I re-read this book recently and downgraded it from 4 stars to 2 stars. There is no way around it, Gray Robillard was a complete jerk and he couldn't be redeemed in my eyes, even though he came around and started being decent to Faith in the end of the novel. I don't think you can justify the bullying and cruelty, no matter how much he wanted to protect his mother. It was really dysfunctional and kind of icky.