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asparklingzombie's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
All of the characters are well-rounded and behave like real people, and for that I call the characters loveable; I feel like a lot of YA novels I've read often misfire when they attempt this degree of realism, but I think Keplinger pulls it off. There are no special quirks to make the characters particularly memorable, but I think that's fine given the serious subject the novel covers, so I won't be harshly judging that here.
The novel focuses on the survivors' present-day timeline, three to four years after the school shooting that changed their lives. Lee decides to collect letters from the five other survivors to combat the narrative that will be published by her deceased best friend's parents, which martyrizes her death by way of her defending her faith. The plot offers a snapshot into the post-shooting lives of each survivor while adding their perspective to the horrific event.
There aren't any surprising twists, and Keplinger chooses to handle the traumatic event tastefully rather than to dramatize, so if you're looking for a dark, thrilling read, this isn't going to be your novel. However, if you like a simple plot with mellow pacing that examines the impact a school shooting has on its survivors and its town, this will be more your tea.
There is a lot of thought and care put into the novel's pages and how the story would be presented. The sentence flow is solid with enough description to paint the scene and get the themes across, without becoming long-winded. Overall, this is one of the better YA novels I've read that have come out within the past decade.
The novel focuses on the survivors' present-day timeline, three to four years after the school shooting that changed their lives. Lee decides to collect letters from the five other survivors to combat the narrative that will be published by her deceased best friend's parents, which martyrizes her death by way of her defending her faith. The plot offers a snapshot into the post-shooting lives of each survivor while adding their perspective to the horrific event.
There aren't any surprising twists, and Keplinger chooses to handle the traumatic event tastefully rather than to dramatize, so if you're looking for a dark, thrilling read, this isn't going to be your novel. However, if you like a simple plot with mellow pacing that examines the impact a school shooting has on its survivors and its town, this will be more your tea.
There is a lot of thought and care put into the novel's pages and how the story would be presented. The sentence flow is solid with enough description to paint the scene and get the themes across, without becoming long-winded. Overall, this is one of the better YA novels I've read that have come out within the past decade.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Blood, and Mass/school shootings
confusedteach33's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Lots of great ideas but the book was just okay. I enjoyed the narrative ark of the story but felt as if the added romance was unnecessary where other ideas could have been explored more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mass/school shootings
morgie27's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mass/school shootings
jess_thefacts's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is a you can't put it down book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Suicide, Grief, Mass/school shootings, and Murder
delaneylacerte4's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Grief, and Mass/school shootings
Moderate: Bullying and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Drug use and Blood
rose34's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, and Alcohol
Minor: Ableism and Racism
theenbybookworm's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I really enjoyed this!!! So interesting and well-formatted. Apparently, this is based off of a true story, which I had not known before. I got it at my school book fair! Such a great book. I typically reach for those super long fantasy books (500-600 pages or so) in a series, but this was definitely a good change of pace to take a break from the longer books, since itโs about half (maybe less, considering the chapters are so short, which always makes the book more pages than the actual word count would require, since there are so many of the chapter titles that take up like 1/3 of the page) of what I usually read. A good break after finishing a ten book series ๐
(each about 500-ish pages).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mass/school shootings
This is literally entirely based around a school shooting (9 people died, and only 6 who ended up in the same room as the shooter at some point during the shooting made it out alive - none of them yet having the full picture), so if this triggers you, I definitely would not recommend for you, specifically.synkdive's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Violence, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cursing
jesslemreads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Mass/school shootings
good_names_dont_exist's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction and Alcoholism