coleanne's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.25
Graphic: Gun violence, Blood, Murder, Suicide, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Death, Grief, Mass/school shootings, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual violence, Child abuse, Cursing, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Rape, and Sexual harassment
marisabenn's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
I really liked how the chapters were laid out with the time stamps. The four POVs make this heartbreaking and hopeful. I honestly have few words for this one. It's powerful with so many layers and pieces to be taken away.
It was difficult to keep track of minor characters. I wish the author would have included a list of victims, even if it is fictional. There were so many names either half-remembered or never known that I got lost.
I also wish there was more about Tyler. We don't know why he wanted to mass murder his classmates, but I guess that's not rare for school shootings. In the end it just felt a little..... forced? I'm not sure, but it was lacking something.
Definitely need a light rom-com after this heartbreaker.
Graphic: Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mass/school shootings, Grief, Death, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Dementia, Bullying, and Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Cursing, Rape, Sexual assault, and Car accident
msestern's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Car accident, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Death, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Drug use, Lesbophobia, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Cursing
hrtskatia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Mass/school shootings, Gore, Grief, Blood, Child death, Cursing, Suicide, Death, and Violence
Minor: Vomit and Rape
thatswhatshanread's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Yes, it’s a fast read, and no, it doesn’t glorify school shooters. But everything else about it was so wrong, and didn’t do real life mass shooting survivors and victims any justice. The lack of research on the subject is obvious, which is incredibly disheartening. To me, the book just seemed like a grab for money.
The characters were so one-dimensional, and the familial relationships were confusing because of their lack of depth one minute, and their dialogue being the opposite the next minute. All of the different POVs could’ve honestly been the same person. That’s how little each character differed from the next. None of them stood out except for the school shooter, who was also very cookie-cutter evil from start to finish, giving in to every stereotype, written very lazily IMO, which really diminished the severe gravity of an event like this. None of the characters faltered from their specified roles, unfortunately rendering most of the story rather forgettable.
Also, the town the story is set in is called Opportunity, and was name dropped beyond proclivity. Which just angered me even more. The writing in general was just not great.
Graphic: Grief, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Abandonment, Bullying, Child abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Child death, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Blood, Car accident, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Cursing
ghanshaw's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Murder, Violence, Mass/school shootings, Self harm, and Suicide
yk_cadence1's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Gun violence, Blood, and Suicide
Minor: Cursing
dariana12's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Mass/school shootings, Gun violence, and Torture
Moderate: Cursing, Murder, Bullying, Blood, Suicide, and Death
Minor: Blood, Bullying, and Rape
tatianuh's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Mass/school shootings, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Suicide
sleeson's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.25
I am going to end up giving it a 1.5 rating. I know it was written in 2016 so it’s hard to rate it. It’s actually appropriate for a mature 14 or 15 yr old.
However, it’s very unrealistic and the characters are focusing on trivial things while the shooting takes place. It’s repetitive and I wish it had a POV of the shooter.
I think a book like this would need to be written for adults, where the reader can get realistic points of view. To read from victims, police officers and the shooter’s POV.
This is a hard thing to do because you don’t want to justify what the shooter is doing. You also don’t want kids to be scared to go to school.
I guess for what is happening in our country presently and this is extremely outdated. I don’t think it’s appropriate for the author to be making money off this book. I saved you from reading it. It’s tough to not to be too harsh on the writing style of the book because it’s for legit 14yr olds. The author minimizes what happens to the victims and what is happening during the shooting.
Mild swearing.
Moderate: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Grief, Car accident, Child abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mass/school shootings, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Blood, Bullying, and Physical abuse
Minor: Cursing