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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
Great exploration of media (and organized religion) manipulation, trauma, and grief.
I loved the fact that the shooter’s name was [redacted] so as to not give him any attention at all and focus on the survivors and victims and their stories.
Also, ace representation, heck yeah!
I loved the fact that the shooter’s name was [redacted] so as to not give him any attention at all and focus on the survivors and victims and their stories.
Also, ace representation, heck yeah!
I liked how we saw through the perspective of the survivors and for once not really acknowledging the shooter at all. Not even his name was mentioned. Because that wasn't the point of the story. I really liked reading about how all of the survivors started accepting what really happened and coming to terms with it in their own ways.
Lee Bauer was the reason I liked and didn't like this book. The idea was splendid, revolving around the lack of truth about a school shooting and Lee's decision to speak the truth three years later. Lee's best friend, Sarah, died in the shooting and when Lee learns that Sarah's parents are writing a book based on their daughter's life, Lee knows that it's time to speak up. Because she was with Lee when she died and everything everyone thinks happened in the bathroom didn't.
Lee's train of thought, on the other hand, was the downside. She was impulsive and obsessive once Denny planted the idea in her head due to her reading his scholarship letter. At that point, she demanded the five other survivors write a letter from their perspective of what happened so the truth could be announced. She abused Eden's privacy to grab Kellie's number from her phone. Kellie and her mom were driven out of town after the shooting because of a lie rooted to what happened in the bathroom. Kellie, Sarah, and Lee were in the bathroom and despite Kellie attempting to tell the truth, Lee never backed her up, and Sarah was labeled as the savior and basically anointed as a saint. Kellie and her family were bullied and harassed to the point where they escaped town and settled elsewhere under new names. So when Lee contacts Kellie, she doesn't understand that not everyone is a Lee Bauer. Not everyone wants the truth. Not everyone needs the truth, especially after all the harm in attempting to tell the truth years prior.
Besides cyber stalking, emailing, texting, and calling Kellie 24/7, Lee also sets her sights on her BFF Miles, another survivor of the shooting, since he also refuses to write a letter. Lee doesn't understand why and continuously pushes him into explaining his reasons to her. So despite Kellie and Miles not wanting to write a letter, Lee bullies them into doing what she wants. She is selfish and manipulative, refusing to respect the boundaries Miles and Kellie established, especially Kellie since she wants nothing to do with her past.
A laughable moment was after prom when Lee wonders how she and Miles could go from romantically dancing to fighting and yelling at each other. Maybe it was because she called Kellie for the hundredth time while at prom and couldn't comprehend that no answer is an answer?
On the other hand, PTSD was accurately portrayed through the characters. They each dealt with their demons a different way, covering all avenues of the mental disorder. Another part sprinkled with accuracy was the glorifying of one person over the rest of the victims. That person was Sarah because of what she “said” to the shooter in the bathroom. Churches had rallies, politicians used her as the image to their platform, books were inspired, and preachers painted her as an angel during sermons. When I was in high school, two girls were in a horrific accident and died. Instead of mourning both girls, only the popular one was honored through pep rallies, tributes, apparel, a scholarship fund, etc. while the other girl was left in the shadows and quickly forgotten. Unfortunately, like this book, one person was used to represent a tragedy which is disgusting.
Thanks Edelweiss for an ARC.
Lee's train of thought, on the other hand, was the downside. She was impulsive and obsessive once Denny planted the idea in her head due to her reading his scholarship letter. At that point, she demanded the five other survivors write a letter from their perspective of what happened so the truth could be announced. She abused Eden's privacy to grab Kellie's number from her phone. Kellie and her mom were driven out of town after the shooting because of a lie rooted to what happened in the bathroom. Kellie, Sarah, and Lee were in the bathroom and despite Kellie attempting to tell the truth, Lee never backed her up, and Sarah was labeled as the savior and basically anointed as a saint. Kellie and her family were bullied and harassed to the point where they escaped town and settled elsewhere under new names. So when Lee contacts Kellie, she doesn't understand that not everyone is a Lee Bauer. Not everyone wants the truth. Not everyone needs the truth, especially after all the harm in attempting to tell the truth years prior.
Besides cyber stalking, emailing, texting, and calling Kellie 24/7, Lee also sets her sights on her BFF Miles, another survivor of the shooting, since he also refuses to write a letter. Lee doesn't understand why and continuously pushes him into explaining his reasons to her. So despite Kellie and Miles not wanting to write a letter, Lee bullies them into doing what she wants. She is selfish and manipulative, refusing to respect the boundaries Miles and Kellie established, especially Kellie since she wants nothing to do with her past.
A laughable moment was after prom when Lee wonders how she and Miles could go from romantically dancing to fighting and yelling at each other. Maybe it was because she called Kellie for the hundredth time while at prom and couldn't comprehend that no answer is an answer?
On the other hand, PTSD was accurately portrayed through the characters. They each dealt with their demons a different way, covering all avenues of the mental disorder. Another part sprinkled with accuracy was the glorifying of one person over the rest of the victims. That person was Sarah because of what she “said” to the shooter in the bathroom. Churches had rallies, politicians used her as the image to their platform, books were inspired, and preachers painted her as an angel during sermons. When I was in high school, two girls were in a horrific accident and died. Instead of mourning both girls, only the popular one was honored through pep rallies, tributes, apparel, a scholarship fund, etc. while the other girl was left in the shadows and quickly forgotten. Unfortunately, like this book, one person was used to represent a tragedy which is disgusting.
Thanks Edelweiss for an ARC.
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
"What do people like more than the truth? A good story." After a shooting at a HS, one of the survivor's tells a couple of fantastic and inspiring stories. The only problem is neither of the stories are true. There are 3 other survivors who know what really happened. Two of them are initially too traumatized to contradict the fantastic stories. No one wants to believe the third person when they say what really happened because it's not as good of a story. This story centers around one survivor's attempt to tell the truth and coming to the painful realization that some people don't want to know the truth when it contradicts what they want to believe.
I listened to the Audible Audio edition with multiple narrators. It was well done and the multiple narrators made the book more immersive for me.
I listened to the Audible Audio edition with multiple narrators. It was well done and the multiple narrators made the book more immersive for me.
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
inspiring
sad
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Mass/school shootings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Religious bigotry