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heather_19's review against another edition
4.0
If it weren't for the fact that this was an audio book that I mostly listened to while driving I probably would have finished it in one sitting.
chillzilla's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
flintsloveofbooks's review against another edition
5.0
I don’t know how anyone in this country is still sending their kids to school without panicking. I don’t know how the kids are making it through day after day after day of another school shooting. I’m very tired.
jadamichellemather's review against another edition
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
3.25
autumnmway's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- 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? It's complicated
3.0
liizreads's review against another edition
4.0
4/5 stars
BOOK TRIGGER WARNINGS: Anxiety, Alcohol/Alcoholism, Death, Existentialism, PTSD, Guns
(if I missed one, please let me know!)
Here's the thing.
I did really enjoy this story actually. There were many things I liked about it, and I liked much more than I didn't like it. But there were things that put me off ever so often that would knock this book down ever so slightly until I decided it's 4 stars, instead of 5 because it easily could've been 5 for me.
This book was very honest, and open with the aftermath of a school shooting, and what kind of toll that takes on the people who witnessed this first hand.
I MUCH appreciated the absolute GIANT amount of representation in this book. We have main characters with differing ethnicities (white, Hispanic, African-American), differing sexualities (lesbian & asexual), disabilities (blindness, paralyzation), and mental illness struggles (anxiety, PTSD, etc.), as you can imagine. And guess what? IT WASN'T THEIR ONLY CHARACTER TRAIT! These characters had substance, and I felt very close to some of them by the time I had finished. I loved these characters for the most part, and I really, truly felt for them when they each individually explain their stories.
I actually very much EXTRA appreciated the representation of how alcoholism festers in the wake of trauma no matter how old you are. In our story, the character Eden develops a dependency for alcohol the year she is a freshman in college, 3 years after the shooting occurs. Also showing us no matter how long ago trauma happens, you can always develop trauma related issues.
I REALLY liked the theme of truth and truth-telling in the story as well. And I think this story shows how much telling the truth, instead of telling people what they want to hear, is harder than people think. When you watch Lee try to tell people the truth, you almost get equally as frustrated when they don't listen. But Kellie Gaynor put it best, "Like I said, it's a good story. And you know what people like way more than the truth? A good story." (pg.270) I think it really comments on how our media and how our society and how adults handle these specific situations, and how they handle life itself. People hear what they want to hear and believe what they want to believe. Which is a very hard lesson to learn for a teenager, and I respect that this lesson is the resolve in this book.
Mostly, I had two big problems with this book, and they both have to do with Lee, our narrator?main character. One os that I don't feel like Lee was fair to her mom's feelings after everything happened. She says a few times that she feels shame for treating her so badly and will high key, scream at her in the next sentence. This may be a personal preference but it made me kind of upset. I know that trauma affects people in different ways, but having to read about how much she hated that her mom practically existed did not sit well with me. Two, is that when she came up with the ideas to write their letters, she basically pushed and pushed and pushed Miles to do his after he was CLEARLY not comfortable with doing so. It all turned out okay in the end, but I feel like because she knows the trauma affects people different ways, then she shouldn't be pushing anyone to do anything related to the shooting that they don't want to do.
Here's a bonus problem I had:
Ashley, even though she said she didn't ever wanna be a judgemental or self-righteous person after what happened, was judgemental and self-righteous about Kellie from day one. She had a pre-conceived notion or what she calls a "bad feeling" about her, and then confirmed it with something that was never confirmed to be true, something that was practically here-say. And I know this was also supposedly resolved in the end as well, but this irritated me to no end. That being said, I can see where Ashley was coming from, but I was so agitated by it, that it changed my whole view of her.
All in all this book is a good book, and I would actually recommend that people read it, because, in the important stuff, it teaches good and valuable lessons, and has a lovable bunch of characters that you pray will succeed and be truly happy one day. Extra bonus, it's very addictive, so it's a pretty fast read.
BOOK TRIGGER WARNINGS: Anxiety, Alcohol/Alcoholism, Death, Existentialism, PTSD, Guns
(if I missed one, please let me know!)
Here's the thing.
I did really enjoy this story actually. There were many things I liked about it, and I liked much more than I didn't like it. But there were things that put me off ever so often that would knock this book down ever so slightly until I decided it's 4 stars, instead of 5 because it easily could've been 5 for me.
This book was very honest, and open with the aftermath of a school shooting, and what kind of toll that takes on the people who witnessed this first hand.
I MUCH appreciated the absolute GIANT amount of representation in this book. We have main characters with differing ethnicities (white, Hispanic, African-American), differing sexualities (lesbian & asexual), disabilities (blindness, paralyzation), and mental illness struggles (anxiety, PTSD, etc.), as you can imagine. And guess what? IT WASN'T THEIR ONLY CHARACTER TRAIT! These characters had substance, and I felt very close to some of them by the time I had finished. I loved these characters for the most part, and I really, truly felt for them when they each individually explain their stories.
I actually very much EXTRA appreciated the representation of how alcoholism festers in the wake of trauma no matter how old you are. In our story, the character Eden develops a dependency for alcohol the year she is a freshman in college, 3 years after the shooting occurs. Also showing us no matter how long ago trauma happens, you can always develop trauma related issues.
I REALLY liked the theme of truth and truth-telling in the story as well. And I think this story shows how much telling the truth, instead of telling people what they want to hear, is harder than people think. When you watch Lee try to tell people the truth, you almost get equally as frustrated when they don't listen. But Kellie Gaynor put it best, "Like I said, it's a good story. And you know what people like way more than the truth? A good story." (pg.270) I think it really comments on how our media and how our society and how adults handle these specific situations, and how they handle life itself. People hear what they want to hear and believe what they want to believe. Which is a very hard lesson to learn for a teenager, and I respect that this lesson is the resolve in this book.
Mostly, I had two big problems with this book, and they both have to do with Lee, our narrator?main character. One os that I don't feel like Lee was fair to her mom's feelings after everything happened. She says a few times that she feels shame for treating her so badly and will high key, scream at her in the next sentence. This may be a personal preference but it made me kind of upset. I know that trauma affects people in different ways, but having to read about how much she hated that her mom practically existed did not sit well with me. Two, is that when she came up with the ideas to write their letters, she basically pushed and pushed and pushed Miles to do his after he was CLEARLY not comfortable with doing so. It all turned out okay in the end, but I feel like because she knows the trauma affects people different ways, then she shouldn't be pushing anyone to do anything related to the shooting that they don't want to do.
Here's a bonus problem I had:
Ashley, even though she said she didn't ever wanna be a judgemental or self-righteous person after what happened, was judgemental and self-righteous about Kellie from day one. She had a pre-conceived notion or what she calls a "bad feeling" about her, and then confirmed it with something that was never confirmed to be true, something that was practically here-say. And I know this was also supposedly resolved in the end as well, but this irritated me to no end. That being said, I can see where Ashley was coming from, but I was so agitated by it, that it changed my whole view of her.
All in all this book is a good book, and I would actually recommend that people read it, because, in the important stuff, it teaches good and valuable lessons, and has a lovable bunch of characters that you pray will succeed and be truly happy one day. Extra bonus, it's very addictive, so it's a pretty fast read.
kimlynn77's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting premise; I can see how this book would be controversial to some. I really liked the different points of view.
lunar_glass's review against another edition
dark
emotional
3.75
The narrator for this audiobook was amazing and I think really conveyed the emotions of the characters well. As for the book, I initially thought that what actually happened would be something so much bigger but as the book went on and explained more, I could see why it was such a big deal. I didn't feel I could connect to the characters and they felt a little flat at times. This came across mostly in the letter writing formats. Sometimes it didn't feel the characters had distinct voices, the way the letters were written sounded like it was the same person not multiple. If the characters were fleshed out a bit more, I think I would have rated the book slightly higher as I did find the concept interesting and it was told well.
kayleeeileen's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5