We like the lead in this piece: It’s got nice detail and foreshadows death. Gurnett then reconstructs her main character’s suicide attempt. We’d like to propose that the piece would be even better if it were even more purely narrative, … Read more
We particularly like the first several sections of this piece. Earls provides an effective sequential experience for her readers: first a cliffhanger beginning, then an efficient summary of the topic, then an authoritative composite of her main character, Katherine. We … Read more
We’re always glad to find effective, solidly written and reported pieces in papers other than the Heavy Hitters. We appreciated the close, thorough reporting in this piece, the lucid attention to Lequan’s inner life and struggles. We e-mailed Earls to … Read more
Gurnett’s attitude in this piece is curious, compassionate, never melodramatic. Gurnett achieves "narrative distance," a detachment from her subject, even as she seeks to understand him. Her writing has more voice than we often find in smaller papers: She uses … Read more