Beth is a high school guidance counselor when her only son
is killed in a one-car accident.
She blames her husband because she had argued against
letting Danny drive that night, and she feels guilty for not standing up to
both of them to prevent it. After only
three weeks she goes back to her job and her personal turmoil bleeds over into
her relationships with a vulnerable student who is being bullied, a teacher who
is the victim of a “mean girls” hate campaign, and a rigid administrator who
refuses to listen to her concerns. As a
former educator, this author supposedly has insight into what really goes on in
our schools, but if things are this bad, our teachers deserve combat pay. I was so unsettled by this book that I asked
a former school administrator to read it and give me her feedback (or at least
her reassurance that the behavior described is exaggerated). I can’t say I liked it, but it is certainly
thought-provoking. With its themes of
grief, rage, professional conflict, school bullying, sexual orientation hate
crimes and doubt about how much educators can and should do to protect students
and themselves, this novel seems ideal for reading groups.
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