Inexcusable

Inexcusable, by Chris Lynch
Published by Ginee Seo Books in 2005
165 pages
Warning: The book does contain explicit drug use, but the telling of the rape is not as explicit as I expected. The sex is implied, not described in detail.
Genre: Sex, Drugs, Realism, Rape

This book starts with a typical teenage boy; football player, popular among friends and into girls. Readers slowly begin to realize that this boy has done something wrong. Consistently trying to justify his actions, Keir, tries to convince himself that he is a good kid. Keir feels guilty for what he has done to his best friend, Gigi. She has accused him of raping her. Keir, in denial, tells the events of what lead up to the suggested rape. He tells the story of a controversial tackle in a football game, graduation, using drugs on graduation and also provides the details that his mother killed herself and that him and his dad live alone. Amidst telling these details, he consistently tries to justify that he is a good kid.

The book does contain explicit drug use information, but the telling of the rape is not as explicit as I expected. The sex is implied, not described in detail. While I believe this book could be used in a classroom, I would only teach it to Juniors and Seniors. This book is important because it discusses how two people can see one event very differently, as Keir and Gigi do. Young adults can learn from this. This will help them realize the importance of seeing more then one side of an arguments, and not always letting their own ideas fog the vision of understanding the ideas of another person.

This book is also a National Book Award Finalist.