When I first looked at the book cover for this novel, I
thought to myself, “This is going to be a fun, carefree book to read. It is
probably about super heroes because there is a muscular looking cartoon
character on the front.”
Surprisingly, I found this book to be quite a serious look
at what happens to a family after one of its sons kills a fellow student who
has relentlessly bullied him for years at his high school and then turns the
gun on himself leading to his own suicide. I recommend this title to mature
readers only.
Henry K. Larsen and his father have moved across Canada
after Jesse killed Scott and then himself. They hope to start their lives
fresh. Henry’s mother has had a nervous breakdown following the tragedy which
has ravaged their family. She has been hospitalized near where the IT took
place. (IT is how Henry refers to the tragedy.) Henry has been instructed by
his grief counselor to keep a journal—thus the title of the book—The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen.
Despite Henry’s resistance to keep the journal, he eventually
expands on his entries. This is how the reader comes to know the angst that he
and his whole family are suffering.
The funny, muscular cartoon character on the book jacket is
due to Henry’s family’s fascination with the wrestling world on television.
Readers who want to understand the deep emotional toll and what
happens to the remaining family members after a horrific school shooting death
and subsequent suicide will gain much by reading this title.
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