The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen

If your brother committed murder, then killed himself, what would you do? Henry K Larsen has to answer this very question when his brother, Jesse, does this very thing. Now, he’s having to deal with the consequences. Even after he’s moved away from the scene of the crime, the ghost of the tragedy is still haunting him now. Now, he’s taking sessions with a psychologist, and he’s made some new friends. Is this a new start? Or just another place for him to fall?

A moving, touching look at the aftermaths of a school shooting. This book has come out at just the right time. With school shootings on the rise, a book taking a look at the other end of bullying and suicide is received as heartfelt book that reaches out to the reader. Written in first person as a series of journal entries, it seems very real, as if the reader is sitting next to Henry himself, and having a casual conversation. Due to the nature of the content, I’d recommend parents read the book themselves before giving it to their children. The language used may be inappropriate for some families. Otherwise, I thought it was a very timely, useful book.