Men don't tend to analyse as much as women, which means when something life-changing does occur they are more likely to be less equipped than women to deal with it. This is perhaps what happens to Wil. He is unable to cope with the rejection of Teresa. Any other young man, however, would probably not have gone to the extremes that Wil feels capable of doing because he has been brought up in a society where violence is normalised to a greater extent. The novel is also a comment on American society where relaxed gun laws and their gung-ho mentality have sometimes impacted disastrously.
Teenage rebellion is essentially a hollow act.
Some people can shake it off, whereas others like Wil are changed forever by it. Something clicked and I felt I had to write. Society's controls can affect some young people so badly that this is the result. Writing for me was a mode of escape. The Rainbow Singer is a unique novel, shocking in parts, but thought-provoking, a unique response to a unique situation.