A woman writes to her husband about their son's involvement in a school massacre Kevin is a disturbed teenager who plans to and kills several of his classmates.
Click here to see the rest of this review
The book is in the form of letters from Kevin's mother to her estranged husband, Franklin, Kevin's father. She describes coming back from visiting her son in prison, and from that point onward the story alternates between the past and the present.
We learn about Eva and her husband, Franklin's, decision to have a child, Eva's misgivings about having children and about her career as a successful entrepreneur who runs her own travel-guide business. After Kevin is born, Eva slowly becomes certain that Kevin's troublesome behavior is intentional and that he harbors hate towards his parents and himself. Kevin's father however refuses to acknowledge Kevin's sociopathic tendencies and this leads to multiple arguments between Eva and Franklin, and eventually toward their estrangement.
The climax is about the actual killing and its immediate aftermath. Along the way, the author addresses various issues such as mental illness and gun violence.
Best part of story, including ending:
I really liked this story because we keep hearing of these school shootings but we never get to hear the point of view of the parents of the killers.
Best scene in story:
My favorite scene is probably the most haunting scene of the novel where Eva comes home after her son is taken to prison and she's searching for her husband.
Opinion about the main character:
There is nothing to like about the main character. However, in terms of criticism, I really doubt that Kevin, as a baby, could have evil intentions as the author portrays.
