Review: Confessions

Title: Confessions
Author: Kanae Minato, Stephen Snyder (translator)
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Mulholland Books
Source: Borrowed from a friend
Release Date: August 5, 2008
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Her pupils killed her daughter. Now, she will have her revenge.

After an engagement that ended in tragedy, all Yuko Moriguchi had to live for was her four-year-old child, Manami. Now, after a heartbreaking accident on the grounds of the middle school where she teaches, Yuko has given up and tendered her resignation.

But first, she has one last lecture to deliver. She tells a story that will upend everything her students ever thought they knew about two of their peers, and sets in motion a maniacal plot for revenge.

Narrated in alternating voices, with twists you’ll never see coming, Confessions probes the limits of punishment, despair, and tragic love, culminating in a harrowing confrontation between teacher and student that will place the occupants of an entire school in harm’s way. You’ll never look at a classroom the same way again.

Review:

This book is so amazing! 

It has an unusual beginning. The narrator in the first chapter is Moriguchi, and she is speaking directly to her class. She speaks to the reader, making it seem like you are one of the students. This brought me right into the story. For each chapter, the narrator changes. This was hard to get used to at first because it isn’t obvious who the narrator is at he beginning of the chapter. It took a couple of paragraphs to figure out who it was. But in the end, this technique gave different perspectives of the story which was very interesting. 

I like the conflicting feelings between the two students involved in the murder. One regrets that he didn’t succeed in killing the girl, while the other regrets that he did succeed in killing her. It was fascinating to see how these feelings of regret and failure play out in the young minds of the boys. 

Most of the characters are trying to get revenge for something that was done to them. Though their plan usually fails, the person does end up being damaged from the results in some way, just not the way they planned. The ultimate revenge happened at the end. It actually gave me chills. 

I’m so glad I read this book. I highly recommend it for a unique thriller! 

Author: jilljemmett

Jill lives in Toronto, Canada. She has studied English, Creative Writing, and Publishing. Jill is the creator and content producer of Jill’s Book Blog, where she has published a blog post every day for the last four years, including 5-7 book reviews a week. She can usually be found with her nose in a book. View all posts by jilljemmett