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

When the Ghost Screams by Leslie Rule

In honor of Halloween, I decided to read a series of true ghost stories with the promise that this book "will leave you with goose bumps and a strong desire to sleep with the lights on!" at least according to the back cover. Unfortunately, this book did no such thing, maybe because I'm a skeptic, but I really just think it's poor storytelling.

This book focuses on who the ghosts are, looking mostly at victims. There are stories of missing persons that are believed to haunt places, accident victims, war victims, and even those that fell prey to the witch hunts. One section discusses prisoners that have yet to move on, another looks at just odd occurrences with ghosts, and then it all ends with places you can visit or stay at that are haunted. There are a lot of stories, some which are barely even a page long. Most of the information in the book focuses on telling the back story of the ghost and how they came to their untimely end, not so much on the ghostly actions.

Unfortunately, it seems like more time is spent on their story than the actual hauntings. That seems to be one of my biggest complaints is that I don't think the collection does a good enough job convincing the reader that hauntings are going on. It almost feels like there's a big long story about the person and then "people have reported seeing a woman's ghostly form"...next story. The encounters feel vague and most everything is from a third person. People say this or this happens at this place but it all feels so removed or like it's hearsay. To me it didn't feel reliable. Maybe I'm just looking for proof or more specifics of what people saw - create some imagery for me! It all just feels like a story, not anything true and there aren't enough details of what goes on in terms of the hauntings to have me convinced something odd is going on. My other major complaint are the pictures. This book is filled with photographs, which would normally be a great thing, if the pictures showed anything. "This is the store that is haunted" tells me nothing! In the entire book, there is only one picture that actually shows a "ghost." It really irked me when in one story the book talked about how photographers capture great "spirit-like streaks...exiting the structure" (96) and the accompanying picture is a 1930s postcard. Where are these pictures with the spirits?!

This book proved to be a huge disappointment. I can't say that a single story scared me. There was too much of who the person was and not enough of the things that go bump in the night. The author failed to create a picture for the reader so that they could feel the presence of the ghost. Maybe I'm just a skeptic, but I would think a book like this would have me thinking things might be amiss in terms of whether ghosts are real or not. This book did nothing to make me think ghosts might be walking among us.
MMK