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A review by shainaseideneck
Please Pay Attention by Jamie Sumner
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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
5.0
Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced readers copy.
"Sorrynotsorry
if that was hard for you to read.
Trust me,
it was worse to live through."
Bea is a young girl, sixth grader to be exact, with cerebral palsy but she doesn't let that stop her. She is a buddy for her Little Josie who she cares about deeply and love being a friend for her at school to help her through her anxiety. Life is pretty great for Bea. Until a shooting occurs at her school. Suddenly Bea is dealing with feelings and fears she has never experienced before and never should have had to. Feeling lost her guardian Max get her into equine therapy and Bea begins to get her power back.
This story is told in verse and through the lens of writing to her local governor in a plea to enact change.
"Please Pay Attention" was a deeply moving and important story. No child should fear going to school or wondering if they will make it back home that day. Bea as character was extremely compelling. She had a very strong voice and wanted to use it even if she struggled to at times. Bea's telling of her story was very impactful. As an able-bodied individual the fear of not being able to escape an active shooting pales in comparison to what Bea was feeling during the incident, being unable to get away let alone onto the floor and out of sight. I will admit that when thinking about "imminent threats" I do feel that we as a society lack significantly in providing practical information about keeping oneself safe if one has a disability. Its certainly something that hadnt crossed my mind but I will always cross my mind from now on. I felt that the portrayal of PTSD was also very well done and digestable for a younger audience.
I think that this is a very important book and children should be made aware of this issue as it effects them directly. This is a book that I feel should be read and discussed with adults so that questions can be asked and answered and an open discussion can be had. There was nothing egregious or graphic and though there was death it was not of characters that were super close to Bea which I thought was a tasteful decision by the author but did not take away from the emotional impact of the story. I was still in tears multiple times.
Overall this is worth the read and I believe we could all learn a lot from this story and find a little more compassion in our daily lives.
"Sorrynotsorry
if that was hard for you to read.
Trust me,
it was worse to live through."
Bea is a young girl, sixth grader to be exact, with cerebral palsy but she doesn't let that stop her. She is a buddy for her Little Josie who she cares about deeply and love being a friend for her at school to help her through her anxiety. Life is pretty great for Bea. Until a shooting occurs at her school. Suddenly Bea is dealing with feelings and fears she has never experienced before and never should have had to. Feeling lost her guardian Max get her into equine therapy and Bea begins to get her power back.
This story is told in verse and through the lens of writing to her local governor in a plea to enact change.
"Please Pay Attention" was a deeply moving and important story. No child should fear going to school or wondering if they will make it back home that day. Bea as character was extremely compelling. She had a very strong voice and wanted to use it even if she struggled to at times. Bea's telling of her story was very impactful. As an able-bodied individual the fear of not being able to escape an active shooting pales in comparison to what Bea was feeling during the incident, being unable to get away let alone onto the floor and out of sight. I will admit that when thinking about "imminent threats" I do feel that we as a society lack significantly in providing practical information about keeping oneself safe if one has a disability. Its certainly something that hadnt crossed my mind but I will always cross my mind from now on. I felt that the portrayal of PTSD was also very well done and digestable for a younger audience.
I think that this is a very important book and children should be made aware of this issue as it effects them directly. This is a book that I feel should be read and discussed with adults so that questions can be asked and answered and an open discussion can be had. There was nothing egregious or graphic and though there was death it was not of characters that were super close to Bea which I thought was a tasteful decision by the author but did not take away from the emotional impact of the story. I was still in tears multiple times.
Overall this is worth the read and I believe we could all learn a lot from this story and find a little more compassion in our daily lives.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Violence, Mass/school shootings