On what should be a typical school day in March at Sterling High School, an 11th grader named Peter Houghton enters the school and begins shooting. When the smoke clears, ten students lay dead and 19 more are wounded. Peter is arrested and held in jail while the rest of the town struggles to piece together the events of the day and the aftermath of the tragedy as some bury their own children. Peter Houghton is a monster...
...Or is he?
Through flashbacks and changing perspectives, the reader becomes acquainted with Peter and the key people in his life. Beginning in kindergarten, Peter was taunted, teased, hurt, and humiliated for 12 years, mostly by the same kids. His one true friend abandoned him in 6th grade to join the popular crowd, and his family focused more on his glorified (and tragically killed) older brother. Peter was alone in the world -- or at least he thought he was.
This book forces the reader to ask a lot of questions about actions and consequences, about the importance of friends and status. And it also reminds us that even those we perceive as monsters were loved by someone.
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