Nielsen, Susin. The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen.

Nielsen, Susin.   The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen.  Tundra Books  243p     $17.95  978-1-77049-372-8     2012  ms      VG-BN       Realistic Fiction

There is no doubt about it: Susin Nielsen can write a novel that pulls at one’s heart strings, thanks to her characters, who are realistic, and her plot, which is eerily contemporary.  In this case, she creates Henry, a boy who has his life dramatically and tragically changed by the actions of his brother Jesse.  Bullied to the extreme, Jesse picks up his father’s hunting rifle, goes to school, kills his torturer, and then fires on himself.  Moving on in their current location is impossible for Henry’s family.  His mother ends up institutionalized for a mental breakdown, and Henry and his father must cope on their own after moving away.  Their new apartment is stark, Henry’s new psychiatrist is lacking, and Henry’s adjustment to his new school is slow and painful.  Instructed to write down his thoughts, Henry turns this into a “telling” of the events that led up to the tragedy that will impact him forever.  Henry is quite a character, and when he turns robotic in his actions and accusations, he is downright comical.  He is also tragic; one can feel his raw pain. 

Along the way, Henry and his father find a new life, new friends and a new relationship with Mother.  Coming together once again as a family is not the most important part of the plot.  Instead, Henry learns to fight against a new bully before things escalate to destruction.  He finds support from his friends, from the victim’s sister and from the school community in his new life.   This book provides bullied children with hope that there is a solution to the problem; in addition, it shows young readers that one can move forward after a tragedy.  The story of a family and how it copes following a school shooting needs to be told, and Henry does a stellar job of sharing the confusion, devastation and near demise of his family and of himself.  There are two errors to note:  on page 50, Legos should be capitalized, and on page 67, Gene Roddenberry’s name is misspelled.

           

School Violence–Fiction, Suicide–Fiction, Bullying–Fiction

                                                        --Martha Squaresky