This book is very well written, but one of the most upsetting books I’ve ever read. Arm yourself when you read this. Read on, by the way. It’s fiction, but it resonates with anyone who has been a victim of bullying at school or watched their child through it.
It’s made of ugly arrows. Seventeen-year-old Peter Houghton set off a pipe bomb in the parking lot of his high school, then went to the high school where he had been the daily target of a vicious bully, killing ten people and wounding 19. .
The book shifts fluidly between the shooting period and its aftermath, and the events leading up to it. They also alternate opinions from Peter, to Josie, to Alex, to Lacy, to the officers (Patricius Ducharme, who was the character in Picoult’s earlier books), and Peter’s lawyer, Jordan McAfee, (also a character in the earlier novel).
Peter’s mother Lacy met Alex, the mother of Josie Cormier, Peter’s classmate, in the prenatal class she was teaching. Lacia was a nurse midwife. Alex was a public defender who later became a judge. Alex’s mother was going to be one. Louis Lacy’s husband was a college professor. His area of expertise was — to prepare for the ultimate irony — the economics of success. Lacy already had one child, Joey, about a year old at the time. Alex and Lacy became friends, and Peter and Josie.
Peter was waiting for Kindergarten. He couldn’t wait to go to school like his big brother Joey did. His mother gave him a superman lunch, told him to look for his big brother Peter, and sent. bus in
Peter got into the bus and sat down next to his friend Josiah. But his brother was busy, ignoring him. And another kid grabbed Peter’s lunch box from his hands and threw it out of the bus window.
The bus driver could not notice this. I had many, many school accidents when I was a kid, and I just can’t imagine a bus driver not noticing someone throwing a rather large object out the window. Not unless he really, really didn’t want to notice. He managed to notice Peter standing in the portico, and he snapped at him to sit down.
Thus began the course of Peter’s school. Lacy went to talk to her kindergarten-teacher about bullying at one point. The teacher told her, among other things , that sometimes when the bullies were being punished on Peter, he dismissed this school so as not to be seen to do anything about it. /e-info.vn/tag/”. play-date”>enjoys playing with Josie. Not a lot of mercy, not a word about which he could proceed without adverse things, or if even in certain situations it was appropriate for him to stand up for himself. Sometimes it’s just too risky or it just doesn’t work.
Don’t blame me. In fact, Peter’s parents loved him and tried to do the best for him. But I can’t help but think in some way they’ve handled it, until it’s the first example. They also don’t seem to understand that Peter’s brother was a HUGE part of the problem. Peter couldn’t seem to do anything, play, take any steps, and neither could Joey. But Peter knew that everyone, including his parents, knew this. His home did not seem to be a safe place for Peter to tell his family what was really going on, although they certainly knew something about him. After the shooting, Lacy Jordan told Peter’s defense attorney that Peter had killed Joey, who had been driving drunk. a> accident last year
Peter Jordan said that he left Joey alone a block or so before he went back to school so that Joey wouldn’t have to deal with him. Peter said that he hated his brother, and died glad;
It is difficult to sympathize with someone who says such things. Of course, it’s hard to sympathize with someone who killed ten people and injured nineteen, including some kids who pushed themselves out and a teacher who tried to join Peter. But honestly, I just read the book wanting for Peter. The initially sensitive, sweet kid, parents, school, and other kids all had a hand in turning him into a completely different person.
You’re not supposed to do everything from school these days. They usually do not intervene when Peter is bullied. They played favorites, treating popular kids better than others. Once when Peter and some other students were playing a game, Peter was working but the other students were not, because the other students were in teams and games on Saturday. Josie maiden name Courtney chose a partner in the lab, even though Courtney was not a great science student. Because Courtney was a cheerleader, and the physics teacher was even happier. >lab tradit they would not have a safe school for all the students.
Josius had been friends with Peter until 6th grade. Then it is too uncomfortable for him. As the judge’s mother, Josie was a very conscious image. Josie learned at home that she is not good at herself and what other people think about her is the most important thing. This attitude was fostered by the school environment. He got good at pretending to be someone he wasn’t, and was accepted by the popular group. He always felt that the slightest mistake would cause him to be rejected again. Finally, she identified one of the boys who frequently tormented Peter and even abused him on occasion.
I came away reading this with the overwhelming sense that this is not happening. Peter, while I don’t believe he could ever apologize, I could see how he felt pushed to himself. If Peter had needed help, he certainly would not have done anything like this. If only the adults in their lives had acted differently, the whole tragedy could have been avoided.
There are some things that should be taught clearly, and sometimes they are not. Empathy coaching could help bullies develop greater compassion for people who were not like them. The schools certainly did not do those favors to allow them to leave. Bullies tend to get into serious trouble when they are adults. For on the part of Peter he was lacking in social matters. He was worried about not knowing how it got to others until it was too late and what he had done had embarrassed himself or someone else (usually Josie). He had few protections. Josie thought it was too much and ended up going with the gang or something. Social skills, empathy, dealing with others, dealing with differences – these things don’t necessarily come naturally to kids. And while school shootings are thankfully rare, I don’t think it’s fair to expect kids to come through bullying experiences unscathed. Who among us cannot remember at least one anxious time from school, something that still upsets us to think about? It can blister and often causes permanent scarring.
This book is well researched and drives home the brutality and violence of the game. For even prevention, visit her website at jodipicoult.com.
