heathssm's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
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? Yes
4.5
backshelfbooks's review against another edition
4.0
To me, this book is everything that contemporary young adult novels should be. It feels real and honest, and has characters you wish you knew in high school. On top of that, this book has some really strong, important themes discussed as subplots, and even under the surface of the main plot. The book reads like a mystery, but isn't a thriller, and I loved that. The relationships between the characters are raw and real, and their decisions and interactions feel true to the characters.
This is a book I would not only recommend, but one that I would read again and again.
This is a book I would not only recommend, but one that I would read again and again.
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 it’s 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 😅 (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: Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Ableism, Violence, Racism, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, and Bullying
Minor: Cursing
cbri's review against another edition
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
tabitalk's review against another edition
3.0
To anyone who would ‘like’ to get a feel of the fear the kids endured. There’s a movie called: Run Hide Fight. Its about a school shooting.
scrollsofdragons's review against another edition
2.0
Not the sort of book a anti religious person like me should read because I'm pretty sure how the Christians acted in this novel was not Christian behaviour whatsoever, they were just painted in a bad light. I was expecting more of a thriller but it was just about a lie wrapped up in faith and the main character was just not that interesting.
readabookorfive's review against another edition
5.0
4.5/5
Trigger Warnings: gun violence, panic attacks, signs of PTSD
I want Sarah to be remembered, but I want her to be remembered for the person she truly was, not the person the world wants her to be
That’s Not What Happened is a raw, emotional, character driven novel focusing on the survivors of a school shooting so as you can imagine, it is one of the heaviest books I’ve ever read. Luckily, I have never and will never be in the situation these kids were in and can obviously not speak for the representation of people who have been through it but I thought it was such a raw and emotional novel that should be read more.
One of my favourite things about the story is that we never know the shooters name, intentions or anything like that, all we know is that he’s sixteen, he’s a boy and he took his own life after causing the shooting. The novel doesn’t paint him as this tragic teenager with this tragic backstory and doesn’t give him any attention at all and that’s one thing I especially hate about the media in these situations is they focus on who the shooter is but why do they deserve that attention? They don’t. Another thing I appreciated was that these kids weren’t afraid to say hey these people that were tragically taken weren’t all saints all of the time.
This novel was just so incredible and heartbreaking, I cried a few times reading this especially during Miles’ letter and him talking about what was really going on during the shooting and I thought it was so powerful. I also thought the overarching story about Sarah and how things weren’t what people really wanted to believe.
I really liked all of the survivors, I thought the way their stories were portrayed and then them writing the reality of what really happened was so well done and so powerful and shows that not everything is how the media wants us to think it is in these situations. This novel just highlighted so many important points about not only the subject matter but the aftermath of how it’s reported and talked about by people who don’t know anything about what happened.
I really liked the fact we had an asexual main character although I thought the way it was put into the book kind of felt like it was just slotted in when it needed to be and just didn’t really feel natural in the way that it was portrayed but I am glad that we have another book with ace rep in it!
Overall, I thought that That’s Not What Happened is a fantastic novel that discusses so many important things and does it in a sensitive way and respects people who have been in that situation. I definitely want to pick up more of the authors books and I hope more people read this one.
Trigger Warnings: gun violence, panic attacks, signs of PTSD
I want Sarah to be remembered, but I want her to be remembered for the person she truly was, not the person the world wants her to be
That’s Not What Happened is a raw, emotional, character driven novel focusing on the survivors of a school shooting so as you can imagine, it is one of the heaviest books I’ve ever read. Luckily, I have never and will never be in the situation these kids were in and can obviously not speak for the representation of people who have been through it but I thought it was such a raw and emotional novel that should be read more.
One of my favourite things about the story is that we never know the shooters name, intentions or anything like that, all we know is that he’s sixteen, he’s a boy and he took his own life after causing the shooting. The novel doesn’t paint him as this tragic teenager with this tragic backstory and doesn’t give him any attention at all and that’s one thing I especially hate about the media in these situations is they focus on who the shooter is but why do they deserve that attention? They don’t. Another thing I appreciated was that these kids weren’t afraid to say hey these people that were tragically taken weren’t all saints all of the time.
This novel was just so incredible and heartbreaking, I cried a few times reading this especially during Miles’ letter and him talking about what was really going on during the shooting and I thought it was so powerful. I also thought the overarching story about Sarah and how things weren’t what people really wanted to believe.
I really liked all of the survivors, I thought the way their stories were portrayed and then them writing the reality of what really happened was so well done and so powerful and shows that not everything is how the media wants us to think it is in these situations. This novel just highlighted so many important points about not only the subject matter but the aftermath of how it’s reported and talked about by people who don’t know anything about what happened.
I really liked the fact we had an asexual main character although I thought the way it was put into the book kind of felt like it was just slotted in when it needed to be and just didn’t really feel natural in the way that it was portrayed but I am glad that we have another book with ace rep in it!
Overall, I thought that That’s Not What Happened is a fantastic novel that discusses so many important things and does it in a sensitive way and respects people who have been in that situation. I definitely want to pick up more of the authors books and I hope more people read this one.
ericaray1996's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
pnp's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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? Yes
5.0