The Space Between

by Kali White VanBaale

"Judith's son has shot two students, a teacher, and himself at school. An ordinary wife and mother must suddenly grapple with extraordinary grief and horror, struggling to be the center of her remaining family but plagued by doubts and questions that maydisrupt her life more completely than the shooting"--Provided by publisher.

Genres: Fiction

285 pages, Paperback

First published September 30, 2006

About the author

Kali White is the author of the forthcoming THE MONSTERS WE MAKE (Crooked Lane Books, June 2020). Her second novel, THE GOOD DIVIDE (as Kali VanBaale), earned the Eric Hoffer Book Award for General Fiction, was shortlisted for the Hoffer Grand Prize, and was named an Indie Book Award finalist. Her debut novel, THE SPACE BETWEEN (as Kali VanBaale), earned an American Book Award, the Independent Publisher’s silver medal for general fiction, and the Fred Bonnie Memorial First Novelist Award.
She's the assistant editor of the micro-essay series THE PAST TEN, which is being developed into a print anthology.
Her short stories and essays have appeared in The Coachella Review, The Chaffey Review, Past Ten, Nowhere Magazine, The Writer's Chronicle, Poets&Writers, The Writer Magazine, and various anthologies.
She is the recipient of a State of Iowa Arts Council major artist grant and the Great River Writer's Retreat.
Kali holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts and is a core faculty member in the Lindenwood University MFA in Creative Writing Program.
She resides in Iowa with her family.

Reviews

[PinkAmy loves books, cats and naps · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 STARS

Judith’s life and family crumble after her son Lucas kills three people and himself in a school shooting. She, her daughter Lindsey and husband Peter are unable to talk to each other, pulling further apart.

THE SPACE BETWEEN is a short novel told from Judith’s third person POV and a few of her first person journal entries. I remember after Columbine thinking about the shooters’ parents and how much more difficult their journey would be. The public oozes sympathy to support families of victims left behind while blaming the parents, who not only had to mourn their sons, but also come to grips that they raised a mass murderer. Judith and her family are living that nightmare.

Certainly Judith and Peter failed to get Lucas help for his problems, they never followed through talking to him for either his behavior or when he was victimized. His father called him a pussy when he was beaten up, his mother ignored his outbursts. I didn’t like Judith or Peter much, but felt loads of empathy for Lindsey.

Kali VanBaale didn’t write a lot of emotion into THE SPACE BETWEEN and I had a hard time connecting to her even though I understood a lot of why she acted the way she did. I wanted more heart. The story had a lot of drunk driving without consequence or thought from the characters which bothered me a lot as they were adult women who knew better. They knew they should speak up when they saw each other driving drunk and they knew they shouldn’t drive while intoxicated (or else they should have known).

A lukewarm recommendation.

[Sharelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book takes me to the place of fear: What if my child . . . Written with enough credibility that I feel it could happen to any mother. Even me. Credible and wonderfully crafted. Disturbing and comforting. A great book club choice.

[Mathieu Cailler · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible novel--one that is worthy of being read again and again.

[Nicole Norton Mueller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an easy read about a difficult subject. There were several haunting lines about grief/pain that will stick with me for a while:

"This hurts so much that I want to peel the skin from my body and scratch my bones."
"I just want to sleep until it is time for me to wake up and die."

VanBaale did an excellent job allowing the reader to observe the way multiple characters worked through the "five stages of grief" after an unexpected loss.

[Izzy Kujawinski · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciate this book for its realness and its honest attempt to accurately portray grief in such a complicated situation. Judith’s character growth is touching to watch, but I still feel as though it falls a bit flat. The book drags a bit and it can get repetitive which I can acknowledge speaks true to the grieving process, but it makes for a bit of a boring read. Not bad, just not outstanding.

[Kieran · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book very much and just like the last book of my mother's I read, unexpected things happened and I could tell by the end of the first chapter. Everything started off full of happiness and joy and then WHAM things fall apart, depression, separation. I could feel so much emotion that this book made me cry and raise my anxiety a little. Great read!

[retronerd Steinkuehler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this years ago and picked it up again as we continue to witness more and more of the same terrifying news.

[Julie Stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

So timely for our world today. Beautifully written portrait of a mother trying to make sense out of something incomprehensible.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a powerful book especially in light of recent school shooting tragedies. The author addresses the journey through grief toward healing from the point of view of the young shooter's family.

[Chad Michael Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

VanBaale has written a well-crafted novel about a very difficult subject: school shootings. They have inexplicably become commonplace in American culture, and communities are quick to rally around families that lose loved ones, but rarely are the family members of the shooter viewed as victims. I give VanBaale an exceptional amount of credit for tackling this very sensitive perspective. She displays great compassion for her characters without ever letting them escape the reality of the horror thrust upon them. The premise alone deserves a five star rating, nevertheless, I imagine most readers will struggle to "like" this book. It is uncomfortable on many levels, and anyone who has lived through Columbine or a similar atrocity will likely experience rekindled anger, fear and hatred.

These emotions are too often left idle, however, so it is great to see such a courageous premise. VanBaale has created a literary work of art - full of ugliness, loneliness and death. Yet, tenderness remains. It is a mother's love that is ultimately explored in VanBaale's novel...love in the most tragic of circumstances.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

We often wonder about the families, in particular the mothers, of those who commit atrocities. In this book, a school shooting is the backdrop that allows us to look behind the scene and meet the family of the killer. Told mainly from the mother's perspective, we gradually come to realize no parent ever totally knows their child or follows every clue that something is terribly wrong. What separates the average family from the family of a boy who commits such a crime may be nothing more than sheer luck.

A beautiful first book that leaves the reader looking forward to more from this author.

[Heather Colacurcio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kali VanBaale tackles an almost overlooked aspect of a controversial subject; "The Space Between" is the story of the mother of a school shooting. VanBaale gives the reader a lot to think about here, including who the forgotten survivors of such tragedies are, what they are feeling and what they have lost.

[Jan Blazanin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kali VanBaale has written a gripping book about the after effects of a school shooting on the shooter's family. Her characters are so well-crafted that I found myself forgetting that this book is a work of fiction. This is a book well worth reading.

[Wendy Delsol · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a powerful book that explores the anguish of a school shooting from the perspective of the shooter's mother. Honest and heartbreaking.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought it was really well written. It was a bit too depressing for my taste.

[Stephanie Swanson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! It is one of my favorites! I would highly recommend to anyone.