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A review by acdom
Mercy Rule by Tom Leveen
5.0
I finished Mercy Rule almost a week ago and it's taken me that time to articulate my feelings about it. This book is Tom Leveen doing what Tom Leveen does best: writing in multiple voices about things that matter, not just to teenagers, but to everyone.
As a teacher, I try to avoid books about school shootings. There's no good that comes from me reading about kids dying. But this book was worth the stress and tears. The story is told from multiple perspectives, both students and teachers. Leveen has done a masterful job at providing reasons to empathize with each of the characters in their own way, even as the story barrels toward the inevitable violence. I have had every one of these students in class sometime in the last 14 years, and I worried about each one of them and what their outcome would be. I was hooked until the very end, and even when I finished, I couldn't stop thinking about it.
I'm still going to avoid school shooting books, but I also am still going to recommend this wholeheartedly.
As a teacher, I try to avoid books about school shootings. There's no good that comes from me reading about kids dying. But this book was worth the stress and tears. The story is told from multiple perspectives, both students and teachers. Leveen has done a masterful job at providing reasons to empathize with each of the characters in their own way, even as the story barrels toward the inevitable violence. I have had every one of these students in class sometime in the last 14 years, and I worried about each one of them and what their outcome would be. I was hooked until the very end, and even when I finished, I couldn't stop thinking about it.
I'm still going to avoid school shooting books, but I also am still going to recommend this wholeheartedly.