shereadsbecause's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
5.0
wondermajica's review against another edition
4.0
My morbid interest in school shootings began back when I was in elementary school. I was around eleven years old when I was kicked out of my 4th-grade classroom for talking about Columbine. I do not know why the tragic event fascinated me so much. As I got older, I began reading every book and watching every movie or documentary on the subject I could find. This would lead to me actually developing plans of writing a book myself. However, what most people do not understand is how truly overwhelming these events are (both in how horrible they are and quantity). Everyone has heard of Columbine, Parkland, and Virginia Tech, but the majority of these events only get noticed locally. If it doesn’t have something that makes it stand out or a high kill count, it just isn’t worth talking about in mainstream media.
School shootings did not start in the ’90s. It doesn’t happen because someone enjoys violent games or listens to Marilyn Manson. The shooters are not always the victims of bullying or suffering from depression. Americans have spent so much time trying to come up with a formula or something to put all the blame on. If we could just figure it out and create a quick (preferably cheap) fix, we could all just move on with our lives. Yet, after all this time, after so many deaths, no answers have been found. In the end, I think that on-going question of “why” is what fueled most of my own personal interest. I was convinced, like many others, that I could find out why this keeps happening. I was determined to be the one to discover the magical formula that led to someone performing these horrific acts.
Then Sandy Hook happened. Newtown destroyed me. For months after, I had nightmares of tiny, bloody bodies stacked in classrooms. This is when I stopped caring about “why” and just became furious it was even happening at all. Surely, this would be the tragedy that forced change...but then nothing happened. I stopped all research and stopped following any additional incidents. It was just too much for me and my mental health could no longer handle it. I do occasionally still read books on the topic, but only if it offers something new, which is why I chose to read the 500+ page If I Don’t Make It, I Love You.
This book, edited by Amye Archer and Loren Kleinman features essays from individuals affected by school shootings. Survivors share the long-lasting effects they are now dealing with, families detail their struggles and anger after losing loved ones, and even Doctors share their point of view. Working chronologically from Santa Fe High School back to the Tower shooting at the University of Texas in the ’60s, it includes information not only about the popular tragedies, but several of the lesser known ones as well. It is an incredibly difficult, yet necessary read. There is so much pain in the pages of this book, which is to be expected, but I also found a growing bit of hope developing mainly around the survivors of Parkland. It is sad, but I think many have passed on the torch of trying to change things to these kids. One only hopes they are able to do better than those before them.
I really liked how the book was put together. Each chapter represents a different tragedy, and at the beginning of each, we hear a bit from one of the editors. The names of the shooters are rarely mentioned, and it in no way glorifies anything they did. I also really appreciated the mentions of incidents prior to the University of Texas Tower Shooting (which many consider to be the first mass killing at a school). Archer and Kleinman did their research (and shared the toil it took on them). The only issue I did have with this book was how many of the “essays” were excerpts from other books. It doesn’t take away anything...I am just too tempted now to read all of these books, and as mentioned earlier, I do not think that would be good for me. As heavy as the subject matter is, I think this should be required reading for many in our society (especially politicians).
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 4.5/5
School shootings did not start in the ’90s. It doesn’t happen because someone enjoys violent games or listens to Marilyn Manson. The shooters are not always the victims of bullying or suffering from depression. Americans have spent so much time trying to come up with a formula or something to put all the blame on. If we could just figure it out and create a quick (preferably cheap) fix, we could all just move on with our lives. Yet, after all this time, after so many deaths, no answers have been found. In the end, I think that on-going question of “why” is what fueled most of my own personal interest. I was convinced, like many others, that I could find out why this keeps happening. I was determined to be the one to discover the magical formula that led to someone performing these horrific acts.
Then Sandy Hook happened. Newtown destroyed me. For months after, I had nightmares of tiny, bloody bodies stacked in classrooms. This is when I stopped caring about “why” and just became furious it was even happening at all. Surely, this would be the tragedy that forced change...but then nothing happened. I stopped all research and stopped following any additional incidents. It was just too much for me and my mental health could no longer handle it. I do occasionally still read books on the topic, but only if it offers something new, which is why I chose to read the 500+ page If I Don’t Make It, I Love You.
This book, edited by Amye Archer and Loren Kleinman features essays from individuals affected by school shootings. Survivors share the long-lasting effects they are now dealing with, families detail their struggles and anger after losing loved ones, and even Doctors share their point of view. Working chronologically from Santa Fe High School back to the Tower shooting at the University of Texas in the ’60s, it includes information not only about the popular tragedies, but several of the lesser known ones as well. It is an incredibly difficult, yet necessary read. There is so much pain in the pages of this book, which is to be expected, but I also found a growing bit of hope developing mainly around the survivors of Parkland. It is sad, but I think many have passed on the torch of trying to change things to these kids. One only hopes they are able to do better than those before them.
I really liked how the book was put together. Each chapter represents a different tragedy, and at the beginning of each, we hear a bit from one of the editors. The names of the shooters are rarely mentioned, and it in no way glorifies anything they did. I also really appreciated the mentions of incidents prior to the University of Texas Tower Shooting (which many consider to be the first mass killing at a school). Archer and Kleinman did their research (and shared the toil it took on them). The only issue I did have with this book was how many of the “essays” were excerpts from other books. It doesn’t take away anything...I am just too tempted now to read all of these books, and as mentioned earlier, I do not think that would be good for me. As heavy as the subject matter is, I think this should be required reading for many in our society (especially politicians).
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 4.5/5
mamacass's review against another edition
5.0
I live in Colorado. To read about Columbine (again) was... there just isn't a word. I did learn a few things about the survivors. Reading about Sandy Hook was probably the hardest for me, from the principal who sacrificed her life, to the children who never got the chance to live. Of course this book isn't easy to read, it shouldn't be, but it is necessary. Not wanting to talk about something because it's tragic or painful accomplishes nothing.
audreylee's review against another edition
4.0
There is no "right" way to survive, you just do. That is the takeaway from this book of compiled essays of those who have lived through school shootings or the consequences of those shootings. It is amazing what people can live through and devastating that nothing changes. This is a hard but necessary read. The only thing I have against this book: the cover is crap and the editing was negligible. This was a pricey hardcover and it would appear no proofreaders were available the day it went to print but that is an old and frequent complaint.
kellyhager's review against another edition
This is a harrowing and at times overwhelming anthology featuring people most affected by school shootings (survivors and parents of victims, but some teachers and a few others, including doctors. A couple were related to the shooters). It is not an easy read, but it is an important one.
The last shooting mentioned (the book goes in reverse chronological order) is the shooting at the University of Texas in the 1960s that left 16 people dead. It's this horrific event, obviously, and the next most recent shooting was in the 1980s. And then, of course, they became a lot more commonplace.
I haven't even heard of a handful of these shootings, and I would like to say how completely horrifying that is---that these shootings occur frequently enough that they aren't even covered, necessarily.
While these accounts convey fear and anger, there's also a sense of hope throughout, that eventually these shootings will stop. Several people mention the Parkland teenagers as being a real catalyst for change. We'll see what happens when they're all old enough to vote (when all the kids who grew up with active shooter drills are all old enough to vote).
This is so necessary and I hope it was cathartic for the people who contributed. I also am hoping that the editors are doing well; it was clear that working on this book was traumatizing for them, too. That's something that's not discussed, the idea of secondhand trauma.
Highly recommended.
The last shooting mentioned (the book goes in reverse chronological order) is the shooting at the University of Texas in the 1960s that left 16 people dead. It's this horrific event, obviously, and the next most recent shooting was in the 1980s. And then, of course, they became a lot more commonplace.
I haven't even heard of a handful of these shootings, and I would like to say how completely horrifying that is---that these shootings occur frequently enough that they aren't even covered, necessarily.
While these accounts convey fear and anger, there's also a sense of hope throughout, that eventually these shootings will stop. Several people mention the Parkland teenagers as being a real catalyst for change. We'll see what happens when they're all old enough to vote (when all the kids who grew up with active shooter drills are all old enough to vote).
This is so necessary and I hope it was cathartic for the people who contributed. I also am hoping that the editors are doing well; it was clear that working on this book was traumatizing for them, too. That's something that's not discussed, the idea of secondhand trauma.
Highly recommended.
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