case study book ending explained

Graeme Macrae Burnet

278 pages, Hardcover

First published October 7, 2021

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Braithwaite was born in Darlington in 1925 and, from the scant information available, appears to have had a brief period of celebrity in the mid-1960s If there is a recurring theme through the cases he presents though, it is that his clients are traumatised not by their eccentricities themselves, but by the stress of concealing them; of being forced to present different personae to different audiences. Braithwaite’s remedy is to embrace the idea of ‘being several’ (a phrase he uses repeatedly): to give up the idea that one persona is any ‘truer’ than any of the others. Once one has thrown off the idea of a ‘hierarchy of selves’ one can happily be whoever one wants, whenever ones wants. Subjecting oneself to therapy from Braithwaite must have been terrifying. Reading about it is tremendously entertaining.

He describes this new way of being as ‘schizophrening’. As the decade wore on, this would become an idea perfectly in tune with the be-whoever-you-want-to-be mood of the time, and copies of Kill Your Self would be soon found in the back pocket of every student and bar-room philosopher. ‘Phrening’ (or sometimes ‘phreening’) passed into beatnik argot, and the slogans ‘Don’t be yourself: phree yourself!’ or the more succinct ‘Don’t be: phree!’ were graffitied on the walls of university campuses up and down the land. The concept also gave rise to the short-lived Phree Verse movement in which often acid-fuelled performers channelled their various selves into a spiralling cacophony, until the different personae melded into one incomprehensible but ‘authentic’ stream of consciousness. Ironically, more than one participant in these happenings would later find themselves recovering in psychiatric facilities.

I think people will Google Collins Braithwaite and think he is real, because I write about him in a documentary style. ... When you write in a documentary format it signifies truth to the reader, or reality. Whereas when [a book is written] in the first person, there’s a much stronger feeling that you don’t need to believe what you’re reading and that the [character] may be misleading you. ... It’s fascinating to me, because when we read novels, we know it’s not real; yet what we seek from a novel, or what I seek from a novel, is a feeling of reality. In order to immerse yourself in a novel I think you have to feel that it is real, even though we know that it’s not true, it’s all made up.

Yes, I'm the great pretender

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‘Under the Bridge’ Ending Explained: Where Is Kelly Ellard Today and Did She Go To Jail?

T he Hulu drama series Under the Bridge explores the real-life murder of Canadian teen Reena Virk and the several factors at play: bullying, race, and mental health. In the final episode, the show depicts the court case that unfolded ultimately leaving six teenagers convicted.

Created by Quinn Shephard and Samir Mehta, the show is based on Rebecca Godfrey’s best-selling book of the same name and stars Riley Keough as a fictionalized version of the author and Lily Gladstone as police officer Cam Bentland.

Going into Episode 8, “Mercy Alone,” Rebecca has been criticized for forming a close relationship with suspect Warren Glowatski (Javon Walton), Cam has been looking into her adoption and disagreeing with the police force’s approach to Reena’s murder, and Kelly Ellard (Izzy G) has created an innocent facade after admitting to her friends that she did the killing.

The finale opens with Rebecca reconnecting with Warren after spending time apart. At the request of Reena’s mother Suman Virk (Archie Panjabi), she visits Warren and asks him to speak to the grieving parent. Suman tells Warren about the consequences of his participation in Reena’s murder. “You have poisoned my life,” she says while documenting how she is unable to care for her family because she is afraid to love them after what happened to her daughter.

Warren expresses guilt and agrees to testify after previously telling the court that he was present at the murder but wasn’t involved, and couldn’t remember the details.

In the final episode, Warren and Kelly are on trial and share their accounts of Reena’s murder. What happens in the end? Does Kelly go to prison? Here’s everything you need to know.

While on trial, Warren admits to his participation in Reena’s murder. He says he helped drag her body into the water, but expressed regret for his actions. “I was right there when Kelly held her head under the water – I didn’t tell her to stop,” Warren confesses. The teen boy turns his attention to Reena’s parents and tells the court, “I’ll be sorry for the rest of my life.” Warren ends up being charged with second-degree murder.

On the flip side, Kelly’s trial unfolds in an unhinged manner and she has an emotional outburst. Kelly denies her involvement altogether and yells at the prosecutor for suggesting otherwise. She ends up receiving the minimum sentence of at least five years in prison for second-degree murder, which is thought to be an act of injustice.

Cam connects with Rebecca after they have been at odds following their romantic hook-up due to Rebecca’s journalistic interest in the case. She subsides some of Rebecca’s guilt for the death of her brother, who seemingly died of suicide. Cam tells Rebecca that she didn’t cause her brother’s death and reveals that she is resigning from the police force.

Some time passes and Rebecca is reading a passage from her book, and sees herself in a newspaper for her involvement in Reena’s case. Cam decides to reconnect with her indigenous heritage and visit her birth town.

Back in the Virk household, Suman experiences a brief moment of release when she decides to listen to Reena’s favorite rap CD while in her room. She sits in content with her husband until the song plays out.

The end credits of the episode show the fates of some of the real-life people depicted in the series: Teenager Dusty (Aiyana Goodfellow) has shared regrets for her actions, Warren has dedicated his life to restorative justice and eventually made parole with the support of Reena’s parents, and Kelly was sentenced to life in prison after appealing her charges twice.

As a final note, the series is dedicated to Reena Virk.

Under the Bridge is streaming on Hulu.

The Frozen River

61 pages • 2 hours read

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The Frozen River is a 2023 historical fiction thriller by Ariel Lawhon following Martha Ballard , an 18th-century midwife in Maine, as she leverages her standing as a medical professional to investigate two crimes: a murder and a rape. This book is the sixth of Lawhon’s historical fiction novels, all of which center on notable female protagonists. Lawhon is known for writing “biographical fiction” that adheres closely to the truth of her heroines’ lives, but The Frozen River breaks this trend in that it is highly conjectural. Many of the key plot points of the book are entirely fabricated. Using Martha Ballard’s life, as recorded in her journal, and the biography written by Laura Thatcher Ulrich— A Midwife’s Tale (1990)—as loose guidelines, Lawhon explores themes of Puritan Shame Culture and Gender Oppression , The Courtroom as a Theatrical Spectacle , and Familial Loyalty in the Face of Suspicion .

This guide refers to the 2023 Kindle e-book edition of the text, published by Doubleday.

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Content Warning: The source text for this guide contains frequent discussions of rape, sexual assault, murder, historical execution practices, pregnancy loss, child loss, and descriptions of racism.

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As the Kennebec River begins to freeze in the winter of 1789, a corpse floats down it and becomes trapped in the ice. Martha Ballard, midwife for the town of Hallowell, Maine, arrives to examine the body. She identifies it as Joshua Burgess and determines his cause of death to be murder by hanging, though no rope was found with the body. Burgess was the subject of a recent town scandal; the parson’s wife, Rebecca Foster , was raped, and named Burgess as one of her attackers. The other assailant was Joseph North , a colonel and judge on the local court circuit.

A doctor named Page arrives and claims that it is his job to perform the autopsy, rather than Martha’s. Harvard-educated, Page has a higher standing in the eyes of the community. Martha returns home to her family mill, where her two daughters, Hannah and Dolly, are tending to Sam Dawin, the man who discovered Burgess’s body. Sam fell into the icy water and nearly died in the process. He confirms for Martha that he saw no rope with the body in the river . Martha also learns that prior to the murder, her son Cyrus, who is mute, got into a fight with Burgess at the town dance.

Martha tells Rebecca that Burgess has been murdered. Rebecca expresses hope that her husband was the one who killed him and tells Martha that she is pregnant as a result of the rape. Rebecca’s housekeeper, Sally Pierce, eavesdrops on their conversation. At the court hearing, presided over by North himself, Sally accuses Isaac Foster of murdering Burgess and Rebecca of fornication, based on what she overheard. Page disagrees with Martha’s autopsy report, testifying that Burgess could not have been hanged, since there was no rope found with his body. Biased, North agrees with Page’s findings, and upholds the accusations of fornication against Rebecca. Martha protests, but is held in contempt of court, and her husband, Ephraim, is forced to escort her out.

North pressures Ephraim to do a surveying job that will require him to be away for weeks. He wants Ephraim gone from town at the upcoming court date, since Martha will not be allowed to testify without her husband present. Martha continues work but finds that Page is stealing clients from her. Even worse, he is repeatedly responsible for stillbirths. Barnabas Lambard, an officer of the court, comes to the mill to ask where he can find Joshua Burgess. Realizing that Lambard is unaware of the murder, Martha sends him to the tavern without explanation, hoping that he will examine the body and conclude murder to be the cause of death. Later, Martha defends Sarah White, a woman whose child was born out of wedlock, from malicious gossip. The gossipers retaliate by hiring Page to deliver their babies, which are all tragically stillborn.

With the court date approaching, North visits the mill, aiming to intimidate Martha into silence. He insinuates that Cyrus will be charged with Burgess’s murder. Ephraim sends a message that he will be at the court, arriving in time to ensure that Martha is allowed to testify. In her testimony, Martha supports Rebecca’s rape accusation and provides her journal as evidence. The court finds that North had a conflict of interest in declaring Burgess’s murder accidental, and in charging Rebecca with fornication. They defer judgment to a later date.

A mysterious Black midwife, known only as Doctor, arrives in town to treat women covertly. Martha goes to visit Doctor to ask for help regarding Rebecca Foster’s treatment. Having smelled savine tea in Rebecca’s tin, Martha suspects that she is trying to abort the unwanted pregnancy and worries that the savine will have adverse effects. Doctor reassures Martha otherwise. Martha sees Sam Dawin and his new wife, May, entering Doctor’s cabin. She later finds out that May Dawin is pregnant, and that the baby was conceived out of wedlock.

Both Cyrus and Sarah have poor marriage prospects, and Martha believes that they would make a good match. However, since Cyrus cannot speak and Sarah cannot read, they are unable to communicate with one another. Martha plans to teach Sarah to read and invites her to an upcoming dance at the mill. At the dance, Martha sees her son Jonathan and Sam in a serious conversation. She also discovers Jonathan and Sally in flagrante, though Jonathan has no intention of marrying Sally.

The Court of Common Pleas assembles to hear arguments in the rape and murder cases. Lambard supports Martha’s theory of murder based on his own inspection of the body, and Page retorts that he would have suspected murder had he known about Cyrus’s fight with Burgess. This testimony places Cyrus under suspicion. Turning to the rape case, Rebecca provides a detailed, emotional account of her ordeal. The court charges North with rape, but he flees the room. Shortly after, Lambard arrests Cyrus for Burgess’s murder.

Word spreads around town that Page has a habit of delivering stillborns. Martha finds herself busy with midwifery once again, even delivering Page’s own baby. In return, she makes Page promise never to deliver another baby in Hallowell. On her way home, she stops by the general store, where she learns the owner is planning to sell it. He also tells her that North “lost his soul” during the Seven Years’ War, when he began scalping Indigenous people for profit. Despite North’s villainy, neither criminal case progresses as desired; Cyrus is released from jail, but remains charged, and when Rebecca Foster fails to attend the State Supreme Court’s hearing on the rape case, North is acquitted.

During a routine check-in on May Dawin, Martha notices a piece of lace in Sam’s pocket, and makes a connection to a piece of lace that was found with Burgess’s body, a “trophy” he had kept from the Foster rape. Around the same time, Sally unexpectedly gives birth to a baby, and reveals that Jonathan is the father. Martha confronts Jonathan about his new child and uses the opportunity to question him about the day that Sam was rescued from the ice. Jonathan admits that Sam used a bloody rope to haul himself to safety.

Rebecca gives birth, but rejects her baby, telling Martha to throw it in the river. Martha instead brings the baby to Sarah, who is still breastfeeding. Sarah’s sweetheart from the militia has returned to marry her and buy the general store. Martha returns home satisfied, but is met there by North, who intends to rape her as retribution for her investigation into his crimes. In self-defense, Martha chops off North’s penis with one of Ephraim’s woodworking blades.

Martha identifies Sam as Burgess’s murderer and asks him about his motivations. Sam reveals that Burgess raped May, and he killed him as revenge with Jonathan’s help. Martha understands his actions and promises not to tell anyone. With his involvement in the Burgess murder unknown, Jonathan is able to marry Sally and provide for his new family.

Each of the novel’s six parts concludes with a flashback that comprises a secondary plot. In 1754, Martha was raped in her hometown by a man named Billy Crane. A group of local men (including Ephraim and North) took it upon themselves to hang him. Ephraim marries Martha quickly thereafter, in part to save her from potential ruin, and the couple falls deeply in love. Martha begins an apprenticeship with the local midwife some years later and becomes a midwife herself. In the summer of 1769, a diphtheria epidemic kills three of Martha and Ephraim’s daughters, and Ephraim longs to live elsewhere, while Martha wants to stay where her children are buried. Finally, in 1778, they compromise by moving to Hallowell and bringing the girls’ tombstones with them.

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Truth & Lies

Trust: Book Summary and Ending Explained

By: Author Luka

Posted on Last updated: March 31, 2024

Categories Ending Explained

This post may contain affiliate links. Read more here .

Note: the following discussion guide contains spoilers, as well as references to critical plot points and the conclusion of Trust by Hernan Diaz.

Trust , a novel by Hernan Diaz published in 2022, delves into the life of Andrew Bevel, a financier who rises to immense wealth by betting against the 1929 stock market crash.

The book garnered attention by being longlisted for the Booker Prize, and it’s the author’s second novel after the success of In the Distance , a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.

Trust by Hernan Diaz

Structured into four distinct narratives, Trust explores conflicting perspectives on Bevel and his wife. It delves into themes such as the influence of wealth, the intricacies of financial systems, and gender dynamics.

In this guide we will go through the complete summary and ending explanation for Trust by Hernan Diaz.

Have a wonderful book club discussion! ✨

Summary  |  Ending Explained

Trust Book Summary

The story starts with a book within the book called “Bonds,” written by Harold Vanner, which is a best-selling novel that parallels the lives of Benjamin Rask and his wife, Helen, with the characters Andrew and Mildred Bevel featured in subsequent sections of Trust.

“Bonds” portrays Rask as an introverted individual who inherits wealth and business acumen, eventually becoming a successful investor after profiting from a market crash. Despite his financial success, Rask remains focused on investing rather than indulging in luxuries.

Helen, Rask’s wife, hails from a once-wealthy family in New York, now facing financial decline. Her upbringing, marked by her father’s eccentricities and her mother’s struggles, leads her to seek freedom through marriage to Rask.

After World War I, Helen discovers that her father has disappeared from the psychiatric hospital where he was being treated. Despite efforts to locate him in Europe, he remains missing, leaving Helen devastated.

In response, she immerses herself in philanthropy, becoming a patron of the arts and supporting mental illness research, an interest she shares with Rask. Although they admire each other, their relationship lacks passion.

As the crash of 1929 looms, Rask anticipates it and profits greatly by betting against the market, while the rest of the country suffers through the Great Depression. Accused by the media of manipulating the crash, Rask remains indifferent to the widespread hardship. While the Rasks face social ostracism, Rask gains even more prominence on Wall Street.

Meanwhile, Helen, feeling guilty over her husband’s actions, dedicates herself to organizing economic relief efforts. Her mental health deteriorates, fearing she may suffer the same fate as her father.

Eventually, she requests to be admitted to the same Swiss psychiatric hospital as him. Under Dr. Frahm’s care, she experiences some improvement with holistic treatment, despite Rask’s skepticism.

However, when Rask plans to have her transferred to a facility under his control, Helen deteriorates rapidly. Rask dismisses Dr. Frahm and replaces him with his own doctors, who administer experimental treatment involving inducing convulsions, which tragically results in Helen’s death.

Returning to New York, Rask finds that his wife’s death doesn’t significantly alter his life. Despite continuing to invest, he never achieves the same level of success as before. He resigns himself to a solitary existence, convinced that he genuinely attempted to live a life beyond investing.

The narrative then shifts to Andrew Bevel’s autobiography, penned by Ida Partenza, though it remains unfinished due to Bevel’s death. In it, Bevel seeks to present a more positive image of himself than portrayed in Vanner’s novel. He describes himself as a New York financier driven by a combination of interpersonal skills and mathematical acumen inherited from his ancestors.

Bevel emphasizes his belief in aligning self-interest with the common good, viewing his investments as a service to society. He depicts his wife, Mildred Howland, as a nurturing homemaker, though subsequent books reveal her significant role in his successes.

Mildred’s untimely death from cancer profoundly affects Bevel, prompting him to continue her charitable work in her memory.

In 1985, Ida Partenza revisits the Bevel mansion in search of the truth about the Bevels, a mystery she never fully understood. Flashing back to 1938, Bevel hires a young and struggling Partenza as the ghostwriter for his autobiography. He pays her generously to shape his story, particularly to downplay the significance of Mildred, Bevel’s wife, and make him appear superior.

Exploring Mildred’s former rooms, Partenza discovers a side of her that contradicts Bevel’s portrayal of her as a simple homemaker. Partenza realizes she’s aiding Bevel in erasing the true Mildred from history, especially after discovering that Bevel had Vanner’s work removed from the New York Public Library.

Before they finish the autobiography, Bevel dies suddenly from a heart attack. Partenza later becomes a successful writer and journalist. In 1985, during her return to the Bevel mansion, she finds Mildred’s journal, “Futures,” chronicling her time in a Swiss psychiatric hospital.

Mildred’s journal reveals the truth: she, not Bevel, was the mastermind behind their investments. Initially, they worked together, with Bevel providing the funds and Mildred devising the strategies. However, their collaboration became imbalanced, leading to tension between them.

Learning of her terminal cancer, Mildred decides to short the stock market, a move that secures Bevel’s status as a top investor. She arranges for hospice care in Switzerland and continues to guide Bevel’s investment decisions until her passing, tired of managing his ego but reconciled to their partnership in her final days.

Trust Book Ending Explained

So, what happens at the end of Trust?

First, lets talk about the final novel, “Futures”. In “Futures,” Mildred Bevel’s journal entries from her time at a Swiss psychiatric hospital while battling cancer offer a contrasting perspective on her life with Bevel compared to what was presented in earlier books. The entries are short and often lack dates, marked only by the time of day she wrote them.

Mildred recalls her life with Bevel in fragments. The initial years of their marriage lacked passion until Mildred’s successful investment in philanthropy in 1922 sparks a change. When Bevel tries to replicate her success and fails, they begin collaborating on investments. Mildred teaches Bevel to think creatively, but he struggles to understand her innovative strategies and feels emasculated by his reliance on her guidance.

In 1926, Mildred discovers a way to exploit stock market inefficiencies, but Bevel secretly manipulates the market for his gain, leading to a rift between them. During their two-year estrangement, Bevel’s investments become conservative while Mildred focuses on music and philanthropy.

Mildred predicts the 1929 market crash but conceals her terminal cancer diagnosis from Bevel until after the crash. She continues directing his investments while battling her illness, even as Bevel takes credit for her success. As her health deteriorates, Mildred regrets not allowing Bevel to take charge and struggles with his inability to understand her feelings.

Throughout her hospitalization, Mildred reflects on her childhood memories and the nature of journaling. She finds parallels between the church bells’ logic and the stock market, using musical analogies to explain her investment strategies. As her journal entries become more fragmented, Mildred finds solace in nature as she approaches the end of her life.

Overall, the final part of the novel, Book 4 of Trust, introduces a new narrative style through Mildred’s diary, which blends fragmented memories and stream of consciousness. This fragmented form challenges readers to piece together its contents and apply the revelations to the conflicting narratives presented in the preceding books, akin to a detective solving a case.

While the earlier books instilled a sense of skepticism towards tidy narratives, this final book re-establishes trust through its raw and seemingly unguarded style.

One significant aspect of Mildred’s diary that reverberates throughout the other books is her definition of kitsch in relation to La Fiesolana, a Tuscan-style vacation home Bevel claims she adored. But she actually hates it because it’s a copy of Tuscan architecture.

She calls this type of copy “kitsch,” saying it values looking like the original more than being original. This idea of kitsch connects to the theme of storytelling and finance being like fake copies of reality.

Bevel’s infatuation with La Fiesolana shows he can’t tell real from fake. He presents himself as intellectually deep, but Mildred sees through this façade, noting that he mistakes uncertainty for profundity and indecision for thoughtful analysis. His grasp of the world, particularly in the realm of investments, is superficial.

He attempts to replicate Mildred’s success using a copied strategy, resulting in a hollow and artificial symmetry devoid of genuine passion, much like a player piano mechanically reproducing music without the soul of a skilled pianist.

Mildred’s diary seems like it holds the truth missing from earlier books. But like them, Futures isn’t straightforward. It’s written without an audience, which makes readers trust it more.

Since it’s the last part of Trust, readers expect it to solve the mystery, like in detective novels where the killer is revealed. Trust, with its surprises and false leads, puts readers in the role of detectives, expecting the final section to unlock the secrets of Bevel and Mildred’s life.

How did you like the ending of the novel? Happy reading! ❤️

Ginny Kelley

Monday 1st of January 2024

I was a little skeptical about the novel in the beginning, but it soon grabbed me and I was intrigued. Some sentences I found having to reread as I did not want to miss the “meaning “. The characters a true representation of gender roles, especially at the turn of the century. I particularly felt saddened by the two wives roles, who were portrayed as rather weak characters, but far from the truth. Ida was a complex protagonist and played many roles. I enjoyed reading about her character. What started out slowly for me, I found that half way through I was binge reading to find out what would happen. Good read

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Under the bridge ending explained: the truth about what happened to reena & where the real people are today.

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What Happened To The Real Dusty Pace After Under The Bridge?

Did under the bridge's warren glowatski & samara get back together after his prison sentence in real life, who is perry smith under the bridge episode 5's reference to 65-year-oid killing crime explained.

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Under the Bridge.

• The final episode of Under the Bridge dives deep into the details of Reena Virk's tragic murder and the trials that followed.
• Warren Glowatski's change of heart and decision to testify truthfully play a significant role in the outcome of Kelly Ellard's trial.
• The haunting ending scene with Reena's parents and the Biggie CD symbolizes the ongoing pain and memories of losing a child.

The ending of Under the Bridge episode 8 wraps up the miniseries while relaying important messages about life, death, and trauma. Based on the eponymous book by Rebecca Godfrey and Reena: A Father’s Story by Manjit Virk, the Hulu miniseries Under the Bridge dramatizes the true story of Reena Virk’s murder . The 14-year-old was brutally attacked by a group of her peers and then murdered by two of them.

The last episode of the haunting miniseries follows Kelly Ellard’s murder trial, giving insight into details previously hidden about the night of Reena’s murder. The jury hears the cross-examination of the rest of the Shoreline Six , highlighting the vicious nature of Kelly Ellard’s trial. Finally, Hulu’s Under the Bridge brings the story to a reasonable and dramatic conclusion, hinting at what eventually happened to the individuals involved and Reena Virk’s family.

Dusty Is one of the most sympathetic teens in Hulu's Under the Bride, leading to questions about what happened to her after the miniseries.

What Really Happened To Reena Virk On The Night Of Her Death

Reena virk went through two attacks on the night of her death.

Under the Bridge episode 8, “Mercy Alone,” finally reveals the full picture of what happened to Reena Virk on both sides of the bridge. Jo set up the attack on Reena beforehand, telling Dusty it was an initiation. When Reena got there, they chased her from Shoreline to the phone booth right by the bridge. After dragging Reena under the bridge, they started kicking and punching her until Laila shouted at everyone to stop. This was the end of the first assault, and the six teens involved in the attack.

The teens dispersed, at which point Warren and Kelly followed Reena to the other side of the bridge. According to Warren’s testimony, Kelly instructed Reena to take off her boots and jacket. She then started attacking Reena, and Warren joined in. They kicked her, punched her, and jumped on her. Unlike what Warren said during his trial, he didn’t try to stop Kelly. The two dragged Reena towards the water. Kelly then took Reena into the water and held her head underwater.

Why Warren Finally Tells The Truth About His Involvement In Reena's Murder

Warren has a change of heart related to the virks.

Throughout Hulu’s Under the Bridge , Warren Glowatski lies about his involvement in Reena’s murder, minimizing the role he played in attacking her and dragging her toward the water. Even during his trial, he states that he doesn’t want to incriminate himself, rather than admitting to helping Kelly drag Reena’s body. This is a major change to the facts in Under the Bridge episode 7 , where he at least admits to dragging Reena. However, in both the true story and the show, Glowatski isn’t forthcoming about everything that happened. He finally tells the truth, though, after meeting with Suman Virk.

The show presents this as a turning point for Warren after his Under the Bridge trial because she offers him forgiveness, allowing him to reckon with what he had done. In real life, Warren chose to tell the truth prior to meeting Suman and Manjit Virk because he realized the damage he did and felt he owed it to the Virks. His choice to willingly testify and tell the truth at Kelly Ellard’s second trial was a large contributing factor as to why the Virks agreed to meet Glowatski, according to Reena: A Father’s Story by Manjit Virk.

Why Kelly Ellard Is Only Sentenced To 5 Years In Jail (& Where She Is Today)

Kelly ellard went through three trials in real life.

When going in front of the judge for sentencing in Under the Bridge , Kelly Ellard is given privileged, rich treatment. The judge says that because of her good grades and family support, she should only get five years in prison. The statement outlined in Godfrey’s book furthers the idea that Kelly received special treatment. The judge noted that Ellard had a “ way with the elderly and with children .” She says that Kelly had demonstrated remorse, even though she didn’t actually admit to killing Reena. The judge even noted Kelly’s love of animals as a factor as to why she should get five years.

The appeals court again overturned the ruling, but the Supreme Court of Canada reinstated the sentence.

Kelly’s legal team appealed this decision on the basis that the questioning was prejudicial to the jury. While waiting for an appeal, Kelly’s privilege was once again displayed in the fact that she was let out on house arrest because she was deemed not a danger to anyone. Then, her bail conditions were loosened again, only for her to allegedly assault a woman. The appeals court overturned the guilty verdict and ruled a second trial. The second verdict was a mistrial. Then, in the third trial, she was found guilty and sentenced to life with a minimum of seven years.

Warren Glowatski and Samara's relationship is put to the test by his trial in Under the Bridge, raising questions about what happened afterward.

Kelly’s team once again appealed the sentence. The appeals court again overturned the ruling, but the Supreme Court of Canada reinstated the sentence. Since then, Kelly Ellard changed her name to Kerry Marie Sim. Sim has two children, one of whom she gave birth to in prison after a conjugal visit. According to Saanich News , she was given day parole in 2017 , but it was revoked in August 2021 after she lied about domestic violence committed against her. Sim regained her day parole later that year after she and the parole board created a safety plan and new restrictions.

The Real Meaning Of Suman & Manjit Virk's Biggie CD Scene

The loss of reena haunts suman and manjit virk.

The last scene in Under the Bridge is Reena Virk’s parents, Suman and Manjit Virk, finding a Biggie CD that Reena loved before her death. Rather than throwing it away, they play “Kick in the Door” by Biggie, a song that’s repeated in the Under the Bridge soundtrack . They start to smile and dance a little bit until the CD starts skipping and stops. All the while, the ghost of Reena Virk is watching them from the doorway. This scene relays two main messages.

Firstly, their smiling and dancing, even if just wiggling their shoulders, indicates that Reena’s parents were finally able to appreciate even the parts of her that they didn’t understand. They’d once questioned why she even liked the music. Now, they could use it to connect with the memory of her. However, the scene also points to the impact of the trauma they faced. Even when they had a positive memory of their daughter, it was followed by the realization that she was gone. Their faces reflect the deep and unending pain of losing a child.

Was Rebecca Godfrey's Book Actually Justice For Reena?

Rebecca godfrey's book tries but fails to tell reena's full story.

During the montage of everyone’s life after the trials, Rebecca Godfrey sees a man in front of her holding up a newspaper with her author's headshot with the question, “Justice for Reena?” Especially after the ending of Under the Bridge episode 7, Rebecca Godfrey’s intention for writing the book becomes extremely concerning. She seems more worried about painting Warren as an innocent party than representing Reena’s story honestly. The truth is complicated due to the age, brain development, and background of the perpetrators. Both the extenuating circumstances and the horrendous violent actions can be true without negating one another.

The reason Hulu’s Under the Bridge paints a full picture of Reena is the fact that they used Manjit Virk’s book Reena: A Father’s Story to show a multifaceted picture of the teen.

Unfortunately, despite the fact that Rebecca admits to her downfall in the Under the Bridge finale, the real book is far from justice for Reena Virk. It’s not as bad as what’s initially seen in the show, but the book still emphasizes the Shoreline Six, Warren Glowatski, and Kelly Ellard over Reena. Godfrey only seems to have a loose understanding of who Reena was prior to her attack and murder. Her identity was often contingent on her relationship to others in Godfrey’s book. Moreover, Warren isn’t painted as a complex individual but as a victim who doesn’t deserve criticism.

In Hulu's Under the Bridge episode 5, Rebecca makes reference to Perry Smith and Truman Capote, tying an infamous 65-year-old murder into the story.

The reason Hulu’s Under the Bridge paints a full picture of Reena is the fact that they used Manjit Virk’s book Reena: A Father’s Story to show a multifaceted picture of the teen. There’s much more nuance to Reena’s actions and decisions, whether good or bad. Reena’s desperation for approval and experience with bullying is much more prominent in the Hulu series. Moreover, the writers of the show did a better job of balancing the nuances of Warren Glowatski, showing him as both a victim of circumstances and an active perpetrator of violence and murder.

Cam's Real Backstory & Adoption Program Explained

Cam's adoption was a part of the aim program.

Under the Bridge episode 8 finally reveals why Cam was in Seven Oaks and her true backstory. Cam was taken from her home and put up for adoption as a part of the Adopt Indian and Metis (AIM) program. This is a horrible part of Canadian history, which involved the government taking First Nations, Metis, and Inuit children away from their families. Children like Cam would be placed in foster care until white Canadian families could adopt them, though the creator of the program denies that this was the intention (via CBC ).

The children removed from their homes were denied contact with their families, communities, or heritage.

According to Active History , the children would be advertised in newspapers, on the TV, and on the radio. This is why Cam found a newspaper clipping related to her adoption. Like Cam experienced, the children removed from their homes were denied contact with their families, communities, or heritage. Even back in 1971, the Metis society called the program racist, but it has gained even more criticism in recent years. Cam decides that she is going to reconnect with her birth family at the end of Under the Bridge .

The Real Meaning Of Hulu's Under The Bridge Ending

Life keeps moving forward no matter what.

The ending of Under the Bridge relays the fact that life continues to move forward regardless of the tragedies that occur. The vicious violence of teenagers halted Reena Virk’s life, but her parents, her attackers, and her community had to find a way forward. There’s no way to stop time, as shown when the CD stops and her parents are left in painful silence. Still, even though she’s gone, Reena’s memory lives on with her loved ones, her community, and now every viewer who has watched Hulu’s Under the Bridge .

Sources: Under the Bridge by Rebecca Godfrey, Reena: A Father's Story by Manjit Virk, Saanich News , CBC , and Active History

Under the Bridge (2024)

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Case Histories (Atkinson)

Case Histories   Kate Atkinson, 2004 Little, Brown & Co. 400 pp. ISBN-13: 9780316033480 Summary A triumphant new novel from award-winner Kate Atkinson: a breathtaking story of families divided, love lost and found, and the mysteries of fate.

Case One : Olivia Land, youngest and most beloved of the Land girls, goes missing in the night and is never seen again. Thirty years later, two of her surviving sisters unearth a shocking clue to Olivia's disappearance among the clutter of their childhood home...

Case Two : Theo delights in his daughter Laura's wit, effortless beauty, and selfless love. But her first day as an associate in his law firm is also the day when Theo's world turns upside down...

Case Three : Michelle looks around one day and finds herself trapped in a hell of her own making. A very needy baby and a very demanding husband make her every waking moment a reminder that somewhere, somehow, she'd made a grave mistake and would spend the rest of her life paying for it—until a fit of rage creates a grisly, bloody escape.

As Private Detective Jackson Brodie investigates all three cases, startling connections and discoveries emerge. Inextricably caught up in his clients grief, joy, and desire, Jackson finds their unshakable need for resolution very much like his own.

Kate Atkinson's celebrated talent makes for a novel that positively sparkles with surprise, comedy, tragedy, and constant, page-turning delight. ( From the publisher .)

This is the first in the Jackson Brodie series, followed by One Good Turn and When Will There be Good News .

Author Bio • Birth—1951 • Where—York, England, UK • Education—M.A., Dundee University • Awards—Whitbread Award; Woman's Own Short Story Award; Ian St. James Award;    Saltire Book of the Year Award; Prix Westminster • Currently—lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK Kate Atkinson was born in York, and studied English Literature at the University of Dundee, gaining her Masters Degree in 1974. She subsequently studied for a doctorate in American Literature which she failed at the viva stage. During her final year of this course, she was married for the first time, although the marriage lasted only two years. After leaving the university, she took on a variety of miscellaneous jobs from home help to legal secretary and teacher. She lived in Whitby, Yorkshire for a time, before moving to Edinburgh, where she taught at Dundee University and began writing short stories. She now lives in Edinburgh. Writing She initially wrote for women's magazines after winning the 1986 Woman's Own Short Story Competition. She was runner-up for the Bridport Short Story Prize in 1990 and won an Ian St James Award in 1993 for her short-story "Karmic Mothers," which she later adapted for BBC2 television as part of its Tartan Shorts series. Atkinson's breakthrough was with her first novel, Behind the Scenes at the Museum , which won the 1995 Whitbread Book of the Year award, ahead of Salman Rushdie's The Moor's Last Sigh and Roy Jenkins biography of William Ewart Gladstone. The book has been adapted for radio, theatre and television. She has since written several more novels, short stories and a play. Case Histories (2004) was described by Stephen King as "the best mystery of the decade." The book won the Saltire Book of the Year Award and the Prix Westminster. Her work is often celebrated for its wit, wisdom and subtle characterisation, and the surprising twists and plot turns. Four of her novels have featured the popular former detective Jackson Brodie —Case Histories (2004), One Good Turn (2006), When Will There Be Good News (2008), and Started Early, Took My Dog (2010 ). She has shown that, stylistically, she is also a comic novelist who often juxtaposes mundane everyday life with fantastic magical events, a technique that contributes to her work's pervasive magic realism. Life After Life (2013) revolves around Ursula Todd's continual birth and rebirth. Janet Maslin of the New York Times called it "a big book that defies logic, chronology and even history in ways that underscore its author's fully untethered imagination." A God in Ruins (2015), the companion book to Life After Life , follows Ursula's brother Todd who survived the war, only to succumb to disillusionment and guilt at having survived. Atkinson was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2011 Birthday Honours for services to literature. ( Adapted from Wikipedia .)

Book Reviews The lifelike characters in Case Histories are what make it such a compelling hybrid: part complex family drama, part mystery. It winds up having more depth and vividness than ordinary thrillers and more thrills than ordinary fiction, with a constant awareness of perils swirling beneath its surface. Janet Maslin - New York Times Certain characters are the stock in trade of detective novels: innocent female murder victims, embittered spinsters, wives with secrets, teenage runaways, sexy old actresses and men who feel driven to try, over and over, to protect or avenge the downtrodden. Kate Atkinson's latest novel contains all these characters, which might suggest it's just another variation on a host of well-worn themes—but, amazingly enough, this cast, as familiar as it is, still has the power to ensnare us. In fact, Case Histories is so exuberant, so empathetic, that it makes most murder-mystery page-turners feel as lifeless as the corpses they're strewn with. Jacqueline Carey - New York Times Book Review Breaking detective-thriller form, Case Histories is told from multiple points of view, reducing the burden on Jackson to "solve" the crimes for us and letting each character bloom in the light of the author's sharp, observant prose. That's something that the genre's hard-boiled forefathers would never have done; for them, the ratiocinative novel was a one-man job, and sympathetic characters just gummed up the works. Kate Atkinson, though, seems to have intuited that the most compelling mystery of all isn't necessarily whodunit, but rather howtodealwithit. Jeff Turrentine - Washington Post In this ambitious fourth novel from Whitbread winner Atkinson, private detective Jackson Brodie-ex-cop, ex-husband and weekend dad-takes on three cases involving past crimes that occurred in and around London. The first case introduces two middle-aged sisters who, after the death of their vile, distant father, look again into the disappearance of their beloved sister Olivia, last seen at three years old, while they were camping under the stars during an oppressive heat wave. A retired lawyer who lives only on the fumes of possible justice next enlists Jackson's aid in solving the brutal killing of his grown daughter 10 years earlier. In the third dog-eared case file, the sibling of an infamous ax-bludgeoner seeks a reunion with her niece, who as a baby was a witness to murder. Jackson's reluctant persistence heats up these cold cases and by happenstance leads him to reassess his own painful history. The humility of the extraordinary, unabashed characters is skillfully revealed with humor and surprise. Atkinson contrasts the inevitable results of family dysfunction with random fate, gracefully weaving the three stories into a denouement that taps into collective wishful thinking and suggests that warmth and safety may be found in the aftermath of blood and abandonment. Atkinson's meaty, satisfying prose will attract many eager readers. Atkinson crosses genres, attracting readers of literary fiction as well as thrillers. Publishers Weekly Edinburgh resident Atkinson has been touted for her clever subversion of the standard family saga (the Whitbread Prize-winning Behind the Scenes at the Museum ), as well as her playful parody and magic realism ( Not the End of the World ). Now she turns her deft hand to the hard-boiled detective genre and wreaks a similarly wonderful havoc. Cambridge P.I. and Francophile Jackson Brodie serves as the link among three interwoven tales. Red herrings abound as Jackson plows through the sad cases of a missing toddler, a young woman brutally killed while temping at her father's law firm, and an overwrought mother driven to ax murder. The relatives of the victims, Jackson's motley clientele, prove to be alternatively pitiable and hilarious but always painfully human. Superfluous plot elements involving attempts on Brodie's life and the running commentary on Brodie's musical tastes may lead to comparisons with Ian Rankin's Inspector John Rebus series, but only briefly, for this is a very new world of old crimes. Recommended for larger fiction collections. — Jenn B. Stidham, Harris Cty. P.L., Houston Library Journal After two self-indulgent detours, Atkinson proves that her Whitbread Award-winning debut, Behind the Scenes at the Museum (1996), was no fluke with a novel about three interconnected mysteries. They seem totally unrelated at first to private detective Jackson Brodie, hired by separate individuals in Cambridge, England, to investigate long-dormant cases. Three-year-old Olivia Land disappeared from a tent in her family's backyard in 1970; 34 years later, her sisters Amelia and Julia discover Olivia's stuffed toy in their recently deceased father's study and want Jackson to find out what he had to do with the disappearance. Theo Wyre's beloved 18-year-old daughter Laura was murdered by a knife-wielding lunatic in 1994, and he too hires Jackson to crack this unsolved murder. Michelle was also 18 when she went to jail in 1979 for killing her husband with an ax while their infant daughter wailed in the playpen; she vanished after serving her time, but Shirley Morrison asks Jackson to find, not her sister Michelle, but the niece she promised to raise, then was forced to hand over to grandparents. The detective, whose bitter ex-wife uses Jackson's profound love for their eight-year-old daughter to torture him, finds all these stories of dead and/or missing girls extremely unsettling; we learn toward the end why the subject of young women in peril is particularly painful for him. Atkinson has always been a gripping storyteller, and her complicated narrative crackles with the earthy humor, vibrant characterizations, and shrewd social observations that enlivened her first novel but were largely swamped by postmodern game-playing in Human Croquet (1997) and Emotionally Weird (2000). Here, she craftsa compulsive page-turner that looks deep into the heart of sadness, cruelty, and loss, yet ultimately grants her charming p.i. (and most of the other appealingly offbeat characters, including one killer) a chance at happiness and some measure of reconciliation with the past. Wonderful fun and very moving: it's a pleasure to see this talented writer back on form. Kirkus Reviews

Discussion Questions   1. The three cases that open Case Histories are at first quite separate, and leave you wondering how Atkinson is going to pull it all together into one story. You might discuss whether she is successful at doing that—and how.

2. Case Histories has three unsolved crimes and has a private eye as hero. Kate Atkinson is known as a 'literary writer' and won the Whitbread Prize for her first novel, Behind the Scenes at the Museum . How is Case Histories different from a traditional detectvie novel—or is it?

3. Jackson believes "that his job was to help people be good rather than punish them for being bad." Another discussion point would be whether you think he is a moral character, and how you feel the revelation of the tragedy in his own past illuminates his actions in the novel.

4. To Jackson, it seems as if everyone he encounters has lost someone or something. One of Kate Atkinson's recurrent themes is that of lost children. In spite of her wicked sense of humour, she creates an overwhelming sense of tension in this novel. Is it that this theme speaks directly to the lost child deep inside every one of us?

5. "Novels gave you a completely false idea about life, they told lies and the implied there were endings when in reality there were no endings, everything just went on and on and on." Is Kate Atkinson being mischievous here, or is this statement true of this novel? ( Questions issued by Transworld Publishers .) top of page (summary)

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Spoiler Discussion for The Teacher by Freida McFadden

Freida McFadden is the queen of the popcorn thriller with lots of loyal fans. What did I think of her latest AND what’s the deal with the Barnes and Noble “Exclusive Edition?” Here’s my Spoiler Discussion for The Teacher by Freida McFadden with a full plot summary.

Written and edited by Jen Ryland . Last updated on:

The Teacher by Freida McFadden

Published on February 6, 2024 by Poisoned Pen Press

I read The Teacher in February 2024

My Quick Take on The Teacher

• Very plot-driven, as this is a thriller you can read in one sitting!
• Loved the shoe fetish. Also, the shoes reminded me of the turtles in The Co-Worker. Which reminded me of the turtles in The Last Mrs. Parrish.
• The Barnes and Noble “exclusive” edition has a couple chapters of a future book, The Boyfriend and a short Q and A with Freida.
• Readers are VERY divided about the twists; so vote in my poll below!

Your Main Questions About the Teacher (discussed below)

• Did Eve know who “Jay” was?
• Did Jay know who Eve was?
• How was Hudson able to pick up Addie and Eve, and did he figure out the two pickups were connected?

Full Plot Summary/ Synopsis for The Teacher by Freida McFadden

The book starts Big Little Lies-style, with a prologue shows a person digging a grave. Whose grave and who is digging? You’ll have to wait and find out!

Everyone thinks Nate and Eve are in love, but Eve really loves shoes

Nate and Eve are high school teachers who have been married for eight years. But Eve lies to Nate about her expensive new Jimmy Choo pumps and seems dissatisfied with their relationship.

It’s the first day of a new school year and Addie, a student, is worried about a scandal from the prior year.

Eve talks to fellow teacher Shelby (who is wearing low budget Nine West pumps lol) about how Addie got a teacher named Art fired.

Addie eats lunch with a fellow student and they discuss the school’s power couple: Kenzie and Hudson, who is Addie’s former friend.

Eve goes to a store called Footsie and looks at Christian Louboutin pumps. She starts to shoplift them, then reconsiders.

Addie gets a note from her English teacher, Nate Bennett, asking her to see him after class.

Eve runs into Art Tuttle, and he warns her that her new student Addie is “troubled.”

Nate tells Addie that her poem is a lyrical masterpiece. Oh Addie…

Addie steals Kenzie‘s keys, then goes to the literary magazine meeting led by Mr. Bennett.

Eve and Nate aren’t that happily married

Eve tells Nate she’s “going out with a friend” but really she’s putting on her Manolo Blahnik boots so she can hook up with a shoe salesman named Jay. They go at it in the storeroom, surrounded by boxes of shoes.

Nate wants Addie to submit her poetry to a competition.

It’s Eve’s 30th birthday. Of course she has to decide what shoes to wear.

We also learned that Addie‘s father was a drunk who died after falling down a flight of stairs .

During Eve‘s birthday dinner, she and Nate fight about Addie. Nate thinks Art is a creeper, but Eve thinks Addie plotted to get Art fired. Thankfully, Eve’s lover, Jay, has left her some Sam Edelman red patent leather pumps as a present.

Kenzie pranked Addie by filling her locker with shaving cream, but Hudson helps her clean it up.

We also learn that Addie‘s father fell down the stairs after a shoving match with Hudson .

Kenzie accuses Addie of cheating on their math test. Eve Bennett wants to get the principal involved.

Addie uses her keys to go inside Kenzie‘s house.

Nate convinces Eve to give Addie a zero on the test instead of reporting her.

Nate Makes a Move on Addie

Of course Nate tells Addie that his marriage is over and that he feels a connection to Addie. They are SOULMATES. Of course she falls for his cheesy flattery.

Addie and Nate make out, then he drives her home. He arrives home all fired up and sleeps with Eve.

Addie and Nate have written (bad) poems for each other, which is foreplay. Yes, they start a relationship.

Eve sees Addie lurking in their backyard. Again, Nate tells Eve not to go to the principal.

Addie admits that she lied about Art Tuttle, who didn’t do anything wrong.

Eve realizes that Addie‘s actually stalking Nate, not her. She sees Nate and Addie kissing and realizes Nate is cheating on her with Addie.

Eve tells Jay about Nate’s cheating and Addie‘s lying. She gets drunk, and when Nate comes home, she tells him she knows about him and Addie. Eve asks for a divorce, and he agrees. She also wants him to resign as a teacher. He tells her she’s a drunk who hoards shoes (partly true.)

Nate also asks Eve if she told anyone about his relationship with Addie, and she says no. But Eve mentions that she took a picture of them kissing, and I think that’s when Nate decides he has to kill her.

Nate tells Addie that if Eve were dead, they could be together.

Addie shows up in Eve‘s kitchen. Eve accuses her of sleeping with Nate.

Addie says that she and Nate are in love, and hits Eve with a frying pan . Then Addie unlock Eve‘s phone and calls Nate.

Nate arrives and makes a plan: he’ll buy a train ticket on Eve‘s phone, pretend she went to New Jersey to visit her family, then they will bury her.

While Addie is getting bed sheets from upstairs to wrap Eve in, Eve wakes up. Nate asks her if she remembers what happened. Eve says Addie hit her with a frying pan.

Wrong answer! Nate strangles her.

Nate drives his car with Eve’s body in the trunk. Addie follows in Eve’s car. They’re going to leave Eve’s car at the railroad station and bury her body in a pumpkin patch.

Addie and Nate starts digging the grave. Nate claims he forgot to get Eve‘s purse out of the trunk, and needs to go grab it. (This is not true, because Addie finds the purse and buries it with Eve.)

Nate doesn’t come back. Addie finishes the burial and calls Hudson for help.

Addie tries to contact Nate, but he has deleted his messaging account.

Nate calls the police and mentions to them that Eve caught Addie cheating on the test and that Addie was stalking Eve. He’s a bit surprised to find a pair of dirty blue pumps in his kitchen. And then a bird.

The police show up to talk to Addie, who realizes that Nate is going to deny everything.

The police tell Nate that they think Addie had something to do with Eve’s disappearance. A new pair of shoes shows up in Nate’s mail, covered in dirt.

The police come talk to Addie, telling her that Nate is trying to convince them that she’s a mentally unbalanced stalker.

Kenzie shows up at Addie‘s house. She says she knows about Addie and Nate.

She then tells Addie that she and Nate have been sleeping together since freshman year. And that the bad poem was written for HER.

Kenzie and Addie go to the police and tell them everything.

What Was the Ending of The Teacher by Freida McFadden?

Nate drives back to the pumpkin patch to make sure Eve is actually dead. Someone hits him on the back of the head.

Eve was actually buried alive, but she was able to dig out of the grave. She also found her purse (which had her phone in it) and called Jay to pick her up. They are the ones who planted the shoes to taunt Nate. They hit Nate with a rock and bury him alive.

Addie and Hudson are friends again. Eve Bennett leaves town.

Freida McFadden is known for her twists, so ….

What’s the big twist in The Teacher ?

Twist One: Jay is actually Hudson. If you’ve read Freida McFadden books, this is one of her favorite twists: the person who is actually someone else. But I still didn’t see that coming.

Twist Two: Nate’s bad poem wasn’t written for Addie or Kenzie.

Nate wrote it for Eve when he was her teacher and she was his (15 year old) student and has been (presumably) recycling it ever since.

Please leave any and all questions or corrections in comments and we will discuss! Here are the top questions from the comments (which you should read!)

ONE: Did Eve know that Jay was Hudson, since he is a student in the suburban school where Eve teaches?

I think the book suggests that no, Eve didn’t know who Jay was. Eve is a first person narrator and mentions that when she first went into the shoe store, the salesman “looked familiar.” She refers to Jay as her “shoe salesman lover.”

COMMENTERS SAID: But is it PLAUSIBLE that Eve did not realize “Jay” is sixteen year-old Hudson? He’s a football player at the school where she teaches!

It’s unclear how old Eve thinks Jay is .

• The book says that Hudson, a football player, is taller than Nate.
• Eve seems to think Jay is in a relationship and has a baby. She is annoyed that a woman keeps calling him and mentions resentfully that Jay is going back to “her.” I don’t think she’s thinking “Mom.” At one point she calls the caller (Hudson’s mom) “another woman.”
• I really don’t think she knows Jay is a student at her school.

Also, this is a clever way that McFadden protects her twist, as we assume that “Jay,” like Eve, is cheating on his partner.

But what do YOU think? A commenter made the point that Eve was groomed and abused by Nate, so maybe she became an abuser herself.

What do YOU think? Does Eve know who “Jay” is? Please vote below!

TWO: Does Jay know who Eve is?

He must! He gives her a fake name, which is my best argument. Otherwise, why would he just not use his real name? Then again, “Jay” is what the football team at school calls him, so it’s hardly a secret name.

I have no proof because he is a character with no POV.

THREE: Many commenters have said they found the underage relationships creepy.

I agree that it is 100% wrong for a teacher to get involved with a student. Remember, Art got fired when Addie lied and said he was inappropriate with her.

Many states have criminalized teacher/student relationships, even when the student is over the age of consent. If anyone knows the law in Massachusetts, tell us in comments.

BUT, as Nana points out in comments, Eve is not Jay’s teacher.

In addition, the teen characters in the book are all over the age of consent when the story takes place. In Massachusetts that’s how old you need to be to get a learner’s permit to drive. Both Hudson/Jay and Addie mention that they aren’t supposed to be driving at night without an adult in the car under the terms of their permit. I found this kind of funny: they are worried about breaking the permit rules, but not about murdering people and burying them alive!

Still, I think if it came out that Eve had been sleeping with any student at her school, she probably would have been fired and/or faced public scorn.

Nate did get involved with Kenzie when she was a freshman (and Eve when she was fifteen) so both of them were legally underage at that time.

Does learning that Nate was also Eve’s teacher and they had a relationship when she was underage. make you more sympathetic to Eve?

I also noticed clues that I’d missed. Eve’s estrangement from her parents and their obvious dislike of Nate.

FOUR: Who is the narrator in the prologue?

Several of you asked in comments, and it’s a great question.

I assumed it was Addie, and I think it was based on what she says and what happens later. To me, it sounds like she got left to dig by herself and is trying to hurry and finish. I think Jay stayed and helped Eve out!

FIVE: How can Addie calls Hudson for a ride home from the pumpkin patch, and then Eve call Jay for a ride the same night? Hudson and Jay are the same person!

I thought this was a great question, so I went back and made a timeline:

After school: Addie lets herself in, gets confronted by Eve, and hits Eve over the head. Nate arrives home and strangles Eve. They wrap her up and make their plan, which is to drop Eve’s car at the train station and then drive Nate’s car, with Eve’s body in the trunk, to a pumpkin patch.

Evening through early morning: Addie and Nate dig and dig and dig. This obviously takes some time. After the hole is finished, Nate vanishes. Addie waits a while, tries to contact him, finishes burying Eve, and covers her up.

Did Addie move Eve’s body into the hole by herself? Earlier in the chapter she watches Nate carry the body, thinking how big and strong he is!

3:00 am: Addie calls Hudson for a ride. He mentions tells her it will take an hour to get there to pick her up, and as she says he arrives 48 minutes later, so 3:48 am , and they head back.

During this time, Eve is (presumably) digging herself out of the hole.

4:30 am: Presumed time that Hudson drops Addie off. She mentions that fifteen minutes before he drops her, his phone buzzes, probably with Eve’s snapflash message mentioned below (so around 4:15 am.)

Almost 5:00 am: Jay calls Eve back (she says it was twenty minutes after she messaged him, so 4:35?). Then he has to drive the 45 minutes to get her, arriving around 5:20, and drive back AGAIN.

So yes, this is technically possible , though poor Jay spends over three hours driving back and forth from a pumpkin patch in the middle of the night.

Someone mentions in comments that Eve walked a bit to find a signal. Presumably she’d walk closer to home, but with no signal she could have walked in any direction. Still, I think the timeline works!

SIX: What did Hudson/Jay know about Kenzie’s relationship with Nate, and her own attempted murder?

First, Hudson picks up Addie from the pumpkin patch. She’s presumably all dirty and sweaty. Then, right after that, Jay picks up Eve from the pumpkin patch, Eve is probably even more bedraggled and covered in dirt. He can’t think this is a coincidence.

But Eve decides NOT to mention that Addie was involved in her attempted murder. She just tells Jay that Nate tried to kill her.

SEVEN: Some readers have said that they found all the characters pretty unsympathetic, if not terrible.

Nate: a serial groomer and sex abuser.

Eve: a bit quirky, like the main character in The Coworker. And I was laughing at the descriptions of how unattractive she was with her stringy hair and gangly limbs. And that she says she thinks Addie looks a little like her. But I had to give Eve credit for pushing through after being hit over the head, buried alive, then strangled.

Addie: lied about her teacher grooming her and got him fired, lies about her father’s “accident” (or murder.) I really wish her father’s “accident” had been explored more.

Hudson / Jay: did he know Kenzie was sleeping with Nate? He knew how Addie’s father died. Hudson feels underused in the story just to keep his identity hidden.

Did you think this was going paranormal, with the references to Edgar Allan Poe and the dirty shoes showing up after Eve was dead? I was getting “Telltale Heart” vibes.

What’s the deal with the Barnes & Noble Exclusive Edition?

It has a couple of chapters from a future book, The Boyfriend.

Then a Q & A with Freida where we learn:

Her favorite character in this book is “Jay” because he’s “ride or die.” I guess? He is nice to Addie even though she’s unpopular. And spends three hours picking up stranded women from pumpkin patches.

How Freida comes up with twists: the suspects are A, B, C, and D. But the killer has to be E. (Or “J” haha…)

What did you think? Though a fun read, The Teacher will not rank among my very favorite Freida McFaddens. What’s my favorite? The Wife Upstairs , which I will do a post about soon! What is your favorite of her books?

So a high school boy was Eve’s lover, and she dodn’t know it?

She seems to claim not to know him, but he is a student at her school! At school he went by Hudson, but his football buddies call him Jay.

Eve is a first person narrator and calls him her lover, “a handsome shoe salesman,” not mentioning that he is a student. She says he “looked familiar” when she went into the shoe store.

Hard to know if she is being cute and this is just to make the twist work or if she didn’t recognize him out of context. Her books are very plot driven and character motivation is often pretty thin.

Eager to hear what other readers think of the book’s twist.

Also who is the person calling “Jay” that he keeps having to leave and sneak from?

My guess is that it’s his mom. Eve mentions that he takes a call from a woman and there’s crying in the background and Addie mentions that Hudson babysits his one year old brother. Another possibility: Kenzie. But I’m going with mom.

Agree after I posted that I thought more about it and think it was his mom as well.

Yes I found the page that says that Eve hears a baby crying. So definitely his mom!

So Eve is just as guilty as Nate for sleeping with underage student?

I truly don’t think Eve knew, but not everyone agrees with me. Nate knowingly slept with multiple students and I do think Eve thought she was cheating with an adult with a wife/girlfriend and baby.

All the characters are pretty terrible, though. Murderers, sex abusers, accessory to murder. Everyone but Art is guilty of something!

Idk . . . it just doesn’t seem plausible… he went to the exact same school… i feel like Jay/Hudson needed his own POV for a better understanding because its just …confusing… He knew EVE. He knew when he went to pick eve up that ADDIE and Nate buried her… we need a POV from Jay immediately lol

That is an excellent point.

Hudson went to pick up Addie, who had just been up to something in the middle of the night in a pumpkin patch. Then a couple hours later “Jay” got the call to pick up Eve from the same pumpkin patch, all dirty, he had to have figured it out. If he didn’t already know.

But he’s a teenage boy who gets stuck babysitting so maybe he didn’t care. Do you think Eve knew?

And yes, his POV would have been helpful, but it would have spoiled the reveal at the end. It’s one issue I have with the Big Twist format. It usually requires tricking the reader. I feel like The Wife Stalker did it well.

When Addie was stranded in the pumpkin patch she called Hudson for a ride. Then when Eve dug herself out Jay picked her up? Yet they are the same person, I’m confused on the timeline

Good question! I just report what happened!

Double-checked and yes, this is correct. Addie calls Hudson around 3 am for a ride and he mentions the pumpkin patch is nearly an hour away. Then Eve calls Jay around 5 am the following morning for a ride after she digs herself out.

The timing could work but it’s tight — maybe Jay found a shortcut!

The book mentions Jay having a baby?? And going back to “her”. Super confused on this if Jay is Hudson

I was also confused about that. I think Eve assumed that Jay had a partner and a baby, because a woman kept calling him with a crying baby in the background.

Toward the end, Addie mentions that Hudson has a baby brother, so I think it was his mom calling him.

Isn’t Jay/Hudson underaged too? Isn’t that also taking advantage of him? She assumed he had a partner and a baby… why would he not be forthcoming about his age?

and if he knew about Kenzie, why did he never tell Eve? They shared a lot of secrets, so why wouldn’t he tell her that her husband is literally a groomer??

and wasn’t Eve turning 40? She even said that Nate was younger than her. Then later on the 40 is retracted and it says 30? How old are these characters?! The only one that makes sense is Addie, who is 16.

so you’re telling me that THREE teachers at this high school were all in some way either accused or actually involved with students?! Wtf

loved the book though. Just a lot of things that made me question.

Legally, they are all over the age of consent (because they have learner’s permits, they are sixteen.) Morally, I agree with you. I am not sure why football player Jay prefers a forty-year-old married woman (whoops, thanks Nana! She just turned thirty) rather than someone his age, but since we don’t get his POV, it’s hard to say.

I think it’s unclear whether Hudson know about Kenzie and Nate, unless I missed that.

Well, at least one teacher (Nate) was involved with multiple students. Art got wrongfully accused. Maybe Eve didn’t know.

This was not my favorite of her books. While it’s common for her books to have unlikeable characters, I didn’t click with these.

Eve is actually 30. Nate is 40. Eve is NOT Hudson’s/Jay’s teacher, and he is over the age of consent. Creepy, but if Eve didn’t know…that’s that! I am sensing a part two with Jay/Hudson POV 🙂

Whoops, yes! Eve just turned thirty. It’s a good point that Eve technically isn’t Hudson’s teacher, but I still think that if the relationship came out, she’d probably lose her job and face public scorn.

I seem to be one of the few readers who truly thinks it IS possible that Eve thought she was having an affair with a shoe salesman. They bonded over her love of shoes! (She seems only concerned with shoes. I think that’s her main obsession!)

I hadn’t thought about a part two, and Frieda has done that before. Interesting!

I think you are spot on! Eve is so obsessed with shoes she would not even notice this “boy” was a student in her school. Not just that, but she is preoccupied with all the thoughts about relationship with her husband, Addie & Art issue, hiding her late afternoon getaway to shoe store etc…she is oblivious. Plus….The mall in the late afternoon, back room in the shoe store…lights are low. One can easily miss signs of a puberty on a tall, mature teenager. Especially if he really tried, and sounds like he was pretty into it and he did try .And he cared!!! That was really interesting to see. Today I’ve read somewhere that Freida said, there will NOT be a part 2. But…that’s what Coleen Hoover said too, when public was shouting for part 2 in the “It ends with us”. There was indeed a part 2 called “It starts with us”. And now, it is a movie in making, with Blake Lively. I think we need Hudson’s/Jay’s POV like we need a summer :). It’s kind of funny and ironic though, don’t you think? Eve is disgusted with her husband sleeping with 16 yr. old, while she is too, having an affair with a kid.

That’s why I think Eve didn’t know. Eve is a math teacher, a rule follower. She’s a bit obsessive. (Yes, she’s cheating on Nate, but I feel like she has a rationale for that.) She reminds me a lot of Dawn in the Co-worker. And I’d bet she feels no guilt about killing Nate either, because of all the rules he broke.

lol on the part II … I guess we will see!

He (Hudson/Jay) was the star quarterback of the high school how could Eve not know?? This plot twist could’ve been worked better.

That is a very fair point. It was a really good twist though!

It does say in the book that Hudson was taller than Addie’s dad. He’s a big guy.

Good catch, thanks so much 🙂

I haven’t checked the voting lately, but I feel like I’m one of the few people who believes that Eve actually thought he was an adult shoe salesman.

I think Eve knew exactly who Hudson/Jay was. I think she became what she was the product of with Nate. Her reputation wasn’t tarnished once Kenzie and Addie came clean about Nate, Nate’s was. Nobody told her she could never return to Caseham. She knew she couldn’t because she had also become the “groomer.”

There are definitely people who agree with you!

I think Eve was a terrible person BUT I think she thought Jay was a shoe salesman with a baby. She makes that jealous remark about Jay going back to “her,” (the woman who keeps calling him) and I don’t think she realized that was Jay’s mom lol.

Also, she had another reason to leave town: she murdered her husband!

such an interesting point of view. Could be! Groomers create groomers. If Freida wrote part 2, maybe we’d see Eve sleeping with HER student in some other school.

So when Jay/Hudson was talking to his “wife” on the phone and a baby was crying what the hell was that about?? lol I’m so confused. Like Eve wouldn’t know who he was. He was a student and also a football player at their highschool.

I don’t know! I guess all she thought about was shoes?

There are definitely readers (see above) who call BS on the idea that Eve didn’t recognize “Jay.”

But based on her multiple remarks about some annoying woman calling him and how jealous she seemed about it, I really think she didn’t know. Some high schools are huge, I guess?

I think it’s just … not a plot hole exactly, but a twist that, because it had to be hidden, didn’t completely make sense.

Ok all of these questions about if Eve knew that Jay was a student but did Jay know who Eve was?

You are a mind reader! I updated the post earlier today to add my thoughts on that but it may not have refreshed on your end. My theory: YES.

First, Jay used his nickname with Eve, not his real name. Why would he do that? Possibly because she didn’t recognize him and he wanted to keep it that way.

Second, when Eve comes to cry on Jay’s shoulder after she learns that Nate is sleeping with Addie, he seems unsurprised by the whole thing. However, we don’t actually read the conversation, just Eve’s summary of it. But they do discuss going to the principal. He clearly knows Nate is a teacher and if he were innocently sleeping with the wife of a teacher, you’d think he’d ask Eve where her husband teaches. Unless he already knows, which I think he does.

I would have definitely appreciated a mention of how Eve didn’t know J/Hudson from school. Maybe it was meant to leave readers wondering but it seems like more of a missed plot point. Either way, I liked this one even if it wasn’t my favorite of her books. As always, thanks for your spoiler discussions!

Hi and thanks for the kind words!

I love these discussions too because I always learn something. The Hudson/Jay thing honestly didn’t bother me, maybe because I went to a huge high school.

I was thinking about this (more than you’d expect) and I don’t know how Freida McFadden would have explained this without it being awkward or sort of ruining the end. Plus it gives us something to talk about….

I felt the one redeeming character trait of the shallow weird shoe obsessed cheating Eve was that she seemed to find it truly unacceptable and reprehensible that her hubby took advantage of children, i.e. Addie and Kenzie. And she seemed protective of Addie a bit..

To find out at the end,she is a creepy pedo too–with Jay/was A LOT. So her character is utterly unlikable.

I liked this book overall, but I was so sick of Eve’s shallow selfishness. And Addie was so dumb and slow to catch on. She is supposed to be 16, so come on, she is way to slow to figure out stuff at the end. Her character’s inner monologue was so repetitive and asinine for the last 30% of the book.

I’m confused how Eve gets away with it all. Did I miss something or did they not really resolve that?

No! I don’t think you missed anything.

Nate just vanishes and no one seems bothered. According to Addie, everyone assumes he disappeared after his relationship with Kenzie leaked out.

I mean, before he disappeared, Nate told the police that Addie killed Eve and buried her. That’s a little weird, but the police do not seem bothered.

I could write a whole post on “The Moral World of FMcF thrillers.” Her characters have a very distinct sense of right and wrong!

The one part about the ending that makes no sense to me is how Eve got away with it. Addie and Kenzie opened up to the cops about what happened. At the time it was assumed that Eve was dead, so Addie would have mentioned what happened with her. Presumably, they asked Addie where the body (Eve) was and she would have told them about the pumpkin patch. Why wouldn’t the cops have checked it out, especially once Nate went missing?

In the epilogue Addie says that the police “tried to bring in” Nate for questioning but he “took off.” Does Addie not know what Hudson and Eve did to Nate?

Then Addie says the police stopped looking for Nate because Eve showed up after disappearing for a few days and denied ever being buried alive in the pumpkin patch. But he was still accused of sex abuse, in one case with a minor.

Maybe it could have worked if Kenzie hadn’t been abused by Nate. Addie lied about Art Tuttle, so she could have come clean to the police about about that. Then the police might have thought that the pumpkin patch story and Addie’s affair with Nate were more lies. But Kenzie is credible and having two people say that Nate is a creeper should make the police want to find him. It’s pretty hard to just disappear in the modern world.

At least poor Art got another job.

Ah What I was thinking. No way the Cops would have just left it and not checked the gravesite. Unless it was Barney fife or some small town cops. But then the double identity of Jay couldn’t have worked. Also does Addie end up romantic with Jay in the end. So twisted it’s funny fun.

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What the Case Study Method Really Teaches

• Nitin Nohria

Seven meta-skills that stick even if the cases fade from memory.

It’s been 100 years since Harvard Business School began using the case study method. Beyond teaching specific subject matter, the case study method excels in instilling meta-skills in students. This article explains the importance of seven such skills: preparation, discernment, bias recognition, judgement, collaboration, curiosity, and self-confidence.

During my decade as dean of Harvard Business School, I spent hundreds of hours talking with our alumni. To enliven these conversations, I relied on a favorite question: “What was the most important thing you learned from your time in our MBA program?”

• Nitin Nohria is the George F. Baker Jr. and Distinguished Service University Professor. He served as the 10th dean of Harvard Business School, from 2010 to 2020.

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The Case Study of Vanitas Part 2 Ending Explained

Here's are all your questions about the ending of The Case Study of Vanitas Part 2 explained.

Published: Apr 04, 2022, 7:47 Updated: Apr 06, 2022, 8:23

The Case Study of Vanitas Part 2 was one of the best anime Winter 2022 had to offer. Noé and Vanitas have come a long way. The first season's finale was satisfying while leaving just enough loose ends for another season to become a possibility. But what exactly did the finale involve? Here are all your questions about the ending of The Case Study of Vanitas Part 2 explained :

How Did the Previous Episodes' Conflict Get Resolved?

Just as the battle with Mikhail seemed hopeless, or at least impossible to end without serious and irreversible injury, an unexpected revelation came in. Noe's teacher, in the form of a young man, appears and admits he was the one who saved Mikhail. The Teacher now goes by the name of Count of St Germain - an actual historical figure.

St Germain's intentions seem less than pure, but at least he helps diffuse the situation for the moment, by taking Mikhail away. The next day, Mikhail seeks out Vanitas again. While Mikhail's plan was very twisted, his motivations were childlike and informed by his early trauma.

In fact, Mikhail was afraid that he was to blame for the fact that Vanitas killed Luna, the vampire who raised them. Vanitas is able to reassure Mikhail that this isn't the case, but he still refuses to join his former foster brother, stating that he would rather die because of Noe - likely a cruel foreshadowing, given that Noe kills Vanitas in the end - or so he says.

Related: Is The Case Study of Vanitas Actually Any Good?

What Does the Future Hold for Vanitas and Noé?

Vanitas and Noe have now reached a renewed understanding. Noe has still not drunk Vanitas' blood, so he does not know everything about his past but the two are still closer than before - and know that they will have more enemies to deal with in the future.

Vanitas will keep curing vampires - which we know that he's doing partly to find out what corrupted the true name of his vampire foster parent. Along the way, they are likely to come across more enemies and malnomen, while Teacher might have a sinister role to play.

Unfortunately, that's about as far as The Case Study of Vanitas ongoing manga has gone. Unless the show becomes a pre- Brotherhood Fullmetal Alchemist , we'll have to wait for a while before there's substantial material for The Case Study of Vanitas Season 2 .

Sad that the anime is over? Don't despair! We've gathered a list of anime like The Case Study of Vanitas you should start watching !

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15.7 Evaluation: Presentation and Analysis of Case Study

Learning outcomes.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

• Revise writing to follow the genre conventions of case studies.
• Evaluate the effectiveness and quality of a case study report.

Case studies follow a structure of background and context , methods , findings , and analysis . Body paragraphs should have main points and concrete details. In addition, case studies are written in formal language with precise wording and with a specific purpose and audience (generally other professionals in the field) in mind. Case studies also adhere to the conventions of the discipline’s formatting guide ( APA Documentation and Format in this study). Compare your case study with the following rubric as a final check.

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Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/writing-guide/pages/1-unit-introduction

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Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Assignments

• Annotated Bibliography
• Analyzing a Scholarly Journal Article
• Group Presentations
• Dealing with Nervousness
• Using Visual Aids
• Grading Someone Else's Paper
• Types of Structured Group Activities
• Group Project Survival Skills
• Leading a Class Discussion
• Multiple Book Review Essay
• Reviewing Collected Works
• Writing a Case Analysis Paper
• Writing a Case Study
• About Informed Consent
• Writing Field Notes
• Writing a Policy Memo
• Writing a Reflective Paper
• Writing a Research Proposal
• Generative AI and Writing
• Acknowledgments

A case study research paper examines a person, place, event, condition, phenomenon, or other type of subject of analysis in order to extrapolate  key themes and results that help predict future trends, illuminate previously hidden issues that can be applied to practice, and/or provide a means for understanding an important research problem with greater clarity. A case study research paper usually examines a single subject of analysis, but case study papers can also be designed as a comparative investigation that shows relationships between two or more subjects. The methods used to study a case can rest within a quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-method investigative paradigm.

Case Studies. Writing@CSU. Colorado State University; Mills, Albert J. , Gabrielle Durepos, and Eiden Wiebe, editors. Encyclopedia of Case Study Research . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2010 ; “What is a Case Study?” In Swanborn, Peter G. Case Study Research: What, Why and How? London: SAGE, 2010.

How to Approach Writing a Case Study Research Paper

General information about how to choose a topic to investigate can be found under the " Choosing a Research Problem " tab in the Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper writing guide. Review this page because it may help you identify a subject of analysis that can be investigated using a case study design.

However, identifying a case to investigate involves more than choosing the research problem . A case study encompasses a problem contextualized around the application of in-depth analysis, interpretation, and discussion, often resulting in specific recommendations for action or for improving existing conditions. As Seawright and Gerring note, practical considerations such as time and access to information can influence case selection, but these issues should not be the sole factors used in describing the methodological justification for identifying a particular case to study. Given this, selecting a case includes considering the following:

• The case represents an unusual or atypical example of a research problem that requires more in-depth analysis? Cases often represent a topic that rests on the fringes of prior investigations because the case may provide new ways of understanding the research problem. For example, if the research problem is to identify strategies to improve policies that support girl's access to secondary education in predominantly Muslim nations, you could consider using Azerbaijan as a case study rather than selecting a more obvious nation in the Middle East. Doing so may reveal important new insights into recommending how governments in other predominantly Muslim nations can formulate policies that support improved access to education for girls.
• The case provides important insight or illuminate a previously hidden problem? In-depth analysis of a case can be based on the hypothesis that the case study will reveal trends or issues that have not been exposed in prior research or will reveal new and important implications for practice. For example, anecdotal evidence may suggest drug use among homeless veterans is related to their patterns of travel throughout the day. Assuming prior studies have not looked at individual travel choices as a way to study access to illicit drug use, a case study that observes a homeless veteran could reveal how issues of personal mobility choices facilitate regular access to illicit drugs. Note that it is important to conduct a thorough literature review to ensure that your assumption about the need to reveal new insights or previously hidden problems is valid and evidence-based.
• The case challenges and offers a counter-point to prevailing assumptions? Over time, research on any given topic can fall into a trap of developing assumptions based on outdated studies that are still applied to new or changing conditions or the idea that something should simply be accepted as "common sense," even though the issue has not been thoroughly tested in current practice. A case study analysis may offer an opportunity to gather evidence that challenges prevailing assumptions about a research problem and provide a new set of recommendations applied to practice that have not been tested previously. For example, perhaps there has been a long practice among scholars to apply a particular theory in explaining the relationship between two subjects of analysis. Your case could challenge this assumption by applying an innovative theoretical framework [perhaps borrowed from another discipline] to explore whether this approach offers new ways of understanding the research problem. Taking a contrarian stance is one of the most important ways that new knowledge and understanding develops from existing literature.
• The case provides an opportunity to pursue action leading to the resolution of a problem? Another way to think about choosing a case to study is to consider how the results from investigating a particular case may result in findings that reveal ways in which to resolve an existing or emerging problem. For example, studying the case of an unforeseen incident, such as a fatal accident at a railroad crossing, can reveal hidden issues that could be applied to preventative measures that contribute to reducing the chance of accidents in the future. In this example, a case study investigating the accident could lead to a better understanding of where to strategically locate additional signals at other railroad crossings so as to better warn drivers of an approaching train, particularly when visibility is hindered by heavy rain, fog, or at night.
• The case offers a new direction in future research? A case study can be used as a tool for an exploratory investigation that highlights the need for further research about the problem. A case can be used when there are few studies that help predict an outcome or that establish a clear understanding about how best to proceed in addressing a problem. For example, after conducting a thorough literature review [very important!], you discover that little research exists showing the ways in which women contribute to promoting water conservation in rural communities of east central Africa. A case study of how women contribute to saving water in a rural village of Uganda can lay the foundation for understanding the need for more thorough research that documents how women in their roles as cooks and family caregivers think about water as a valuable resource within their community. This example of a case study could also point to the need for scholars to build new theoretical frameworks around the topic [e.g., applying feminist theories of work and family to the issue of water conservation].

Eisenhardt, Kathleen M. “Building Theories from Case Study Research.” Academy of Management Review 14 (October 1989): 532-550; Emmel, Nick. Sampling and Choosing Cases in Qualitative Research: A Realist Approach . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2013; Gerring, John. “What Is a Case Study and What Is It Good for?” American Political Science Review 98 (May 2004): 341-354; Mills, Albert J. , Gabrielle Durepos, and Eiden Wiebe, editors. Encyclopedia of Case Study Research . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2010; Seawright, Jason and John Gerring. "Case Selection Techniques in Case Study Research." Political Research Quarterly 61 (June 2008): 294-308.

Structure and Writing Style

The purpose of a paper in the social sciences designed around a case study is to thoroughly investigate a subject of analysis in order to reveal a new understanding about the research problem and, in so doing, contributing new knowledge to what is already known from previous studies. In applied social sciences disciplines [e.g., education, social work, public administration, etc.], case studies may also be used to reveal best practices, highlight key programs, or investigate interesting aspects of professional work.

In general, the structure of a case study research paper is not all that different from a standard college-level research paper. However, there are subtle differences you should be aware of. Here are the key elements to organizing and writing a case study research paper.

I.  Introduction

As with any research paper, your introduction should serve as a roadmap for your readers to ascertain the scope and purpose of your study . The introduction to a case study research paper, however, should not only describe the research problem and its significance, but you should also succinctly describe why the case is being used and how it relates to addressing the problem. The two elements should be linked. With this in mind, a good introduction answers these four questions:

• What is being studied? Describe the research problem and describe the subject of analysis [the case] you have chosen to address the problem. Explain how they are linked and what elements of the case will help to expand knowledge and understanding about the problem.
• Why is this topic important to investigate? Describe the significance of the research problem and state why a case study design and the subject of analysis that the paper is designed around is appropriate in addressing the problem.
• What did we know about this topic before I did this study? Provide background that helps lead the reader into the more in-depth literature review to follow. If applicable, summarize prior case study research applied to the research problem and why it fails to adequately address the problem. Describe why your case will be useful. If no prior case studies have been used to address the research problem, explain why you have selected this subject of analysis.
• How will this study advance new knowledge or new ways of understanding? Explain why your case study will be suitable in helping to expand knowledge and understanding about the research problem.

Each of these questions should be addressed in no more than a few paragraphs. Exceptions to this can be when you are addressing a complex research problem or subject of analysis that requires more in-depth background information.

II.  Literature Review

The literature review for a case study research paper is generally structured the same as it is for any college-level research paper. The difference, however, is that the literature review is focused on providing background information and  enabling historical interpretation of the subject of analysis in relation to the research problem the case is intended to address . This includes synthesizing studies that help to:

• Place relevant works in the context of their contribution to understanding the case study being investigated . This would involve summarizing studies that have used a similar subject of analysis to investigate the research problem. If there is literature using the same or a very similar case to study, you need to explain why duplicating past research is important [e.g., conditions have changed; prior studies were conducted long ago, etc.].
• Describe the relationship each work has to the others under consideration that informs the reader why this case is applicable . Your literature review should include a description of any works that support using the case to investigate the research problem and the underlying research questions.
• Identify new ways to interpret prior research using the case study . If applicable, review any research that has examined the research problem using a different research design. Explain how your use of a case study design may reveal new knowledge or a new perspective or that can redirect research in an important new direction.
• Resolve conflicts amongst seemingly contradictory previous studies . This refers to synthesizing any literature that points to unresolved issues of concern about the research problem and describing how the subject of analysis that forms the case study can help resolve these existing contradictions.
• Point the way in fulfilling a need for additional research . Your review should examine any literature that lays a foundation for understanding why your case study design and the subject of analysis around which you have designed your study may reveal a new way of approaching the research problem or offer a perspective that points to the need for additional research.
• Expose any gaps that exist in the literature that the case study could help to fill . Summarize any literature that not only shows how your subject of analysis contributes to understanding the research problem, but how your case contributes to a new way of understanding the problem that prior research has failed to do.
• Locate your own research within the context of existing literature [very important!] . Collectively, your literature review should always place your case study within the larger domain of prior research about the problem. The overarching purpose of reviewing pertinent literature in a case study paper is to demonstrate that you have thoroughly identified and synthesized prior studies in relation to explaining the relevance of the case in addressing the research problem.

III.  Method

In this section, you explain why you selected a particular case [i.e., subject of analysis] and the strategy you used to identify and ultimately decide that your case was appropriate in addressing the research problem. The way you describe the methods used varies depending on the type of subject of analysis that constitutes your case study.

If your subject of analysis is an incident or event . In the social and behavioral sciences, the event or incident that represents the case to be studied is usually bounded by time and place, with a clear beginning and end and with an identifiable location or position relative to its surroundings. The subject of analysis can be a rare or critical event or it can focus on a typical or regular event. The purpose of studying a rare event is to illuminate new ways of thinking about the broader research problem or to test a hypothesis. Critical incident case studies must describe the method by which you identified the event and explain the process by which you determined the validity of this case to inform broader perspectives about the research problem or to reveal new findings. However, the event does not have to be a rare or uniquely significant to support new thinking about the research problem or to challenge an existing hypothesis. For example, Walo, Bull, and Breen conducted a case study to identify and evaluate the direct and indirect economic benefits and costs of a local sports event in the City of Lismore, New South Wales, Australia. The purpose of their study was to provide new insights from measuring the impact of a typical local sports event that prior studies could not measure well because they focused on large "mega-events." Whether the event is rare or not, the methods section should include an explanation of the following characteristics of the event: a) when did it take place; b) what were the underlying circumstances leading to the event; and, c) what were the consequences of the event in relation to the research problem.

If your subject of analysis is a person. Explain why you selected this particular individual to be studied and describe what experiences they have had that provide an opportunity to advance new understandings about the research problem. Mention any background about this person which might help the reader understand the significance of their experiences that make them worthy of study. This includes describing the relationships this person has had with other people, institutions, and/or events that support using them as the subject for a case study research paper. It is particularly important to differentiate the person as the subject of analysis from others and to succinctly explain how the person relates to examining the research problem [e.g., why is one politician in a particular local election used to show an increase in voter turnout from any other candidate running in the election]. Note that these issues apply to a specific group of people used as a case study unit of analysis [e.g., a classroom of students].

If your subject of analysis is a place. In general, a case study that investigates a place suggests a subject of analysis that is unique or special in some way and that this uniqueness can be used to build new understanding or knowledge about the research problem. A case study of a place must not only describe its various attributes relevant to the research problem [e.g., physical, social, historical, cultural, economic, political], but you must state the method by which you determined that this place will illuminate new understandings about the research problem. It is also important to articulate why a particular place as the case for study is being used if similar places also exist [i.e., if you are studying patterns of homeless encampments of veterans in open spaces, explain why you are studying Echo Park in Los Angeles rather than Griffith Park?]. If applicable, describe what type of human activity involving this place makes it a good choice to study [e.g., prior research suggests Echo Park has more homeless veterans].

If your subject of analysis is a phenomenon. A phenomenon refers to a fact, occurrence, or circumstance that can be studied or observed but with the cause or explanation to be in question. In this sense, a phenomenon that forms your subject of analysis can encompass anything that can be observed or presumed to exist but is not fully understood. In the social and behavioral sciences, the case usually focuses on human interaction within a complex physical, social, economic, cultural, or political system. For example, the phenomenon could be the observation that many vehicles used by ISIS fighters are small trucks with English language advertisements on them. The research problem could be that ISIS fighters are difficult to combat because they are highly mobile. The research questions could be how and by what means are these vehicles used by ISIS being supplied to the militants and how might supply lines to these vehicles be cut off? How might knowing the suppliers of these trucks reveal larger networks of collaborators and financial support? A case study of a phenomenon most often encompasses an in-depth analysis of a cause and effect that is grounded in an interactive relationship between people and their environment in some way.

NOTE:   The choice of the case or set of cases to study cannot appear random. Evidence that supports the method by which you identified and chose your subject of analysis should clearly support investigation of the research problem and linked to key findings from your literature review. Be sure to cite any studies that helped you determine that the case you chose was appropriate for examining the problem.

IV.  Discussion

The main elements of your discussion section are generally the same as any research paper, but centered around interpreting and drawing conclusions about the key findings from your analysis of the case study. Note that a general social sciences research paper may contain a separate section to report findings. However, in a paper designed around a case study, it is common to combine a description of the results with the discussion about their implications. The objectives of your discussion section should include the following:

Reiterate the Research Problem/State the Major Findings Briefly reiterate the research problem you are investigating and explain why the subject of analysis around which you designed the case study were used. You should then describe the findings revealed from your study of the case using direct, declarative, and succinct proclamation of the study results. Highlight any findings that were unexpected or especially profound.

Explain the Meaning of the Findings and Why They are Important Systematically explain the meaning of your case study findings and why you believe they are important. Begin this part of the section by repeating what you consider to be your most important or surprising finding first, then systematically review each finding. Be sure to thoroughly extrapolate what your analysis of the case can tell the reader about situations or conditions beyond the actual case that was studied while, at the same time, being careful not to misconstrue or conflate a finding that undermines the external validity of your conclusions.

Relate the Findings to Similar Studies No study in the social sciences is so novel or possesses such a restricted focus that it has absolutely no relation to previously published research. The discussion section should relate your case study results to those found in other studies, particularly if questions raised from prior studies served as the motivation for choosing your subject of analysis. This is important because comparing and contrasting the findings of other studies helps support the overall importance of your results and it highlights how and in what ways your case study design and the subject of analysis differs from prior research about the topic.

Consider Alternative Explanations of the Findings Remember that the purpose of social science research is to discover and not to prove. When writing the discussion section, you should carefully consider all possible explanations revealed by the case study results, rather than just those that fit your hypothesis or prior assumptions and biases. Be alert to what the in-depth analysis of the case may reveal about the research problem, including offering a contrarian perspective to what scholars have stated in prior research if that is how the findings can be interpreted from your case.

Acknowledge the Study's Limitations You can state the study's limitations in the conclusion section of your paper but describing the limitations of your subject of analysis in the discussion section provides an opportunity to identify the limitations and explain why they are not significant. This part of the discussion section should also note any unanswered questions or issues your case study could not address. More detailed information about how to document any limitations to your research can be found here .

Suggest Areas for Further Research Although your case study may offer important insights about the research problem, there are likely additional questions related to the problem that remain unanswered or findings that unexpectedly revealed themselves as a result of your in-depth analysis of the case. Be sure that the recommendations for further research are linked to the research problem and that you explain why your recommendations are valid in other contexts and based on the original assumptions of your study.

V.  Conclusion

As with any research paper, you should summarize your conclusion in clear, simple language; emphasize how the findings from your case study differs from or supports prior research and why. Do not simply reiterate the discussion section. Provide a synthesis of key findings presented in the paper to show how these converge to address the research problem. If you haven't already done so in the discussion section, be sure to document the limitations of your case study and any need for further research.

The function of your paper's conclusion is to: 1) reiterate the main argument supported by the findings from your case study; 2) state clearly the context, background, and necessity of pursuing the research problem using a case study design in relation to an issue, controversy, or a gap found from reviewing the literature; and, 3) provide a place to persuasively and succinctly restate the significance of your research problem, given that the reader has now been presented with in-depth information about the topic.

Consider the following points to help ensure your conclusion is appropriate:

• If the argument or purpose of your paper is complex, you may need to summarize these points for your reader.
• If prior to your conclusion, you have not yet explained the significance of your findings or if you are proceeding inductively, use the conclusion of your paper to describe your main points and explain their significance.
• Move from a detailed to a general level of consideration of the case study's findings that returns the topic to the context provided by the introduction or within a new context that emerges from your case study findings.

Note that, depending on the discipline you are writing in or the preferences of your professor, the concluding paragraph may contain your final reflections on the evidence presented as it applies to practice or on the essay's central research problem. However, the nature of being introspective about the subject of analysis you have investigated will depend on whether you are explicitly asked to express your observations in this way.

Problems to Avoid

Overgeneralization One of the goals of a case study is to lay a foundation for understanding broader trends and issues applied to similar circumstances. However, be careful when drawing conclusions from your case study. They must be evidence-based and grounded in the results of the study; otherwise, it is merely speculation. Looking at a prior example, it would be incorrect to state that a factor in improving girls access to education in Azerbaijan and the policy implications this may have for improving access in other Muslim nations is due to girls access to social media if there is no documentary evidence from your case study to indicate this. There may be anecdotal evidence that retention rates were better for girls who were engaged with social media, but this observation would only point to the need for further research and would not be a definitive finding if this was not a part of your original research agenda.

Failure to Document Limitations No case is going to reveal all that needs to be understood about a research problem. Therefore, just as you have to clearly state the limitations of a general research study , you must describe the specific limitations inherent in the subject of analysis. For example, the case of studying how women conceptualize the need for water conservation in a village in Uganda could have limited application in other cultural contexts or in areas where fresh water from rivers or lakes is plentiful and, therefore, conservation is understood more in terms of managing access rather than preserving access to a scarce resource.

Failure to Extrapolate All Possible Implications Just as you don't want to over-generalize from your case study findings, you also have to be thorough in the consideration of all possible outcomes or recommendations derived from your findings. If you do not, your reader may question the validity of your analysis, particularly if you failed to document an obvious outcome from your case study research. For example, in the case of studying the accident at the railroad crossing to evaluate where and what types of warning signals should be located, you failed to take into consideration speed limit signage as well as warning signals. When designing your case study, be sure you have thoroughly addressed all aspects of the problem and do not leave gaps in your analysis that leave the reader questioning the results.

Case Studies. Writing@CSU. Colorado State University; Gerring, John. Case Study Research: Principles and Practices . New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007; Merriam, Sharan B. Qualitative Research and Case Study Applications in Education . Rev. ed. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1998; Miller, Lisa L. “The Use of Case Studies in Law and Social Science Research.” Annual Review of Law and Social Science 14 (2018): TBD; Mills, Albert J., Gabrielle Durepos, and Eiden Wiebe, editors. Encyclopedia of Case Study Research . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2010; Putney, LeAnn Grogan. "Case Study." In Encyclopedia of Research Design , Neil J. Salkind, editor. (Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2010), pp. 116-120; Simons, Helen. Case Study Research in Practice . London: SAGE Publications, 2009;  Kratochwill,  Thomas R. and Joel R. Levin, editors. Single-Case Research Design and Analysis: New Development for Psychology and Education .  Hilldsale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1992; Swanborn, Peter G. Case Study Research: What, Why and How? London : SAGE, 2010; Yin, Robert K. Case Study Research: Design and Methods . 6th edition. Los Angeles, CA, SAGE Publications, 2014; Walo, Maree, Adrian Bull, and Helen Breen. “Achieving Economic Benefits at Local Events: A Case Study of a Local Sports Event.” Festival Management and Event Tourism 4 (1996): 95-106.

Writing Tip

At Least Five Misconceptions about Case Study Research

Social science case studies are often perceived as limited in their ability to create new knowledge because they are not randomly selected and findings cannot be generalized to larger populations. Flyvbjerg examines five misunderstandings about case study research and systematically "corrects" each one. To quote, these are:

Misunderstanding 1 :  General, theoretical [context-independent] knowledge is more valuable than concrete, practical [context-dependent] knowledge. Misunderstanding 2 :  One cannot generalize on the basis of an individual case; therefore, the case study cannot contribute to scientific development. Misunderstanding 3 :  The case study is most useful for generating hypotheses; that is, in the first stage of a total research process, whereas other methods are more suitable for hypotheses testing and theory building. Misunderstanding 4 :  The case study contains a bias toward verification, that is, a tendency to confirm the researcher’s preconceived notions. Misunderstanding 5 :  It is often difficult to summarize and develop general propositions and theories on the basis of specific case studies [p. 221].

While writing your paper, think introspectively about how you addressed these misconceptions because to do so can help you strengthen the validity and reliability of your research by clarifying issues of case selection, the testing and challenging of existing assumptions, the interpretation of key findings, and the summation of case outcomes. Think of a case study research paper as a complete, in-depth narrative about the specific properties and key characteristics of your subject of analysis applied to the research problem.

Flyvbjerg, Bent. “Five Misunderstandings About Case-Study Research.” Qualitative Inquiry 12 (April 2006): 219-245.

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