Finding Closure: Who can move forward without it: 1

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A moving story about an eleven-year-old girl with Asperger’s syndrome whose older brother dies in a school shooting and the steps she takes to get closure. Kathryn Erskine pulls this poignant tale off wonderfully – it is sad, but sad in a way that gives the reader hope. Reason for Reading: I have Asperger's and when I saw a book that featured a female protagonist with Asperger's I was elated and HAD to read the book. After experiencing the death of someone we love, we hope to gain closure following their death. We look at different things, such as honoring their lives and finding meaning in their death. But we may not know entirely what it means to get closure from their death or if it’s even possible ever to get there. Jump ahead to these sections: The results of the study conducted on the victims and offenders who participated in RESTORE were very encouraging as it relates to the completion of the offender reparation plans and victim satisfaction with the program. Koss (2014) found that about 66% of felony offenders and 91% of misdemeanor offenders completed the reparation plan drafted during the program. That is incredibly successful considering that sexual assaults cases handled through traditional adjudication resulted in 75% being closed without any consequences to the offender. Also critical to note is that 70% of the victims felt justice was done and 84% of the victims would recommend RESTORE to others (Koss, 2014). So what role does guilt and shame play in the RESTORE program? For a girl with Asperger's who has lost her brother in a school shooting, safety is a luxury she can't reach while people keep staring at her and while her father is in deepest grief. Finding "Closure" is her mission, and as her world is literal and doesn't contain the complexity of different underlying meanings, she goes by her beloved dictionary's definition of closure to start with. In a process that requires incredible bravery, she manages to develop a method for herself to reach other people - working on discovering empathy in a practical rather than linguistic sense - and she makes connections in life through literary references.

As to the Asperger's, from the author's note she does not outright say but it seems clear that either she or a loved one has an 'aspie' child and she is writing from experience. Caitlin is well presented as a female with Asperger's. The typical picture the public has of someone with AS is a science, math, computer geek and this is not wrong. These are often very strong interests in males (which doesn't mean some females will too) but typically females show their 'geekiness' in words and books. They are writers, bookworms, grammar police, etc. Caitlin here is an excellent student with great writing skills and a fascination with the dictionary, who keeps lists of words with the accentuated part in caps. Typical female AS behaviour. Caitlin has some meltdowns, fortunately the author doesn't over do them, as has been done in other books I've read. Girls are less likely to have seriously noticeable meltdowns and hyperactivity making the typical age of diagnoses around 16 rather 8 as in boys. Caitlin's two least favourite subjects at school are recess and PE. This really endeared her to me as those were my most hated subjects as well. There is this anxiety feeling you get in the pit of your stomach as an aspie and Caitlin associates this with recess so whenever she gets this feeling she will say she is feeling recessy or has the recess feeling. This beautifully describes an everyday symptom of Asperger's.Highly recommended for children, teens, and adults alike – this book is definitely deserving of the National Book Award, and will leave readers aching to understand one another despite their personal problems. This type of ending asks more questions than answers and, ideally, leaves the reader wanting to know how the story will continue. It lets them reflect on what the hero has been through and pushes them to imagine what is still to happen. There will be some resolution, but it will, most likely, pose questions at the end and leave some doors open.

Readers will wonder what happens to Jonas once he finishes his journey and what happens to the town and people he left behind. There are three more companion books with more plot points, but the story centering on Jonas is finished. Readers will see him again, but only as a side character, and will neither find out how he rebuilt his life nor how his old community fared. There might be speculation, but an answer is never clearly given: that is left to the imagination. Finally, there is Caitlin's voice. It drove me absolutely insane. Some have argued that this is a good thing. If Caitlin's voice annoys you then the author must be doing something right in creating a character that doesn't fall into the usual middle grade pattern of protagonists. She is unique. I note this theory, but I don't agree with it. My annoyance isn't necessarily who Caitlin is, but rather the fact that I never for one moment believe that I'm listening to a girl. Instead, for much of this book I felt like I was reading an adult woman putting herself into the head of a girl like Caitlin. How else to explain the off-putting "humorous" moments when Caitlin fails to understand a word or term? We have been assured that she reads at an adult level. Certainly her vocabulary should be through the roof, and yet she stumbles when she hits words as simple as "closure" and "fundraiser" (turning it into the strangely out-of-character "fun raiser"). It seems that Caitlin is only as smart as the plot allows her to be. Otherwise, she's adorably out-of-place, and that manipulation rang false. Why might you use an unexpected ending? These ‘twist endings’ are the bread and butter of mystery novels. Just be aware that while fans of the genre will expect a twist — they won't want one that comes entirely out of nowhere. To execute a flawless unexpected ending, you must lay groundwork throughout your book so that the reader can reflect on the plot and go, “ah, but of course!” 5. Tied EndingThis paper will explain the concepts and emotions behind restorative justice, the effectiveness of the programs, and how they are justified ethically. The specific role that different emotions play in the context of restorative justice programs will be examined and applied to various types of restorative programs such as restorative programs related to sex offenses, sex offender registries, and domestic violence. Restorative justice programs are ethical, and effective in reducing recidivism across various crime types when focusing on guilt rather than shame as the target emotions. Restorative Justice Instead of going into great detail, Zusak uses short chapters that feel more like sneak peeks into her life. Additionally, it serves the purpose of joining Liesel, the main character, with the narrator, Death, and allowing them to converse on more equal terms. Try filling your calendar with new activities or doing things that are outside of your comfort zone. Go easy on yourself and expect that your grief will ebb and flow for the next few weeks and months. 7. Find your purpose Examining the goals of any criminal justice program or initiative is important to ensure that it is ethically justified while working efficiently and achieving the desired goals. If creating strong emotional responses in offenders is critical to effective restorative justice then understanding which emotions should be sought after and how they are defined is important. Understanding Shame and Guilt Mingus, W., & Burchfield, K. (2012). From prison to integration: Applying modified labeling theory to sex offenders. Criminal Justice Studies, 25(1), 97-109. doi: 10.1080/1478601x.2012.657906