When Dad Killed Mom

by Julius Lester Narrated by Jeff Woodman

Overview

Siblings Jenna and Jeremy have known for a long time that their parents don't get along. They find out just how bad it is when they are pulled out of class and told their father just shot and killed their mother. Jenna was always her father's favorite, while Jeremy was his mother's. Now a painful silence has fallen between them. They have trouble agreeing on just about everything at a time when they need each other more than ever. Where are they going to live? Who is going to take care of them? Can they have a relationship with their imprisoned father? Author Julius Lester handles difficult topics with grace and sensitivity. His To Be a Slave was a Newbery Honor Book and a New York Times Book of the Year. Uncompromisingly honest, When Dad Killed Mom is sometimes painful, and perhaps Lester's most moving novel. The emotional depth is enhanced by a skilled dual narration.

Editorial Reviews

School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up-Lester brings many attributes to his writing for young people: excellent research, a willingness to confront and present controversial topics, aesthetically whole characterizations, and insight on how young people's concerns do not necessarily match those of their elders. All of these attributes inform this novel, which is narrated in the alternating voices of sixth- and eighth-grade siblings, but which takes on issues that require readers to have attained more maturity than the average peers of these characters. The title sums up precisely the plot: the chief psychologist at a small New England college publicly shoots his wife. The ensuing emotional, social, academic, and legal events are presented as they are experienced by the shy, artistic son and his slightly older sister, who is deep in the throes of a tumultuous adolescence. In contrast with Neal Shusterman's What Daddy Did (Little, Brown, 1991), Lester depicts children who were well aware of trouble brewing between their parents. The adults in their lives after the horrific event include the mother's best friend who, curiously, is the father's first wife; their grandparents; the son's art teacher; and the family of a younger schoolmate. The young people undergo personal turmoil, grief, and self-revelation as time passes. This seems to be the crux of the story: the only certain thing in life is change itself. Lester's characters learn how to handle change or become imprisoned by their inability to handle life.-Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

From the Publisher

"Unerring authenticity. . . . [The book] is spot on."—Chicago Tribune

"Gripping."—VOYA

"A compelling story suffused with raw and honest emotion."—Kirkus Reviews
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Product Details

BN ID:	2940170589593
Publisher:	Recorded Books, LLC
Publication date:	02/15/2013
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

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