Who is the Victim? Book Report 2

[Chelsea]

I chose to review the book Endgame by Nancy Garden; I was conflicted about reading this book, I didn’t want to read a book that made me feel bad for the shooter who took innocent lives. I, however, decided that maybe I could gain some insight that would possibly help me recognize a student in distress in the future and that maybe I could help him or her.
The story opens up by describing Gray, the main character, as being an acne-riddled awkward teen who seems to be the odd man out in his family. He has an older, perfect brother, and a loving, doormat of a mother and all of them bow to the unyielding demands of the patriarch of the family. The story alludes to an ominous reason the family had to relocate because of an unknown issue caused by Gray but with implications of school violence. The main plot of the story is that Gray is an outsider – and no matter where he is, home or school, he always falls into that category. Gray is bullied mercilessly by Zorro and Johnson (two jocks at school) and by his authoritarian father. The bullying is so severe, it makes your stomach turn to read about it and you want to reach in and save this poor kid from everyone.
The very last portion of the book that I found the most telling and was perhaps the saving grace of the book was the fact that Gray was completely lacking in remorse and if given the option, would have finished killing the bully’s that he missed. This may sound strange, but hear me out; Gray’s mentality had been so warped by his own abuse that he had spiraled into a very deep, dark place where I believe his mental health was irreparable without professional help. He showed no remorse even for the ones he killed who had regarded him as a friend and who had been his light during his darkness. His best friend was collateral damage in his own personal manhunt and Gray did not care for his loss until he realized he would be spending life in prison.
I dislike that the story gives Gray every cliché reason to be a school shooter – plays first person shooter video games, he goes hunting (unwillingly) and is an excellent shot…it’s disappointing and limiting to the spectrum of who can possibly be pushed to rationalize that something as drastic as a shooting their peers would ever be a favorable response to bullying.
To be clear, Gray was mercilessly bullied; he was bullied by his father, the jocks at school, and he completely lacked anyone who could pull him out of the darkness and give him a safe place. If I were to teach this book, it would definitely be from the perspective of an anti-bullying campaign and to bring attention to the emotional fallout that these victims encounter and what students can do to help their peers, and to recognize when a peer is being a bully.