Inexcusable

Inexcusable is a title that I have thought about ever since I heard about it a few years back at a Boys and Books Conference. In the book Keir finds himself in a situation where the girl he loves is accusing him of raping her, but he cannot believe that he would have done that to her. How could he have? He's a "good guy", he reasons. The novels gives scenes from the present, him and Gigi in a room arguing about whether or not he raped her, and events from the past. Keir shows us events from his past trying to show his character and prove why he couldn't possibly have done this.

On the front cover there is a quote from Laurie Halse Anderson saying, "This raw and powerful book will hammer its way into your heart and haunt you." What an accurate quote! Because the presenter at the Boys and Books conference had mentioned the premise of the book, I knew it involved rape, and the back cover says, "But what has happened is, indeed, something inexcusable," so I knew that Kier really did rape her from the get go. However, the book was suspenseful, unveiling different aspects to Kier's character and what really happened. Lynch artfully planted in details here and there to constantly make the reader question what to think given the latest information, leading up to a gripping conclusion.

This book will definitely leave me thinking. It is an excellent example of the narrator's limitations, and upon arriving at the end of the book I thought about how there is so much more to analyze based on the way Kier represents himself in the first part of the book in contrast to what others says about him and some vital information that is brought to the forefront toward the end of the book. Nonetheless, there is much left unsaid, making the reader wonder about the other pieces. It was a great balance, and enough to make for an active reading experience.