grabs you from the beginning because of the sheer violence from the first page. You have to know what happens. A little further in, it slows down, but you are already invested, and have to see through to the conclusion. Oh, and the conclusion? That's a doozy. Just like the other ones that I've read, she saves that really hard twist for the very last chapter, where are left gasping. ( )

My first foray into older Picoult! Jeesh though nothing has changed since '08. The first few chapters were almost too intense. ( )