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iceangel32's review against another edition
2.0
I don't know how I feel about this book. It was written in 1998, before Columbine, before Virginia Tech, before Sandy Hook. It is about a teacher that takes his class hostage at gun point. I guess it is just so weird to read with all the media right now talking about gun violence and all the bad things we have seen with guns in school.
However I enjoyed the poems. It has the stories of each of the students as they wait for their yearbooks before school, then Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior, and the day of the event. I liked reading about the evolution or devolution of each student. However the holding the class at gun point just seemed pointless.
The only lesson you learn in this book is you never know what is under someone's facade. One maybe holding on to more than you know on the inside.
I thought the writing was good though so I may try another Mel Glenn book.
However I enjoyed the poems. It has the stories of each of the students as they wait for their yearbooks before school, then Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior, and the day of the event. I liked reading about the evolution or devolution of each student. However the holding the class at gun point just seemed pointless.
The only lesson you learn in this book is you never know what is under someone's facade. One maybe holding on to more than you know on the inside.
I thought the writing was good though so I may try another Mel Glenn book.
malinski42's review against another edition
4.0
I thought that this book was very thought-provoking and interesting, although it seemed kind of cheesy and over-dramatic at times.
suzannedix's review against another edition
4.0
So glad I randomly chose this book off the shelves. The free verse was amazingly crafted and the story was so unique. There are 5-6 references to sex so I can't unfortunately hype this one with my middle school kids but it will definitely stay in our Teen collection.
evnlibrarian's review
3.0
This is a nice quick read, that I'd recommend to reluctant teen readers as an example of poetry as a story telling device. A history teacher takes his class hostage with a gun, and Glenn gives us multiple perspectives of the incident. The verse format allows us to hear distinct voices as we briefly see each student grow up in high school, and see the state of mind they find themselves in that day. We see the reactions of the police, parents, and the media. He also makes some fun use of concrete poems.
Glenn manages to build a decent amount of tension before wrapping his story to a close, though I have to say at the end I didn't feel like I'd read anything particularly great.
Glenn manages to build a decent amount of tension before wrapping his story to a close, though I have to say at the end I didn't feel like I'd read anything particularly great.
booksandbosox's review
3.0
I gave this a shot because of my love of verse novels and found that it didn't quite hold up to the caliber I expected. This is an interesting tale and I think the verse format works really well for this story but it wasn't executed to the level I expect in verse novels. This seems more a case of verse being used as a device or gimmick than truly well-done poetry creating a larger narrative. Not sure if I will read Glenn's other similar works.
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