The premise of this book really intrigued me because it takes place many years after a tragedy happens, following two of the survivors who lost a friend in a school shooting. There’s even a twist to it – one of them was actually home sick the day it happened and he wonders that if he’d been at school that day if he would’ve survived.

I didn’t have trouble getting into the book at first, but after a while it just kind of went flat. I kept feeling like I should’ve DNF’d the book, but I had gotten through 63% of it and figured, ‘what the hell?’ and pressed on. I wish I hadn’t. I was just happy to finish the book and that it’s over.

The only thing I liked about the book was one of the main characters – Matt. He was more complex as a character and seemed more realistic, along with his ongoing guilt of not having been at school on that fateful day all those years ago. You can see how it still affects him and I felt for him.

However, other than that aspect of the book, I just didn’t care for it. It lacked something, I just can’t put my finger on what.

It’s just disappointing because I really did want to like this one. ( )

Literary Merit: Good
Characterization: Great
Recommended: Yes
Reading Level: Upper high school
Review: I really enjoyed reading this book. The characters felt real and relatable. The topic (survivors of a
school shooting) was a bit heavy which I tend to not like, but this book kept my interest. I don’t read
many books about male friendships, but I feel that this book gives good insight as to what that looks like.
The main characters were well developed and it was interesting to follow them along in the story to see
how they were still processing the school shooting years after it happened. The writing style felt natural.
The author is a clinical psychologist and he accurately and wonderfully conveys the variety of emotions
that can be caused by a terrible tragedy. ( )