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gali wrote:

bookowlie wrote:I agree that the ending was jaw-dropping. I did think it was unrealistic. However, it fit in well with the overall concept of the book - how each of the parents reacted to their son being a murder suspect.

I agree with you.

-- October 5th, 2015, 7:32 am --

quadbrokie45 wrote:I can agree with that. If she hadn't stopped him, do you believe he could have become a serial killer?

I think so.

Definitely. So, I want to say that she prevented others from being killed... Could that possibly be used by her defense team, if the book would have gone further?

I don't think so since murder is murder and nothing justifies that.

I agree. It's refreshing to read and discuss with others. I tend to ramble on in my head when a book leaves you without a solid conclusion!

The ending was a surprise and I agree that the ending fit in well with the rest of the book.

When Hope was killed, I was surprised for a second, then I thought, "well, it fits with Jacob's personality", so then I wasn't so shocked, and it made sense to me.

I think what Laurie did was such a irresponsible and absolutely incorrect way to deal with a problem. If she thought Jacob was guilty of both murders, which clearly she did, I would think that she would try to get him help before saying 'well, there's nothing else I can do, but kill my son to stop him.' I did not like her decision at all, but it didn't hinder of how much I liked the rest of the book.

-- 08 Oct 2015, 20:57 --

quadbrokie45 wrote:I agree. It's refreshing to read and discuss with others. I tend to ramble on in my head when a book leaves you without a solid conclusion!

I love onlinebookclub for this reason! To be able to discuss books with others!

I know! When everything happened with Hope, I couldn't believe it. He was guilty the whole time! I thought he didn't do it. Since he wasn't even in high school yet, they could be playing the "blame game." You all get in trouble if no one tells who did it!

The girl dieing and then what Laurie did was definitely shocking. It seemed like through the trials instead of being there for her son and helping him regardless of whether he killed or not, she snapped and lost her mind and decided her son just had to die. I'm still not sure how I feel about that.

She would have definitely been overwhelmed! Do you think she could have been afraid of her own son?

-- 10 Oct 2015, 21:44 --

She would have definitely been overwhelmed! Do you think she could have been afraid of her own son?

It's definitely possible but at the same time she was choosing to see the worst possible scenario in her son rather than fight for him. When others were choosing to see the good in him no matter how objective (father, lawyer, and whoever) she jumped to her own conclusions of he must be a murderer.

Now in the end whether Jacob killed the girl or not, my opinion as a mother of three is that you would have to have a serious meltdown or psychotic break to risk your own life to kill Jacob the way she did.

Instead of driving him all over the town trying to get him into another school she should have taken him to the psychiatrist! I thought Laurie would be all about getting him help regardless of what his dad said.

I agree with you, TrishaAnn92! I only want to focus on the good my child does but, if it were this, and someone could help with the mental problems, I would have them there!

I totally agree, murder or not, you get accused of something brutal the whole family should partake in counceling. I'd do everything in my power to ensure mental wellbeing and safety not kill them.

I 100% agree with getting the whole family getting help, not just giving up and killing him!

Laurie probably was scared of Jacob by that point. Part of the problem I see is that she also didn't have the support of her husband through any of this. When Laurie told Andi of her doubts, that maybe Jacob was guilty, Andi dismissed it each time - not wanting to talk about it. I think that's part of the reason that she meant to kill both Jacob and herself because she also took off her seatbelt. I'm not saying that's right, but with no one there for her, she might have felt she had no other choice. From the beginning, Laurie didn't seem like a strong person.

I have to agree with her not being strong. Andy seemed to have a blanket over his head, no matter how many times Laurie reached our to him he chose to over look her feelings and in parts of the story were doubt wiggled into his mind he was still unable to emphasize with his wife. I couldn't help wondering though where their family was. I know there was mention of Laurie's mom, if she would have just reached out maybe the story could have had a different outcome. But then again Laurie had already tried and convicted Jacob in her mind so she may still have chosen to kill him.

Good point about where was Laurie's family through all of this. They might have listened and supported her, at least more than her husband did. But, I guess we'll never really know...

No, I suppose not.