Gail R

This book is about an upwardly mobile family and the problems they encounter because of decisions made without consideration for the consequences they might incur.
It is not a classic, but this book will give rise to many discussions on cyber-bullying, arrogance, the internet, political correctness, diversity, the “blending” of cultures, class advantages or disadvantages, the lack of rules and proper discipline in modern homes, the effects of neglect and lack of parental involvement, the confusion experienced by children and young adults, the dangers wrought by too much money and the dangers wrought by the lack of it.
I think this novel is more important as a tool for discussion than for scholarship. If it leads to meaningful conversation that offers solutions to current parenting issues and opens a dialogue about the negative or positive effect on juvenile behavior, with or without the involvement of cyberspace, it will be more worthwhile than its value as literature.

When I turned to the last page of this profound little book, I simply sat quietly and thought about how awful it must be to carry guilt with you, like a shadow, for most of your life, for something you probably had little or no control over and are completely without blame.
This poignant, honest appraisal of a tragic accident, that took place half a life away, grips you in its claws. You are compelled to empathize with the author. The simplicity of the prose, coupled with the raw emotion expressed, conspire to make you an unwilling witness to a tragic event.
You morph into friend and foe, all wrapped into one, watching the author, whose life changed the night of the terrible accident, as he spends his days unaware sometimes, of how consumed he is with the memory of it.
He goes through his life searching for meaning and justice and comprehension for that moment in time that changed his future. He asks himself often, is he feeling the right emotions, will he ever be able to forget that night or will it haunt him forever as it has been doing for so many years?
Although he is not always fully aware of it, his mind has not coped well with the grief he carries. He cannot move on beyond it because the guilt will not release itself. How he copes with his sadness and need to explain the unexplainable, is the crux of this memoir and it is very compelling.