Here’s another book I read nearly a month ago and never reviewed. This time it wasn’t because I’m lazy even though I am, it’s because I feel bad giving this one a negative review. But a negative review is what I must give when I read a book about a “Columbine” type school shooting and . . . . Kayle, Hilary S. (June 3, 2017). "BookCon 2017: Colleen Hoover: Different Endings". Publishers Weekly . Retrieved February 11, 2022.

Speaking of early YA books about school shootings, Myers’s book came out in 2005. But being a book that’s pushing 15 years old, it doesn’t lose its power or punch. Told through multiple perspectives, Myers’s book offers up the same kind of intensity as Nijkamp’s, and, in addition, Myers includes police reports, newspaper stories, and a personal journal to aid in the story’s narrative. Emotions run high, and it’s the nuanced look at a variety of emotional responses to a shooting which make this even more appealing. The narrative is beautiful, equalizing and real. I gave a particularly watery smile in a moment where Tomas and Fareed, best friends and brothers no matter what - in a situation where it truly, deeply counts and cuts into you - are doing their best to rescue their classmates, friends and siblings. The police storm up the stairs and enter the classroom where Sylvia and Fareed are hiding. Sylvia walks out in the hallway to see Tyler and Tomás lying dead on the floor and Autumn writhing in pain and clutching her brother’s hand. Despite her grief for her brother, Sylvia knows she must stay strong and calm for Autumn, and she soothes her girlfriend as paramedics load her into an ambulance. A gritty, emotional, and suspenseful read and although fictionalized, it reflects on a problematic and harrowing issue across the nation." --BuzzfeedNewtown happened. The Aurora shooting happened. Columbine happened. Everyday, there's something vicious and violent that bites down into our world and rips families and friends and loved ones apart, leaving us to grieve with no proper answers and no promise that we'd ever feel whole or healed again. a b McNary, Dave (July 15, 2019). "Justin Baldoni Developing 'It Ends With Us' Romance Movie". Variety . Retrieved February 11, 2022. This book is like a shallow action movie where there are people with guns and others running around trying to survive. That's it. No depth. The shooter is evil and bad. Has been evil and bad, and will have grown up to be more evil and bad had he have gotten away and lived.

Instead, it is another Monday. Life goes on. The assembly is over, and Autumn holds herself ramrod straight. I'm the only one who knows she'll fly out of this cage and leave us all behind as soon as she can. Reynolds builds intensity through this structure in a similar fashion to Nijkamp, each stop along the elevator ride ratcheting up the emotional power of the story. The Nowhere Girls by Amy Reed Hate Listwill appeal to readers who valued the exploration of a school shooting in Nijkamp’s story. The intensity and the ways in which complex emotions are handled make for an immersive experience. Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds Grief is one big, gaping hole, isn’t it?“ I say quietly I don’t even know if he hears me, but my words are as much for myself as for him. "It’s everywhere and all consuming. Some days you think you can’t go on because the only thing waiting for you is more despair. Some days you don’t want to go on because it’s easier to give up than to get hurt again.”

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Standing in the principal’s office, Tomás and Fareed wonder why students coming from the assembly aren’t filling the halls; when they hear two shots ring out, they immediately understand what’s going on. Fareed calls the police, who instruct them to leave the school through a window and wait for help outside. However, Tomás knows that Sylvia is in the auditorium and refuses to leave her there. The two boys decide to stay and run to the janitor’s office to arm themselves with tools against the shooter; there, they find that the kindly janitor, Neil, has been strangled. A gritty, emotional, and suspenseful read and although fictionalized, it reflects on a problematic and harrowing issue across the nation." — Buzzfeed

Includes special bonus content: a letter from the author, discussion questions, two bonus chapters, a conversation with the author, and a playlist! Harrowing first-person narrations reveal the way characters try to understand what is happening, where they are in relation to the emergency, and what they can do to save those they love… readable, gripping, and well balanced." — The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s BooksIn the span of 54 minutes - just 54 - every student and faculty member present in the auditorium of Opportunity High School, Alabama, is fighting for their lives against one boy, one of their own. Only now, instead of being their brother or classmate or ex-boyfriend...