Customer Reviews

The Day I Killed James

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

James was Theresa's neighbor. It was obvious to everyone, even to her that he was in love with her. Theresa however didn't feel that way about James, she couldn't help it, it just wasn't there. He was four years older than her and besides that she already had a boyfriend, Randy. When Randy moves onto another girl, Theresa can't help but use James's willingness to her advantage. She knows he loves her, and she knows that using him is wrong, but he insists that he wants to be used. Theresa, however, didn't foresee the events that would play out the night of the party, or she never would have asked James to be her date. Theresa broke his heart and he killed himself.

Overflowing with toxic guilt, Theresa flees her old life. She shaves her head, changes her name and moves to a new town where no one knows her. Determined that she won't let herself hurt someone again.

Unexpectedly, Theresa's salvation comes in the form of a young scraggly abused child, that lives next door to her trailer. They set out on a road trip that ultimately aids in healing them both.

I can't say enough good things about Hyde as a writer. She gets me everytime! The moral of this story is simple, be careful with other peoples hearts. The story, however, is anything but. The plot is intense, and the sporadic journal entries by Theresa add significant depth. Once again Ryan has superbly crafted a compelling tale that I soon won't forget.

Title: The Day I Killed James

Author: Catherine Ryan Hyde

Rating: 5/5

Good:
From the cover, to the first page, all the way to the end, this book completely captivated me. The idea was fresh and new and it brings forth an interesting idea of how much blame to put on yourself when something happens to someone close to you. The main character is deep and emotional, and while she tries to push people away she really wants someone to push through the wall she's built. I love Theresa, she's a character I can relate to very easily, and she's also likable in her own way.

Bad:
I'm having a difficult time coming up with something bad about this book... It was truly amazing and wonderful, the type of book I could read again and never get tired of.

I generally don't read many books in the Young Adult genre, but I was happy to read THE DAY I KILLED JAMES by Catherine Ryan Hyde, especially after reading another of her books recently, CHASING WINDMILLS and liking it so much.

This is the story of Theresa, a senior in high school who lives with her father. Her mother took off long ago, so it's been just the two of them for awhile. They're relationship is a bit strained, mainly because her father is pretty much absent, emotionally and physically due to all the time he spends at his girlfriend's house. Theresa has a boyfriend, Randy, who she fights with, then breaks up with, then gets back together with on a somewhat regular basis, but everyone is pretty much used to the pattern. Only this time is different.

There's a party at a friend's house and Randy tells Theresa he's bringing somone else. In retaliation, Theresa invites her neighbor, James to be her date to the party. James is a few years older, good looking and is infatuated with Theresa, which does make her a little uneasy about the situation. Theresa's plan to make Randy jealous works, maybe a little too well. At the party, James walks in on the two of them 'making up' and takes off on his motorcycle. That is the last time anyone sees James.

In the months following the accident, Theresa makes decisions based on the blame she puts on herself for being responsible for what happened. First, she tries to cope through a journal she keeps at the insistence of her therapist. She chronicles her feelings and actions, although not really thinking it would do much good. Then she tries re-inventing herself and her life. Guilt does funny things to people and we all handle it very differently and she is very matter of fact at how she punishes herself for that guilt.

During her time of self-punishment she meets Cathy, an 11 year old girl who has a tragic story of her own and the two form an odd sort of bond. As much as Theresa tries to separate herself from people, she is pulled into helping this young girl. The result is that in trying to help Cathy, Theresa is able to face her own demons and deal with the fall-out of her own choices with the help of someone unexpected.

THE DAY I KILLED JAMES is an interesting read that moves quickly and makes you want to keep turning to the next page. Parts of the book are her actual journal entries which make it very real and insightful to her feelings. The writing is direct and at times a bit raw, which makes it all the more convincing. I did find it difficult to accept the circumstances surrounding Cathy, the young girl Theresa befriends. Probably because my childhood was drastically different than hers and I didn't want to believe situations like that exist. But my feelings about it didn't take away from the story at all.

I feel that THE DAY I KILLED JAMES is a realistic account of what could happen in young lives if they are oblivious to others around them. Maybe not exactly the same way the story played out, but certainly there are lessons that could be learned. Theresa's story could play an important role in teaching young adults about being aware of choices and consequences. Although tragic, this could be a learning experience for young readers.

Everyone carries around some sort of guilt or regret. Most don't carry the burden that Theresa does.

James is her next-door neighbor. He's attractive, but a bit too bizarre for Theresa. And he's in love with her. He left for two years for the military and wrote her every week. She thinks she sent him maybe two letters in return.

Theresa is in love with her boyfriend, Randy. They've been dating for nine months now. However, he's just told her that he wants to take another girl, Rachel, to their friend Frieda's end-of-school party. There have been on-again and off-again periods with Randy before, but this is a first. Theresa lets him go, and in retaliation, she asks James if he'd like to go to a party with her. She is up front with him that it's purely for show, but James is thrilled to have the chance for even a pretend date with Theresa.

While James is off getting Theresa something cold to drink, Randy comes crawling back to Theresa, realizing he made a mistake. Theresa tries to think of James, but before she knows it, she and Randy are in a heavy makeout session. It's only after she hears James' motorcycle pull away that she starts to worry what he may think.

But that's not the worst of it. James doesn't come home, and Theresa goes to the cops. Not long after telling the cops he's missing, they come knocking on her door to tell her that his motorcycle has gone over the side of a cliff.

No one is to blame, but Theresa believes it's all her fault because of what James saw. Not able to handle the guilt or the remorse, she leaves home to reinvent herself.

Living in a beat-up trailer, a young neighbor girl starts hanging around. Before Theresa realizes it, life is changing again, and the thought-provoking actions of an eleven-year-old slowly brings Theresa back to the living.

What a powerful story. Theresa is determined to keep James' memory alive out of guilt. But Ms. Hyde weaves the story beautifully and the reader gets to see the slow healing process that Theresa, and also Cathy, her young neighbor, go through. You will surely laugh and cry with the story, but will come out much better for it on the other side. Just like Theresa did.

Reviewed by: Jaglvr

Theresa tells James that their party date is a one-time thing. She's only using him to make her maybe-ex-boyfriend jealous. It works, but Theresa breaks James' heart in the process, and he drives his motorcycle of a cliff, dying of suicide. Theresa's entire world collapses, and she blames herself for James' death. She severs ties with her old life, and tries to reinvent herself, all in an attempt to atone for what she did to James. Slowly though, through meeting a girl very similar to herself, Theresa begins to realize that she can't keep running away forever.

Once again, Catherine Ryan Hyde writes a beautiful story about learning to live with what you've done. The story was incredibly sad, because Theresa kept blaming herself for killing James, even though it wasn't entirely her fault, and even though Theresa's only eighteen-years-old, this ages and matures her. Theresa's character and journey to self-forgiveness is very realistic, and I was so relieved with the hopeful ending. The Day I Killed James is truly a heartfelt, well-written, and unforgettable story, and one I will not likely forget.

The Day I Killed James is probably my favorite of Catherine Ryan Hyde's novels so far, and I most definitely recommend it. The topic of death is never an easy one to write about, and I rank this novel high among others of this topic, including Saving Zoë by Alyson Noël, Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, and Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin.

[...]

I would almost go so far as to recommend any of Catherine Ryan Hyde's books before I have read them. There is always "the moral to the story is" in each of her books that really touch me. Although this is a book for teenagers and young adults as are several of her books, I find it doesn't make any difference, it is still suitable for all ages.
I have experienced all the emotions attributed to Annie in the story as I lost an adult son to suicide four years ago. I know guilt, it was my best friend for the first two years. I now know about depression but didn't recognize it soon enough. And forgiveness figures into all of her stories.
I definitely think teenagers should read this book, it will give them insight and understanding if they ever have to deal with losing a classmate or friend to suicide. It will surely make them more conscience of what they say or do that could have a lasting effect on others. In the whole scheme of things, we are responsible for others and their wellbeing. "The Day I Kill James" will explain it very well and I believe if it is Hyde's first book you read, you will seek out all her books quickly.

The only reason Theresa asks James out is because she wants to make her ex-boyfriend jealous. And even though she knows she probably shouldn't give James, who adores her, any ideas, they go to the party together anyway. But then the situation at the party gets out of hand and James commits suicide. Theresa is wracked with overwhelming guilt, and unable to handle it, tries to run away--from her life, and the pain.

This surreal novel is indelible. It will cling stubbornly to your memory, and will refuse to be shaken free. The plotline is wonderfully drawn out, and the characters fallible and familiar. Each one is unique, expressive, and entirely candid. Theresa's journal entries are interspersed throughout the course of the novel, giving it immense depth and significance. In this gripping, exquisite, and uplifting multi faceted read, Catherine Ryan Hyde is at her very best, forcing you to re-examine exactly how deep and powerful love is, along with the disappointments and wonders that come with it.

[...]

I'm split on how to rate this book. I did not like the first part at all, but I loved the rest of the book.

The beginning was extremely confusing. There were normal chapters about the days before James died and there were journal entries, which said "Day I'm writing this" and "Day I'm writing about", which were partly about the time before and partly about the time after James' death. The order of these chapters and journal entries seemed random to me. The narrative of the journal entries seemed forced as it was exactly the same style as in the normal chapters.

I would have liked it better if the author had either written in chronological order or had just started at the time directly after the accident and worked with regular flashbacks. Actually, I think she could have left out the time directly following James' death completely, as that part didn't help the plot at all, in my opinion. There could have just been a first part dealing with the death and a second part dealing with Theresa's life in her new town.

I guess the reader was supposed to sympathize with James, and later on I did, but in the beginning I just thought he was creepy - what's a good-looking, 20-something-year-old guy doing obsessing over some high-school-girl? He was basically stalking her - he came over and just sat outside Theresa's house, he washed her car without being asked to, and he painted her name on his motorcycle, and I didn't understand what he even saw in Theresa.

I didn't understand Theresa's emotions - she felt guilty, but it took her over 70 pages to finally, for the first time be sad that James was gone. I also thought the other characters, such as Theresa's father, Frieda, and Randy were underdeveloped.

With that out of the way, I really did enjoy the rest of the book, even though the change in point-of-view from a first-person- to a third-person- back to a first-person-narrator was kind of strange. After I found out more about him and his past, I felt sorry for James, especially after the scenes at James' mom's house, which were really well done and made me cry. I felt Theresa's guilt, which Catherine Ryan Hyde handled really well, showing how she tried to isolate herself and pushed others away of fear of hurting them, too. The book used showing instead of telling most of the time, too, which I enjoyed.

I loved the storyline with - well, I don't even know what to call her; her name is Cathy but first tells Theresa her name's Georgia, and is then usually referred to as "the kid" or "the juvenile delinquent". Anyways, her story was terrible and heartbreaking, and I loved the relationship she had with Theresa and how they helped each other deal with their issues.

I'm still not sure whether I gave this book the right rating - I definitely had my problems with it, especially at the beginning, and even considered to stop reading it. I'm glad I didn't, though, as the rest of the novel was a great, emotional read with a great moral. So, if you think you can get past the first 70 pages or so, give this book a try, as the rest is worth it.

In the beginning of this book, I wasn't for sure if I was going to like it. The story is told in three parts, switching from journal entries to first person to third and then back. It took me a bit to get into the story, but once I did, I realized that Theresa's story could not be told any other way.

Theresa's guilt is very strong. You can identify with it and feel it. And me, being the person that gets sucked into characters - I just wanted to give the girl a hug. My favorite part was the Part Two of the book, where it switches to third person giving the story the outsider looking into what is going on with her "new" life. This is what really grabbed me into the book and made me want to continue to read.

The main thing you can take from this that we have to be careful with what we do or say. Because sometimes without meaning it, our actions will speak louder than words and hurt those around us. There is no doubt that Catherine Ryan Hyde is truly a talented writer and has a way with words. This being the first book (I've been running into a lot of first times with authors lately), I'm looking forward to reading more of her work.

At a writers' talk brunch, I was introduced to the writing of Catherine Ryan Hyde by one of my friends who took a writing workshop from her. I had heard of "Pay It Forward" but didn't think to read it. I was surprised at how much I enjoy Hyde's unusual YA lit, beginning with "Becoming Chloe." Now with "The Day I Killed James" also making its mark with me, I am a devoted fan of this author.

The story focuses on Theresa, a teen grappling with guilt and grief. She has been dumped by her boyfriend,Randy, and lets a neighbor boy take her to a party. Her motivation is to make Randy jealous.

When James dies, Theresa cannot cope, feeling she is the root cause of his death. She tries many self-punishing techniques and nothing makes her feel better. Even a new identity in a new place doesn't really work except to make her the object of intense speculation and desire among the young men.

Her meeting up with an abused child takes her on a new journey that unravels in very unexpected ways.

Of all the memorable works and quotable lines I have read this year so far, this one stands out, "Do not be careless with someone else's heart." If we lived more with this in mind, our world would be a better place.

The book highlights the local color of the beautiful California community of Cambria (Hearst Castle) and the surrounding coastal communities as well as the beaches and the ocean there.