| Playing hide-and-seek with her younger sisters, Veronica, Ronnie, Swan, 12, hides in the shed, waiting to hears her sisters call. When she hears nothing, she peeks to find her sisters lying in a pool of blood. Scott Early, the man who killed the two girls with a swipe of a scythe, is sitting at the picnic table. Ronnie runs past him into the house to call 911, then runs to the neightbors for help. Ronnie's parents aren't home. The little girls are dead. Two weeks after the murders, Ronnie's mom gives birth to her fourth child, a boy named Raphael. Mom takes to her bed; Dad takes long walks. Ronnie is left to care for Raphael.
At the trial, the judge rules that Scott is mentally unbalaned an sentences him to a mental institution. Ronnie is furious. Years later, Ronnie's parents decide to forgive Scott for their own healing. Ronnie is still furious, now not only with the system and Scott, but also with her parents. After Scott is released to go home to his wife and child, Ronnie learns where he is living. She moves to San Diego, telling her parents it's to take classes to become an EMT, which she does, but also to stalk Scott. She plans to exact her revenge. | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of book? - thoughtful Time/era of story - 1980's-1999 Internal struggle/realization? Yes Struggle over Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Coping with loss of loved one(s) Yes Loss of... Brain/Body disability? - mental illness Main Character Gender - Female Profession/status: Age: - a teen Ethnicity/Nationality Main Adversary Identity: - Male Age: - 20's-30's Profession/status: How sensitive is this character? Intelligence - Average intelligence Setting How much descriptions of surroundings? - 3 () United States Yes The US: - California Small town? Yes Writing Style Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog |
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