Inexcusable Summary and Teaching Applications

Inexcusable is one of Lynch’s most recent books, and has been named an ALA Best of the Best Books for Young Adults, a Booklist Editor’s Choice selection, and a National Book Award Finalist. The book tells the story of Keir Sarafian, a high school senior football player and self-proclaimed good guy who struggles with his identity and self-awareness after his childhood friend Gigi accuses him of rape. Keir’s mother died when he was a baby, and he grew up with two older sisters and a “quasi-alcoholic” but good-natured father. The book has a somewhat complicated narrative structure, using two different sets of flashbacks to tell the story. In one series of flashbacks, Keir relives events from his high school days as he tries to justify himself as a “good guy” and to deny the possibility of guilt. This web of stories reveals huge self-deception and irresponsibility in Keir, but he does not seem aware of his true character. The second series of flashbacks gives pieces of the fateful night with Gigi. Lynch has created a complex character in Keir, and succeeds in seducing the reader to sympathize with Keir throughout much of the novel. This book is appropriate for mature high school readers, and deals with themes such as family, responsibility, rape, and self-awareness. It is contains scenes of drug and alcohol abuse, underage drinking, sex and cruel pranks.

If I taught this book, it would most likely be paired with a book that discusses rape or sexual assault from a female point of view. I think Inexcusable provides interesting insights into the male perspective, and while Keir has a unique story, in many ways his story is very relatable. This book would provide an interesting contrast to a book like Laurie Anderson’s Speak. Like any text dealing with issues of sexual assault, teaching this book requires sensitivity and maturity from both teacher and students. Classroom time should be devoted to discussing rape, possibly inviting speakers or experts to discuss the topic. This book lends itself well to activities that call for introspection and self-awareness, as these are prominent ideas in the book. Students could write about a time their intentions were obscured by the result of an action, and could complete a mirroring activity. In the mirroring activity, students would identify both their personal and public personas and the interplay between them. They would then create masks using words and images, with the outside of the mask representing the public persona, and the inside representing the private persona. Then, the students would write a reflective piece about the experience. If read with Speak, the students would write about male and female perspectives on rape and other issues, and could hold a male vs. female discussion of issues that matter to the students to explore the perspective of the opposite gender.