Rating: 
Summary: Oedipal and Electra Complex
Review: Although Lester's novel, "When Dad Killed Mom" has an appealing topic (a death of a parent), it seems as if Lester devotes much of his attention to the Oedipal and Electra complex. Because of this, I would recommend this novel to mature adolescent readers. I would also discuss these two complexes lack of validity.
Rating: 
Summary: Very good story telling
Review: As an aspiring author of young adult fiction, I decided to do some research and read what teens are reading right now.
"When Dad Killed Mom" by Julius Lester is a great story, and I liked the way the story was told in alternating each chapter between Jeremy and Jenna being the narrator. Their father has just killed their mother, and throughout the story, we come to find out the real truths that are hidden. and about the secrets that are kept. It's a good look into the relationships of parents and children, and also sibling relationships as well. I was hooked from the first page, and read the second half in one sitting!! I didn't want to move until I finished it. I think Lester has a great vision for teens' emotions. While you could definitely tell it was an adult who wrote the book, I thought he did an outstanding job being the voice of both a teenage girl and boy in the same story. He knows how to get the reader hooked, and keep them interested. Considering the attention span of teenagers, this is a good quality for a book. and it's not too long. I am an adult, 32 years old, and I really thought this was a very interesting tale, and I thought he told it beautifully. he's a good writer. I hope I can be that good one day.
Rating:
Summary: Very good story telling
Review: As an aspiring author of young adult fiction, I decided to do some research and read what teens are reading right now.
"When Dad Killed Mom" by Julius Lester is a great story, and I liked the way the story was told in alternating each chapter between Jeremy and Jenna being the narrator. Their father has just killed their mother, and throughout the story, we come to find out the real truths that are hidden. and about the secrets that are kept. It's a good look into the relationships of parents and children, and also sibling relationships as well. I was hooked from the first page, and read the second half in one sitting!! I didn't want to move until I finished it. I think Lester has a great vision for teens' emotions. While you could definitely tell it was an adult who wrote the book, I thought he did an outstanding job being the voice of both a teenage girl and boy in the same story. He knows how to get the reader hooked, and keep them interested. Considering the attention span of teenagers, this is a good quality for a book. and it's not too long. I am an adult, 32 years old, and I really thought this was a very interesting tale, and I thought he told it beautifully. he's a good writer. I hope I can be that good one day.
Rating: 
Summary: Accuracy While "Possessed"
Review: At the end of When Dad Killed Mom Julius Lester describes his experience of writing this novel. He describes the need to write and give Jeremy and Jenna voice..."as if I were in a state of possession (p.182)." Professor Lester has written an accurate depiction of the experiences of children who have lost a parent by intimate partner violence. Having researched this topic for more than three years, I was amazed at the accuracy and empathy contained in this story. Jenna's language is typical of a angry teenager confused by her father's inappropriate attention. Jeremy's need for attachment is well illustrated in his relationship with his mother and later with his friend, Sara's family. The children's split loyalties and struggles with their own future reflect the reality of children who experience this loss. The important lesson that the author integrates into each chapter is the importance of social supports for these children. They need to be surrounded by people that they can trust and who will give them a chance to process the incredible loss that they have suffered. For all those children who have never had a chance to tell their story, thank you Professor Lester.
Rating:
Summary: When Dad killed Mom
Review: Have you ever thought about the drama of loosing a parent...because of the other parent? In "When Dad killed Mom" Jenna and her younger brother Jeremy have to face this unimaginable issue when their Father shoots their Mother. The book reflects on bothe child's point of view about the issue and how they are dealing with it. Jenna never really got along with her mother and is somewhat regretful about what happend at first. She learns things about her Mother's life from her Mother's friend and Father's former wife. Eventually she learns to deal with what happend, and in mind "starts over" with her Mother. Jeremy finds his Mother's diary and learns things about went in his Mothers life also. He later uses this information at their Fathers court trial to protect his mothers honor. This is a great book and will keep you wanting to read and not put it down.
Rating:
Summary: ***amazing***
Review: hi, i'm 13, and i started this book last night. i finished it at 5am. i couldn't put it down. it was so amazing. what i really liked about it was that it was written in the childrens' point of view, and it's very realistic. for example, the girl, jenna curses all the time and stuff, but that's the way it is in real life. i hate when books make it seem like all kids are all 'goodie too shoes' the feelings and emotions are very real and i recommend this to anyone. it was terrific.
Rating: 
Summary: Get a Clue!!!!!
Review: I am appalled!This book not only disurbed me but made me sad and angry as well. I am anrgy that anyone would find this book appropriate for ages 12 and up.It saddens me to think that an award winning author would want to expouse children to the details in this book. The language is bad enough,but I could have lived with that. The underlying incestual comments and accusations wanted to make me scream and nowhere in the book does it say or let a 12 year old child know that this is inappropriate behavior. This book was depressing to me especially thinking of the middle school age children that have or will read this book and have no one to discuss the disturbing content with. Parents need to be VERY AWARE about allowing this book to be read by their impressionable teens and preteens.. AT THE VERY LEAST READ IT FIRST so you can discuss the book with your children.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely engaging.
Review: I borrowed "When Dad Kills Mom" today from the public library and finished it today, as well (1-2 hours). The story has captivated me to the point that I could do anything else until I finish the book. Jeremy and Jenna, the narrators of WDKM, tell the story both in their own ways, of how their life was after their dad killed their mom. Jeremy is his mother's favourite and Jenna is her father's favourite. Both stick up for the opposite, but soon, they merge together to stick up for one. They believe that their lives are falling apart fatally, but they soon find a new place.
Rating: 
Summary: A Mediocre Modernization of a Classic Tale
Review: I came into this book with high expectations, but found myself very much let down. The plot was unsurprising, with a series of affairs and abandoned children, and in that it evoked Oscar Wilde's classic "The Importance of Being Earnest", one of the great gothic plays of all time. Unfortunately, whereas Wilde's play has touchingly poigniant scenes as the truth comes out, for instance when Jack realizes he has been telling nothing but truth his whole life, and comments on how terrible this is, this book seems to make light of the gravitas and realism of its premise, particularly in the courtyard scene. I reccomend it only for serious Wilde scholars.
Rating:
Summary: INAPPROPRIATE FOR CHILDREN
Review: I can't imagine what a child could learn from this book. The plot is trite, the characters pathetic and unlikeable, the language foul, and the writing juvenile. The book is supposedly the childrens' perspective after their father murders their mother. He apparently does so because she is going to expose his adultery with a student. In the end it is explained that "Who you are and what you are is partly because of who your parents,your grandparents, and even the ones before them were...We humans like to think we are free to choose our life. Maybe we are and maybe we aren't". The book then goes on to explain that the father has murdered their mother because of some perceived childhood traumas. Atleast in the end the daughter "walks slowly away". Luckily we're free to choose what books we read. Don't waste your time on this one.
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