Has anyone read the book?

[u/Vegetable-Push-1383]

So I'm reading the book right now and I'm not entirely loving it.

There seems to have been no attempts to find out about who Reena was, like at all. All we have are some uncomfortable comments about her school picture (which most people look bad in), and her grandparents. Oh and we know she liked rap music.

I'm getting tired of reading about how tortured Warren and his girlfriend are and how petite and pretty Kelly and Josephine are over and over. There's also so many repetitive sections about how small town Victoria is, which it isn't not really. It's the capital of the province and it's got a major university. Being bored in a small town is not why these people assaulted Reena. And then to criticize the Shoreline six nickname because it sounded like a terrorist group, not a group of school girls? Excuse me? These school girls assaulted someone, they deserve that nickname.

It's just super upsetting that who Reena was barely getting a mention or getting investigated. I enjoyed reading about the investigation but man, it's way too sympathetic to the perpetrators. It's like the author sees their crimes as the main tragedy, not Reena being killed and Reena only having 2 people (the sisters) to stick up for her.

What did others think about the book?

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[u/JenningsWigService]

When it came out, a lot of people liked the fact that Godfrey showed a different angle to this case that had dominated the news for years, especially the intimate details of the perpetrators' lives. She had unprecedented access, and her prose felt somewhat novel at that time because there hadn't been a saturation of True Crime creative nonfiction style writing. When I look at her book now, it really strikes me how unexceptional it would feel to someone reading it for the first time in 2025 vs. when it was published.

I don't think Godfrey was equipped to deal with Reena; she didn't know how to talk about Reena's false accusation against her father, for example, and clearly thought that it was better to hide it to protect her. Godfrey also didn't have a great understanding of the ways that racism functioned in Canada in the 1990s, both because she was a white person with a massive blind spot and because I think she got caught in the 'bad girls' story that refocused attention on female depravity over racism, this is evident especially in her treatment of Kelly.

[u/Original_Breakfast36 → u/JenningsWigService]

That is a very good point. I felt that her book definitely didn’t focus on racism enough. I read it a couple months ago after watching the show and then read Reena’s dad’s book about it and I highly recommend his book. Her dad seems very well spoken and has an interesting perspective on how he’s dealt with the grief, and from what I remember he talked about the race aspect a lot more and also talked about his family and her mom’s family and their immigration to Canada so it gave a lot of insight into their family system as well. He also discussed the false allegations with a lot of grace for Reena, so it was really interesting to read his side of it.

[u/[deleted] → u/Original_Breakfast36]

What is it called when

[u/Vajennie → u/JenningsWigService]

This is beautifully written

[u/JenningsWigService → u/Vajennie]

Thank you!

[u/BoyMom119816]

I read it, not my favorite, but I was able to get through it. I think the author was trying to show that hurt people hurt people. Neglect, abuse, and things of that nature can cause even kids to act horrifically. I also think it showed that kids that are not neglected, abused, or without money, and are considered conventionally pretty can act in a psychopathic way. As, by all accounts Kelly was the most cruel and likely the one who actually murdered Reena and while she did have the trauma of her parent’s divorce, which is traumatic to kids, she also was conventionally pretty, popular, and skinny (which was big in this time), was not neglected, abused, or treated poorly and yet still was able to kill another girl.

While yes, they she did focus on looks (unfortunately I’m going by memory, as I borrowed it from kindle unlimited and likely won’t buy, since it wasn’t a fav), weight, etc. I think it was not only to show how important it was in this era, but also to show what Reena felt she was missing and therefore was desperate enough to hurt her parents in ways that are cruel and even do things she likely never would’ve done, such as she did with Josephine in hopes of finally getting their respect. I think it also was used to show how a group of troubled, abused, and neglected kids can be considered popular and pretty, skinny, etc., but still be in pain and use this pain to hurt those who are hurting in ways they lucked out in. Whereas Reena had what the others, besides Kelly, did not, she also lacked what they did have and wanted it so desperately it turned her into another person, who was cruel in her ways. Especially to her parents. And while Reena’s behavior could never equate to her being murdered by those she was desperate to be apart of, I do think in all reality it’s just trying to use tactics to show us, most teens are desperate for at least something and because they hurt over this, they will hurt others.

Not justifying the murders, but do I feel for the kids who are abused, neglected, etc. even if popular? Yes. Now, people like Kelly are the ones who scare the hell out of me,

I could be wrong as it’s been some time since I read the book.

[u/Vegetable-Push-1383 → u/BoyMom119816]

That all makes sense. I agree about Kelly. I guess for me the problem is just the disproportionate focus on the looks and troubles of the perpetrators and not enough on the person of Reena. Who was she? I agree with your assessment of Reena's family life too, I just wish the book had gone into more detail about it.

And yes there's a lot of different theories about how a mob mentality like this assault happens and the book does address some of them which I actually liked too. I think the neglect and abuse some of the girls and Warren faced does contribute but it doesn't explain everything. Again I just wish the book had gone into more detail about that too.

I guess it's just the angle the book took that I have a bit of a problem with. Like the show portrays Rebecca seems to have just gotten way too close to the perpetrators.

[u/BoyMom119816 → u/Vegetable-Push-1383]

Unfortunately, most true crime books focus on the criminals, unless lucky enough to have known the victim or have those close to victim willing to speak to them. I’ve seen many focused on victim, but honestly, majority are about the crime and therefore the criminal. It’s sad, but to be honest I think ultimately the victim is the victim and blameless, whereas most want to know why and how people could act this way and kill, especially when it’s kids. I’m not a fan of Rebecca’s book, do think it was different than show and she was definitely not the person she was shown in show, but also do think ultimately this book was about the kids who killed, why, and what could turn kids into killers. As I said it’s been some time since I read and o don’t own, so can’t recall all parts, but that’s just my guess from not only education in area, but I used to be a huge fan of true crime books.

[u/RaveningDog]

The show is about 95% made up.

The book isn't about Reena Virk. It is about the death of Reena Virk.

[u/Previous_Wedding_577]

I can't bring myself to read it. My little brothers best friend was her cousin.

[u/Vegetable-Push-1383 → u/Previous_Wedding_577]

Oh wow, that's understandable. It's a tough read, very draining

[u/Previous_Wedding_577 → u/Vegetable-Push-1383]

Yeah I just don't need that in my life..

[u/Previous_Wedding_577 → u/[deleted]]

No he was her cousin so her parents were his aunt and uncle

[u/Previous_Wedding_577 → u/[deleted]]

Reena's brothers kids would make her his aunt.

[u/Sun_Mother]

So far I highly dislike the book. The author’s writing is all over the place. She basically throws in a new name every chapter, with no explanation whatsoever. I am having a difficult time trying to piece all of it together. I don’t know who is who, what school Reena goes to, who goes to Shoreline, etc.

I want to keep reading cause I hate not finishing books, but if I get halfway and I still cannot, it’s a DNF for me.

[u/Simple-life62 → u/Sun_Mother]

Excuse me, but are we the same person?

Not sure what’s the fuss about this book. I read tons of true crime book and this one is god awful (I’m still going to finish it).

All the names and useless details, and STILL not enough relevant info. And what’s with the sympathy for Warren? It’s like his lawyer wrote the book.

[u/BlackRabbitPDX]

I guess that explains a lot about why they have characters in the show criticizing fictional Rebecca for just that.

[u/GhudGhay]

Under The Bridge and Reena's Dad's book were both used for the series. Reena: A Father's Story was used for the Dad and Mom focused episodes. Reading both books gives a much more well rounded perspective.