4.25 stars Kevin shot eight kids and one teacher at his high school, shortly before Columbine. This story is told after the fact, by his mom, Eva, in letters written to Kevin's dad, Franklin. Eva initially didn't even want kids, and Kevin was a little odd. The letters back up to before Kevin was born and work their way up to the shooting and beyond, with some “current” storyline as to what's happening with Eva now, thrown in from time to time. It did start off a little slowly for me, but it picked up after Kevin was born, and really picked up in the last quarter of the book or so. I hated Franklin almost as much as I hated Kevin. There was a few times where I temporarily lost track of what time frame I was reading about, but that didn't happen often. Now I want to move up my tbr a nonfiction book about psychopaths that I've been planning to read for a while.

Eva builds her own hate fans by the admissions she makes about her mothering. Except no matter how much you want to not like her-her brutal honestly implores you to not only like her but respect her insights. This story will stay with you long after you turn the last page. So well written! Tough subject that we should all talk about. Kudos to Lionel Shriver.. make sure you read her "About the Author" at the end of the book.

Hands down one of the most thought-provoking and disturbing books I have ever read. One reviewer noted that reading this book is watching a person slowly go down the steps of hell. That is exactly what I thought when I went through the book. I am not one to re-read a book, or even passages of a book, but with this writer’s masterpiece, I was constantly re-reading parts, over and over again. Of course, this made it longer for me to finish the book, but I didn’t care. This was because the book kept making me feel one way one minute (i.e. sympathizing with the husband franklin), then the next thinking the husband was crazy and siding with the son, Kevin. The book is so smart that it makes the reader not only witness characters proceed to hell, but makes one examine one’s own beliefs, morality and, in essence, makes one examine what their own hell would be. I have never read a book that made me fully examine every aspect of my life, both now and when I have kids. It’s funny, in many ways the book asks the age-old question, “what came first, the chicken or the egg?”. Was Kevin born a psychopath, or was he a product of his environment? In short, the book is great, one of the best I’ve read.

I would have given this book 4 stars but for the writing style/language which was unnecessarily verbose. I chose this book for my bookclub in hopes that it would inspire a nature vs nurture debate, which it did. But most people found it too dense (in the use of language sense) to really "enjoy" it. I found this book disturbing given the Columbine nature of the content; but the book really picked up in the last 100pp or so, and made it very worthwhile. Read at your own risk given that the criticisms about verbiage by other reviewers is 100% accurate. A hesitant recommendation.

Woah. I can't say I "liked" this story, since it is a horrific and violent story. But, I did like the book. A lot. The writing is fantastic, the building of the story is masterful, the development of the character of Kevin is believable and terrifying, the sentiments of Kevin's mother Eva are easy to understand and easy to relate to... this was an artfully created and terrifyingly realistic picture of the life of a murderer, as well as an uncomfortable review of parenthood in today's world. The ending? Brilliant.

This is a gripping story. It's hard to believe that the author did not actually go through all this, it's so realistic. The writing was excellent and the book gets more and more fascinating as you read on. It really makes you think of the whole concept of nature Vs. nurture

This is such a fantastic book! Everyone needs to read this!

When Deanna at the HarperCollins Facebook group suggested during July that we read this book free online at their Browse Inside feature, my first response was to give it a pass. I didn't really want to read about a kid killing his school mates. Out of respect for Deanna I decided at least I would go and read the cover blurb about the book. - That's when I found out that the book wasn't about Kevin, rather it was about his mother and her thoughts surrounding her son and how she raised him and ultimately whether as his mother she was somewhat responsible for his actions. - After the first few pages I was hooked. Yes, it is a tough subject matter, but it is part of our reality so I read on. I found that every so often I could identify with Eva. I suspect that many parents could if they are honest with themselves. - I appreciated the way Ms. Shriver doled out the details of 'Thursday' bit by bit. Too much at once could have overwhelmed me. As it was I could digest the bits and was prepared when the next letter revealed more. The book is presented as a series of letters to Kevin's father. - The last chapter was my undoing. The gift that Kevin gave to his mother on the two year anniversary of the murders had me crying. Up to this point I was convinced that Kevin was a psychopath with no chance of redemption and then he puts that box on the table. He does have feelings for what his did. I am convinced that he had been carefully listening to his mother all his life but that he had fought against her at every turn, now he was ready to end that fight and really listen. - A very good read, though I won't recommend it for very sensitive readers or for someone who is feeling depressed.

I could not put this down once I got started. It's completely fictional but really gets you thinking about what happens after a school shooting to the family of the shooter and what they go through. Not a light topic, but definitely a great read and most definitely not boring.

At the beginning of the book, I found Shriver's writing style took away from the plot and story development. However, once you get past all the oddly placed commas and unnecessary "big word" vocabulary, I couldn't put the book down. This isn't your typical school masacre story - I found it was unpredictable and kept you wanting more.