Rating: 
Summary: Will men PLEASE stop pretending they can think like women
Review: "I wanted to sketch the vaginas of every girl in my class."
Oh yeah, that's how a 14-year-old female talks/writes.
I've been one. I've known many.
I've read many works by Lester, and I've read many many books by men pretending they can get in the minds of females. You can't. Please stop.
The book had a great premise (2 stars) and was completely unconvincing just the same.
Rating: 
Summary: When Dad Killed Mom
Review: "Mom is dead. Dad Killed her." This first line grabbed my attention. I was immediately interested in reading this book, not only does it have to do with murder which I am very interested, but it is like a journal from a kids point of view. I felt the same sort of shock and madness as the events unfolded in the beginning with the kids finding out about it and the loss that each of them felt. I was shocked as they described that their dad, the one who killed there mother, showed no prior symptoms before he committed such a crime as murdering his own wife.
The kids in the story were exactly like the sayings we see today: "Moma's Boy," and "Daddy's girl." Since I am an only child I would feel pain for loosing both my mom and my dad, but I could especially feel Jenna, the daughter's pain in the novel. Her dad did everything possible with her, the same as my dad, and having him go to prison is just as good as death in my eyes and the same with hers.
Jeremy, the son, spent all his available time with his mom, and since his mom willed all her artwork to him, he felt a huge responsibility and a deep mourning for his mom as he read the passages he found in his mom's diary. Her viewpoint was entirely different from that described by his dad, causing him to have a hatred for his dad that I shared as I read them along with him, I almost felt a part of the book which really appealed to me.
In the end, Jeremy revealed the dairy to the judge in the courtroom in front of everyone in the highly publicized case. This I admired and thought was very brave, something I might not of had the courage to do, it changed my viewpoint on the quiet little kid and made me start to dislike Jenna for siding with her dad in the first place.
This novel really made me start to think about how important my parents are to me, and that if worse comes to worse like it did in "When Dad Killed Mom" that I would try to stay out of the case as much as possible, because I love both my parents dearly.
Rating: 
Summary: You gotta read this book.
Review: "When Dad Killed Mom" is a tale aobut two kids who go to school one day and it is totally normal and they find out later that their dad has killed their mom. If you like books that you can't put down then this is the book for you. Julius Lester sure knows how to write page turner.
Rating:
Summary: what happens when your dad kills your mom
Review: "When Dad Killed Mom" is a murder story that you can't put down. It's about two kids, Jeremy & Jenna, who now have to live with the fact that their dad murderded their mom. Jenna dosen't want to believe that her dad murdered her mom.Jeremy & Jenna had no one to take care of them,so they had to live with grand parents. Jeremany didn't want to live with his grand parents. He wanted to live in his mom's stuido where he could feel closer to his mom. When his grand parents wanted to move to Florida, Jeremany and Jenna didn't. Their mom's friend adopted them.I really liked this book because it kept me on my toes to find out what happened in the next chapter.Thats why I like the books that Lester writes. I can't wait for her next one to come out!
-Ryan Keckeisen-
Rating:
Summary: You Gotta Read this Book
Review: "When Dad Killed Mom" is a tale about two children named Jenna and Jermery that go to school on a normal day and later find out that their dad killed their mom. If there is anyone out there who loves supence thrillers and books that you can't put down then you'll love this book. You can never put this book down it combines sadness and greif with fearfulness and suspence. Jenna, Jermery, Mom and Dad along with Rachel, Jenna's bestfriend help make this book great, and it also has some romance too, anyone and everyone will love this book if you read it, it's just one you can't put donw Julius Lester really knows how to write a page turner.
Rating:
Summary: You Gotta Read this Book
Review: "When Dad Killed Mom" is a tale about two children named Jenna and Jermery that go to school on a normal day and later find out that their dad killed their mom. If there is anyone out there who loves supence thrillers and books that you can't put down then you'll love this book. You can never put this book down it combines sadness and greif with fearfulness and suspence. Jenna, Jermery, Mom and Dad along with Rachel, Jenna's bestfriend help make this book great, and it also has some romance too, anyone and everyone will love this book if you read it, it's just one you can't put donw Julius Lester really knows how to write a page turner.
Rating:
Summary: You gotta read this book.
Review: "When Dad Killed Mom" is a tale aobut two kids who go to school one day and it is totally normal and they find out later that their dad has killed their mom. If you like books that you can't put down then this is the book for you. Julius Lester sure knows how to write page turner.
Rating:
Summary: Sensational subject, down to earth treatment
Review: ...There were a few places where Jenna's thoughts seemed overboard to me. When Gregory first shows up, he's speaking like an adult, not a teen. But later on in the book, both of these characters become very real. Gregory's situation makes a great contrast to Jeremy and Jenna's. At first I thought the book would be like a murder mystery. The reader would unravel the hows and whys while reading the book. It is not that kind of book at all. It is an honest exploration of the feelings and problems that the survivors of such a horrible event would go through. He does a beautiful job of this, starting by referring to Mom in present or future tense during the time period that Jenna and Jeremy know it is true, but don't believe it. Each character travelled their own way through grief, and rebuilt a sense of family for themselves on their own. The sense of being cut off from piers when a loved one dies was very real, and having lost both my parents, very true. Although my parents died natural deaths, the feelings were the same. And yes, this book does work because of Lester's restraint. He does not sensationalize at all, and that is what leaves room in the novel for Jeremy and Jenna to solve their own problems and grow through them. The subject matter isn't for everyone, but it is definitely a worthwhile book.
Rating:
Summary: Thought Provoking Book for Older Teens
Review: A well written book about the aftermath of a murder. Jenna and Jeremy's father Eric has just killed their mother Rachel and they are left with to pick up the pieces of his heinous crime. Narrated alternately from both Jenna and Jeremy's point of view, the story follows the two children as they struggle to come to terms with the heart-breaking legacy their father has left behind. Not the closest of siblings, with Jenna having been a Daddy's girl, and Jeremy getting on better with their mother, the two siblings are forced to reconcile their differences in order to survive the future. Not easy when you both have the weight of the world on your young shoulders. There is their father's trial to deal with, a traumatic experience for both youngsters, plus secrets that need to be told as well as old family conflicts that have to be dealt with. This is a sharply written book with good dialogue, some of it very grown-up in places. Jenna is a precocious 8th grader, whilst Jeremy is almost bird-like, fluttering uncertainly at first as he tries to sort out in his head what made his father kill his mother. Both children bounce off the adult characters, such as Karen their father's first wife, their grandparents and an assortment of friends and curious hangers-on. A thought provoking book that reminds me of Judy's Blume's "Tiger Eyes", dealing with the concept of violent death in sensitive and none-condescending manner.
Rating:
Summary: Good and Lacking
Review: About a year ago, I was at the library and I saw a book on one of the stands there called "When Dad Killed Mom". Then, I wasn't interested in stuff like that, but showed it to my mother. And then, about two months ago, I was back at the library, but decided to give the book a try. Hey, I could always return it if it was boring. So about a week later I started reading it. There is a bit of sexual content, ("...well, when I was at Dad's office, I heard some strange noises. I knew what they were doing.") There is more, but nothing is really inappropriate or anything, and it's not the point of the story.
The two children were each favorites of the two parents. Jenna of the father, Jeremy with the mother. When the mother dies, the Dad is the first suspect, and gets arrested. Jenna keeps visiting and cheering him up. Meanshile, they have to go to school and have to cope with not having parents (one dead, one in jail). There is a surprising conclusion to the book but it still feels like a bit of a weak book, like maybe the author could have written more. I suggest that people should read this book, but maybe they should borrow from the library instead of buying it, as you might be a bit disappointed.
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