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nichole2000 's review for:
Boy Shattered
by Eli Easton
This was a near perfect book.
I congratulate Eli Easton for even daring to tackle this - it's a daunting task to take on such a heavy subject, especially one that is so timely. It's something that is so sensitive for all of us and in the wrong hands could have gone SO wrong, you know? But it wasn't in the wrong hands. Eli handled it perfectly.
So there are kind of three different types of stories happening here, so I'll review each of them.
First is, of course, the issue of school shootings. The very beginning of the book takes us right there, right into that moment, and I felt like she did an amazing job of making me feel like I was there. Too amazing, maybe, because I could genuinely feel the terror of what it would be like to be in that situation, and then I started thinking how this was not just some dark, twisted, macabre tale that EE came up with in her own sick twisted mind. This is something that has actually happened, too many times, and will happen again, to real children in our country and then all of a sudden I was bawling. And you guys, I do not cry easily over books/movies/etc. That's just not something I do, and the few times I have it's rarely more than a little welling up in my eyes, but this made me full on cry. This isn't just an emotional topic, it's such an important topic, and it's IMPORTANT that she makes us feel it, because we cannot afford to get complacent about this issue. We HAVE to feel it, and we have to feel it every time so that we will continue to do everything we possibly can to make sure it doesn't happen again. So kudos to Eli Easton for making me bawl in the first 13%.
Once we get past that initial, harrowing scene, the real story begins, which is the story of two kids, Brian and Landon, living with the aftermath of what happened. They handle it in different ways, but because the event bonded them in such a concrete way, they're able to do it together.
I thought this was also handled well. Landon's reaction is to get political, the way the more outspoken Parkland students did. Brian's path is a little harder, as he is dealing with more immediate PTSD as well as trying to navigate living with a father who is one of those right wing nutcases who, even after his own child has been shot, is still against any kind of common sense gun reform which makes it very hard for Brian to live with him.
I liked the way all these different types of reactions were explored. I might have liked to see Brian get some real counseling and help dealing with his trauma, but I loved seeing Landon's parents really embrace him and welcome him into their home, and allow him to heal in a way he couldn't do at his own home.
I also liked that Landon's activism occasionally caused some tension between him and Brian, and I kind of wish that particular angle had been explored a bit more fully. As it was it sort of came out of nowhere - like I had no idea that it was niggling at Brian at all until he suddenly exploded over it, it kind of felt like a bit of an afterthought and I think it would have been interesting if that had had a little more room to breathe.
Another small niggle:
But ultimately I think the way they each dealt with the aftermath of the trauma was done really well. That really was the main story here, and it was a success.
Facet number two is the romance, and I thought this was done perfectly.
The shooting really bonds Brian and Landon in a special way, but it's also clear here that they were both interested in each other before it happened, so even though it's hard to say what would have happened between them had the shooting never taken place, you also can't say that that was the only thing that brought them together. Their romance wasn't just a reaction to the trauma, I guess is what I'm saying. It was real, and it was so sweet.
I also appreciated that it wasn't overly steamy as far as on-page sex, because I think it would have felt a bit inappropriate given the subject matter. (Plus the characters are in high school so I guess my old ass doesn't need to be perving over teenagers either.)
Facet number three is the mystery. This is fiction after all and there had to be something a little more fictionalized here. In real life they pretty much always catch the shooters immediately and in a lot of cases the shooters either kill themselves or are killed by police. But in this case, we don't know who did it. The shooters got away and so while the kids are trying to heal from the event, the police are still trying to find the suspects.
I felt like this was kind of subtly woven in throughout the book, where you kind of were aware that there was also this mystery subplot but it wasn't the focus for the majority of the book. It wasn't until the end that it became part of the main plot, and I think for me that served the purpose of me not spending the whole book going, "Oh, it was so-and-so" like I normally would. So in that sense, I was genuinely surprised and it made the end of the book more engaging.
But after giving it a little bit of time to simmer, I also think it kind of fell into that stereotypical melodrama thing you get in a lot of romantic suspense. Like... when I read it it kept me engaged in the story but reflecting back on it it wasn't my favorite, and could the story have been done without it? Could we have known who the shooters were from the beginning and had something else driving the plot? Yeah, maybe. Everything else was so real and so plausible and so impactful, and then the end was like...fiction. It kind of took away from the gravitas to be honest.
So like... 4.5 stars for the school shooting storyline.
5 stars for the romance.
3.5 stars for the mystery.
4.25 overall
I congratulate Eli Easton for even daring to tackle this - it's a daunting task to take on such a heavy subject, especially one that is so timely. It's something that is so sensitive for all of us and in the wrong hands could have gone SO wrong, you know? But it wasn't in the wrong hands. Eli handled it perfectly.
So there are kind of three different types of stories happening here, so I'll review each of them.
First is, of course, the issue of school shootings. The very beginning of the book takes us right there, right into that moment, and I felt like she did an amazing job of making me feel like I was there. Too amazing, maybe, because I could genuinely feel the terror of what it would be like to be in that situation, and then I started thinking how this was not just some dark, twisted, macabre tale that EE came up with in her own sick twisted mind. This is something that has actually happened, too many times, and will happen again, to real children in our country and then all of a sudden I was bawling. And you guys, I do not cry easily over books/movies/etc. That's just not something I do, and the few times I have it's rarely more than a little welling up in my eyes, but this made me full on cry. This isn't just an emotional topic, it's such an important topic, and it's IMPORTANT that she makes us feel it, because we cannot afford to get complacent about this issue. We HAVE to feel it, and we have to feel it every time so that we will continue to do everything we possibly can to make sure it doesn't happen again. So kudos to Eli Easton for making me bawl in the first 13%.
Once we get past that initial, harrowing scene, the real story begins, which is the story of two kids, Brian and Landon, living with the aftermath of what happened. They handle it in different ways, but because the event bonded them in such a concrete way, they're able to do it together.
I thought this was also handled well. Landon's reaction is to get political, the way the more outspoken Parkland students did. Brian's path is a little harder, as he is dealing with more immediate PTSD as well as trying to navigate living with a father who is one of those right wing nutcases who, even after his own child has been shot, is still against any kind of common sense gun reform which makes it very hard for Brian to live with him.
I liked the way all these different types of reactions were explored. I might have liked to see Brian get some real counseling and help dealing with his trauma, but I loved seeing Landon's parents really embrace him and welcome him into their home, and allow him to heal in a way he couldn't do at his own home.
I also liked that Landon's activism occasionally caused some tension between him and Brian, and I kind of wish that particular angle had been explored a bit more fully. As it was it sort of came out of nowhere - like I had no idea that it was niggling at Brian at all until he suddenly exploded over it, it kind of felt like a bit of an afterthought and I think it would have been interesting if that had had a little more room to breathe.
Another small niggle:
Spoiler
There's also a lot of mention that Brian's friend died in the shooting. I wish we had gotten to know Jake better in the beginning of the story so that his death had more impact.But ultimately I think the way they each dealt with the aftermath of the trauma was done really well. That really was the main story here, and it was a success.
Facet number two is the romance, and I thought this was done perfectly.
The shooting really bonds Brian and Landon in a special way, but it's also clear here that they were both interested in each other before it happened, so even though it's hard to say what would have happened between them had the shooting never taken place, you also can't say that that was the only thing that brought them together. Their romance wasn't just a reaction to the trauma, I guess is what I'm saying. It was real, and it was so sweet.
I also appreciated that it wasn't overly steamy as far as on-page sex, because I think it would have felt a bit inappropriate given the subject matter. (Plus the characters are in high school so I guess my old ass doesn't need to be perving over teenagers either.)
Facet number three is the mystery. This is fiction after all and there had to be something a little more fictionalized here. In real life they pretty much always catch the shooters immediately and in a lot of cases the shooters either kill themselves or are killed by police. But in this case, we don't know who did it. The shooters got away and so while the kids are trying to heal from the event, the police are still trying to find the suspects.
I felt like this was kind of subtly woven in throughout the book, where you kind of were aware that there was also this mystery subplot but it wasn't the focus for the majority of the book. It wasn't until the end that it became part of the main plot, and I think for me that served the purpose of me not spending the whole book going, "Oh, it was so-and-so" like I normally would. So in that sense, I was genuinely surprised and it made the end of the book more engaging.
But after giving it a little bit of time to simmer, I also think it kind of fell into that stereotypical melodrama thing you get in a lot of romantic suspense. Like... when I read it it kept me engaged in the story but reflecting back on it it wasn't my favorite, and could the story have been done without it? Could we have known who the shooters were from the beginning and had something else driving the plot? Yeah, maybe. Everything else was so real and so plausible and so impactful, and then the end was like...fiction. It kind of took away from the gravitas to be honest.
So like... 4.5 stars for the school shooting storyline.
5 stars for the romance.
3.5 stars for the mystery.
4.25 overall