This is where it ends by Marieke Nijkamp

This is a school shooting story.  Kids and teachers at a highs chool are locked in an auditorium during an assembly It is known to be easy to get stuck in and hard to escape from.  The shooter is a student who was returning after an absence so already familiar with the auditorium.  He apparently believes that the world is against him and wants to get revenge, he even feels this way about his sister.  He is portrayed as very anger filled, and hateful towards everyone.  He had been bullied but I didn't quite understand exactly by whom about what.  The story is told by various students both caught in the auditorium and from the outside.  Its called gripping and compelling.  I guess I have just read too many similar stories.  I needed the students who were telling the story to have more depth.  I could not really understand this kid's irrational anger and act.  He did not seem to be a  scary kid without conscience for instance.  Grieving a loss of a parent does not usually result in shooting folks who had nothing to do with the death...
JDW 1/25/16

Silent Alarm by Jennifer Banash

When it comes to school shootings, sympathies generally turn to the victims' families. What about the shooter's family, though, that's just as blindsided by what happened as the victims? This book focuses on the aftermath of a shooting from the point-of-view of the shooter's sister and does a wonderful job showing the family's struggle.

Alys's brother Luke brought a gun to school and killed fifteen people. She survives, but carries the guilt of what her brother did and her inability to see it coming or stop him from hurting people. While she struggles with the loss of her brother and the fact that he's been labeled a monster, she finds that she has no one to turn to given that her boyfriend's sister is a victim and her best friend can't wrap her mind around the whole situation. Given that Luke killed himself at the end of the shooting, the town has no one to blame except for Alys and her family, a fact that takes its toll on everyone in her house. Alys is left wondering whether or not they have a right to carry on as usual given what happened - what right to they have to be happy.

This is a very powerful novel, especially given the fact that in the face of a crisis, people look for someone to blame. If a child comes out wrong or does something horrible, the first person to blame is the parent because they raised this person and had the ultimate influence over his life. While that seems like the easy answer, the truth can easily be that they were just as oblivious to the person's reality as the rest of the world. They're carrying their own guilt over what happened and accusations and attacks don't make things easier for them. Alys also struggled with reconciling her brother with this "monster" from the shooting. She has all of these wonderful memories of their time together that it's hard to think of him as a murderer, but is it wrong to still love a killer? Her guilt manifests in the form of hallucinations of her brother and a victim she might have had a chance to save. She struggles to confront this guilt and regain control of her life because the reality is that her brother was the killer, not her.

This book is beautifully written and does a wonderful job bringing the family's struggle into focus. We seem to forget that the family is suffering and this book is very eye-opening without making their pain any more important than those of the victims. It's very balanced with a good message.
MMK

Columbine by Dave Cullen

This book is about the Columbine school shooting in 1999. This book is a well-rounded account of what happened at the school, the shooters, victims, and investigation.

On April 20, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold brought guns and bombs to their high school and killed thirteen people and injured multiple others. They had an elaborate plan to outdo the disasters of Waco, Texas and Oklahoma City, but many of the plans fizzled out due to technical errors. While the death toll wasn't as high as they hoped, the lives they changed were numerous. Many of the injured faced struggles to recover and the families of the victims would never be the same, nor would the parents of the killers. With the killers dead, the investigation should have been open and shut, but larger questions loomed, like what led the boys to this point? As the truth about the boys and their evolution emerged, people couldn't help but wonder if this could have been prevented. This novel addresses how the boys got to April 20th, as well as the victims' struggles to move on and get their answers they need.

The attack on Columbine is one of those moments in history that affected the nation. It seemed to be one of the first major attacks on a school, and while there have been many afterwards and even bigger ones, such as Virginia Tech in 2007, Columbine has made a lasting effect on history. I work in a school, and you can see how the events in 1999 set forth a reform to classroom procedure. Reading this novel, there didn't seem to be any kind of procedure for teachers and students. Now, though, on top of tornado and fire drill, schools practice lockdowns. It even changed the way police handle these types of situations.

I felt as though this book did an excellent job recreating the event without glorifying the killers. While I read this book, the  account of what happened on April 20th sent chills up my body to realize the horrors that people went through and the coldness of the killers. In general, I found this book fascinating, especially to realize all of the warning signs, particularly from Eric, and how maybe it all could have been prevented. As chilling as it was to read about the killers' downward spiral, it was encouraging to see the victims rebuild their lives and yet heartbreaking to see many struggling.

Non-fiction is not my genre of choice, but this book held my attention and even had me looking online for more information. While this book does not serve create a profile for teen shooters, this book is eye-opening and worth the read.
MMK

To the Power of Three by Lippman

This isn't considered a teen novel but I see no reason an intelligent, thoughtful teen couldn't appreciate it, especially someone already reading adult literature. The three in the title are girls, perhaps true friends who grew up together and almost made it to graduation together.



The story begins with an unusual school shooting. Initially it appears that one girl, unhappy with not being awarded the lead in the school's musical and in addition having her choice of play thrown out has shot the girl everyone loved, all girls aspired to be, who had been given the lead and perhaps who's parents influenced the choice of play. Then turned the gun on the third girl then herself. But, there is some curious evidence that doesn't fit the scenario. Little by little who the players in this story are, and there are many, come to light. Rumors flying around the school and community keep the investigators searching for the truth or as close to it as they can. Is the right girl being blamed for the shooting? Perhaps the girl who had only received a minor wound to her foot was responsible, her shoes had not been recovered at the crime scene. Would the presumed shooter come out of a coma and be able to tell investigators her story? Just as we slowly learn about the many characters we slowly get as close to the truth of the shooting as possible. We are left to make our own decisions regarding a number of things including pretty rich girl Kat's father's influence on the events and just how a pig slaughter went down and who the unknown witness to events really was. We also find out that however perfect this powerful trio seemed, they were far from perfect and quite good at subtle bullying and promoting cliques.



JDW 1/27/11

Hate List by Jennifer Brown

This is a new take on a violent school shooting by an angry student in which one teacher and several students died. The cause is believed to be caused by anger at being bullied. The story
is named for a list of people, places, things that first a girl then she and her boy friend made. On it were popular kids who had been calling them names and otherwise mistreating the kids. The final straw seems to be that of a popular female athlete yanking the girl's mp3 player away on the bus and destroying it. The girl says she must pay then turns to boy friend and says make her pay. Valerie did not know that Nick would take her so seriously. Valerie did not know what Nick was planning. Valerie tried to stop the shooting and was injured herself. At least that is the conclusion reached by police investigators. There are those who doubt that. The shooting took place just before the end of the school year. Valerie has been healing from her wounds both physical and mental all summer. Now its time to start her senior year at the same high school at which the shooting took place. Valerie faces all the anxiety, negative reactions, false fronts, lies as best she can. She is an artist and begins painting and drawing to help herself. She seeks refuge first in the commons of the school where no one hangs out anymore then in a counselor's office. She, at first reluctantly helps student council with a memorial for the victims. Her parents were in the process of breaking up, this added to their problems, of course. Neither parent trusts her anymore and she makes matters worse by disappearing for hours as she struggles with the aftermath of the shooting. A younger brother Frankie all but disappears, said to be staying with a friend temporarily. He pops up again here and there but doesn't really fit in the story very well. Its an interesting view of the aftermath of a shooting, from a survivor who may be partly responsible. Its an unsatisfactory ending with Valerie hopping a train and riding into the sunset. That's with her parents who had been distrustful and controlling suddenly completely letting go and with Valerie having no idea where she is going or seemingly why. She seems to be running, giving up away rather than dealing. Her future doesn't look too bright. Maybe that's realistic. I don't know. I would rather have had her travelling to different colleges and art schools looking for a fit than giving up. This is very popular with the teens and mostly a good read. I would recommend it. JDW 3/26/10