Hennepin County Library hardcover 282 pages
genre: YA realistic fiction
A depressing school shooting story. There were a lot of characters, but it wasn't hard to keep track of them. They were varied and interesting, male and female, and the relationships almost made me want to draw a web. This would be a great discussion book . . . so many people blame themselves - the shooter's former girlfriend, his sister, her girlfriend, etc. The adults in the story are poorly drawn, other than an outline of the shooter's dad who has his own tail-spin after his wife dies.
The shooting spree is horrifying. Tyler Browne locks the doors to the auditorium where everyone is gathered for the semester "talk" from the principal. He's on a killing rampage and doesn't care about consequences. The frightened students are another story, however.
page 165 - Sylvia approaches Steve and asks him to help Asha (who is catatonic after her younger sister was murdered) get out of the auditorium. "It's a trick I learned from dealing with Mama's illness. Whenever she zones out, the best thing to do is give her specific tasks . . . " And so she successfully helps both Steve and Asha to get out of the auditorium.
page 281 - At the end, when the survivors are lighting the paper lanterns, all I can think is "I know they're beautiful, but it's really dangerous to send burning paper into the sky!"
Overall, this is a well-written book. The perspectives, text messages, etc. all seem relevant. The thing that makes me sad is that we as a country are getting used to this. For the shock and horror after Columbine or Newtown, what really changes? Not gun laws. Not increased access to mental health professionals. It just seems that we talk talk talk and express outrage. Hatred and violence are not just going to go away. I'd be curious to hear teens' perceptions of this book. What stands out to them?
2 comments:
Interesting take on how people who go through traumatic situations view the situation as a whole. I liked that different characters were given a voice and that each had a different "eye witness" account.
I found myself not only sad for the situation, but also emotional with the endings for the different characters.
This could be a good book for classes to read as a group and discuss the different perspectives, feelings about the shooter, how we as a society can change the sad fact that so many school shootings happen, etc....
I agree that a group reading / discussion would make this so much more valuable.
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