His Mother’s Son by Cai Emmons

This reads like a story that could be written about Kip Kinkle’s (he was our local high school shooter) sister. Jana Thomas seems like a highly successful woman who is just a little over concerned with any slightly out of the ordinary behavior of her lively 6 year old son. In another time she had another name and another life. One in which as the big sister she was unable to prevent a horrible tragedy. Were there signs she chose to ignore? Can she be sure she will not make the same mistake with her own son? This book made me realize how as mothers and as teachers our lives were forever changed by the various school shootings and the notion that somehow, it we just paid closer attention, they could have been prevented. It was truly a loss of innocence.