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    When Dad Killed Mom
    When Dad Killed Mom
    When Dad Killed Mom
    Audiobook5 hours

    When Dad Killed Mom

    Written by Julius Lester

    Narrated by Jeff Woodman and Carine Montbertrand

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    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.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateFeb 15, 2013
    ISBN9781470355951
    Author

    Julius Lester

    Julius Lester is the author of the Newbery Honor Book To Be a Slave, the Caldecott Honor Book John Henry, the National Book Award finalist The Long Journey Home: Stories from Black History, and the Coretta Scott King Award winner Day of Tears. He is also a National Book Critics Circle nominee and a recipient of the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award. His most recent picture book, Let's Talk About Race, was named to the New York Public Library's "One Hundred Titles for Reading and Sharing." In addition to his critically acclaimed writing career, Mr. Lester has distinguished himself as a civil rights activist, musician, photographer, radio talk-show host, and professor. For thirty-two years he taught at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He lives in western Massachusetts.

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    Reviews for When Dad Killed Mom

    4/5

    58 ratings10 reviews

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    • 5/5
      What a well written book. I received this book from Linda (Whisper1) and read it immediately! While I didn't like the title, I couldn't think of a better one. Anyway, it's always the story that counts and how quickly it draws you in and keeps you reading until finished. This book certainly did all that. The chapters go between Jenna and Jeremy, the brother and sister, as they go through the most awful time anyone could go through. While they knew that their parents marriage was in trouble, the last thing they or anyone else expected was for their father to shoot their mother outside a little café in the middle of their small town. Their narrative takes us through the process of a family in crisis and the consequent breakdown.
    • 5/5
      Well developed characters and excellent writing render this a solid four 1/2 star read. While the title sounds stark, the way in which the story unfolded was not over dramatic, but rather was an insightful portrait of a family in grief, trying very hard to reach out to each other through the pain.Told in differing perspectives of the children of the father, both Jeremy, age ten, and his teen aged sister Jenna, as they sort through thoughts and feelings as information becomes available regarding this tragic event.Knowing their parents were not getting along, still no one could prepare them for the shock of the shooting of their beloved mother, a well-known artist by their father, a professional psychologist. Jeremy was closer to his mother, and Jenna was experiencing normal teen aged emotions with talking back episodes with her mother. As the story unfolds, we learn that the father intentionally manipulated his daughter against her mother, and all was not as it seemed in the household.Well written, insightful and excellent portrayal of a tragic event which left those behind scrabbling for the meaning and facts of it all. I recommend this book.
    • 4/5
      Much darker than I expected, yet in some ways, more simplistic. The characters were strong and the story kept me guessing.
    • 5/5
      In "When Dad Killed Mom" it starts when the kids found out that their dad killed their mom. The book show the kids respond emotionally and chose sides in the family.
    • 3/5
      Cheri PiertModule 6Lester, Julius. When Dad Killed Mom. 2001. Harcourt, Inc.: New York.Genre: Controversial/CensorshipThemes Relationships between parent-parent, parent-child, domestic violence, child abuse and coming of age.Age / Grade Appropriateness 12 years old and upAwards: ALA Quick Picks for Reluctant ReadersPlot Summary The story is about siblings Jenna and Jeremy who finds out that their dad killed their mom in clod blooded murder. Each tries to deal with the situation the best way that they can and find themselves question why their dad did it, what are they going to do without their parents and how will they survive after this tragedy. Jenna had to deal with the fact that she gave her mother hell, feeling guilty about why she did the things she did and why she was the person she was and torn about believing in her dad. Jeremy hates his father for what he’s done but still can’t figure out how to deal with the situation, but feels like he has a friend in this elementary art teacher and often leans on her for support. Dad tries to claim that he suffered from a temporary insanity moment but after Jeremy finds his mother diary, is able to show the courts that his father is the liar he thought he was. Your critique I really thought the book was very believable and realistic. There was only one part that I was on the fence about but I thought it was a good read. The problems were not solved quickly and I like that the children in the story were able to really look at themselves and put things in perspective. Jenna was able to become a level headed teenager and made herself into the young women that her mother wanted to see. Jeremy finally spoke his feelings and was able to take charge of his life and do what’s best for him. All the characters were very diverse and were easily identifiable and relatable. Curriculum Uses (Possible uses in the classroom / school library / public library): I think this book could be used in a school library to help students who may have had a parent murdered look deep inside themselves and find the person they want to be. It could also be used in connection with a Shakespearean twist or Greek tragedy theme to it.
    • 4/5
      While the premise seems gruesome, the story focuses on the two children Jenna and Jeremy and how they are supposed to survive this horrendous ordeal and their future. There is also a little bit of mystery of why hte father killed the mother and some secrets the children learn about their parents. I liked the whole premise of looking at how different people, adults and children, deal with grief and shocking events.
    • 4/5
      WHEN JENNA AND JEREMY'S FATHER SHOOTS AND KILLS THEIR ARTIST MOTHER, THEY STRUGGLE TO SLOWLY REBUILD A FUNCTIONING FAMILY.EXPLORES THE FEELINGS OF 14 YEAR OLD JENNA AND 10 YEAR OLD JEREMY IN ALTERNATE CHAPTERS. TEENS WILL ESPECIALLY IDENTIFY WITH JENNA, AS SHE DEALS WITH THE CONFLICT SHE HAD WITH HER MOTHER AND NOW HOW TO DEAL WITH HER DEATH. VERY THOUGHT-PROVOKING.
    • 1/5
      I am a big fan of Julius Lester. I can't believe he wrote this. I usually can't put one of his books down. I had to force myself to get through each chapter. Any other Lester book will seem mindbogglingly amazingly good in comparison to this one. I will still give him props for trying something a little different from his other books.
    • 4/5
      e title pretty much provides a plot summary. It is unbelievable the tragedy this family faces. So intriguing my mother-in-law read it too. Not your average YA book.
    • 3/5
      This reminded me of an Oprah's book club selection. Tragedy, family secrets, coming to terms with loss. The story is told from alternating perspectives of siblings Jenna and Jeremy. Their mother, a famous artist, is shot and killed on a public street by their father, a college psychologist. Slowly the story unravels as to why he killed her (he was having an affair with a student and she was going to get him fired) and how both children come to terms with what happens and learn to move on and do something constructive with their grief. Jenna starts a website for other kids who've lost a parent and Jeremy continues painting and drawing. Through it all it comes out that the dad had witnessed his little sister fall to her death out of a tree and later accidentally ran over his daughter from his first marriage. When he goes to trial he tries to portray himself as an abused husband and the wife as an unstable adulterer. Overall an ok read. The chain of events was a little implausible especially where the trial is concerned and everything is tied up a little too neatly in the end.