Excellent novella about a school shooting. The author puts together a very believable group of characters and moves them deftly through the day; some are cowards, some are heroes, and all are realistic in their reactions to being locked in a classroom with a shooter on the other side of the door. I’m anxious to read more by this author.

The cover of #NotReadyToDie caught my attention and the description of this story had me hooked already. This amazing story by Cate Carlyle really hit money because it;s dealing with real life issues. I think everyone should read this emotionally charged book.

#NotReadyToDie by Cate Carlyle is a quick, heart-stopping read from the view of a student in lock-down during a school shooting in Canada. Ginny, often quick to judge her classmates, learns that in a life or death situation, you might be surprised at what some of your peers are really like (and some just confirm your thoughts.) Read in one day, but will probably stick with me for a while. While this book isn't as in depth as This Is Where It Ends, #NotReadyToDie could definitely be used to open the dialogue on what to do if ever faced with a school shooter. #CateCarlyle #NetGalley

This book was okay. There are quite a few books about school shootings, and #notreadytodie didn't have a unique perspective or anything new to say about the issue. There was no introspection involving gun culture or violence in schools. It seemed like gratuitous school shooting for the sake of entertainment.

This was a short and shocking read...The issue it tackles is sensitive but critical. The characters could use a little work. The element of tweets and texts throughout the narration of events made the experience even more heartbreaking. We need more books like this one to pave the road towards awareness.
A grand thank you to NetGalley for this eARC.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters felt like friends by the time I had finished it. Not my usual genre but really liked it.

I recieved a digital ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I see some comments on goodreads really criticizing the book but honestly I feel like this was a pretty good book. Great for starting a conversation about school shootings, without making it into a huge cry-fest. One thing I think it did great was showing the reader what you should or shouldn't do. Like it mentioned NOT tweeting out your current location, not opening the door just because they tell you it's the police. To some that's just common sense but not everyone knows those things. And granted not everyone has the mental clarity to react as the main characters did but that makes this a great book for teaching what you should do in case you're involved in a shooting. Sad as that is to say, its something that everyone has to talk about these days and it's something that might just help save some lives. I really enjoyed the book. It was a nice quick read. Would definitely reccomend to read as a group so you can discuss situation and what you should do in a situation like that. There a few grammatical things that seem to have been missed by the editor. But that was in the first few chapters only. Cant recall the exact place since I read it on a tablet.

I had to put this book down after chapter 2, so I feel a little unfair rating it. This should be prefaced with a trigger warning for cutting. I personally could not get through it.

Not Ready to Die by Cate Carlyle is an excellent book. The characters and writing fulfilled my expectations of a good book, and the scenes had me laughing and crying. The story provides a glimpse into what it would be like to be involved or a victim of a school shooting. You never know how you will react during a crisis. The characters are tested, and some find their strength and courage while others fade into the background.

The book has a well-written and well-executed plotline. I will check out other books by this author. I highly recommend reading this book. Ten stars!

This book is a difficult one for me to review. The storyline is something that as educators is probably our worst fear. Ginny was a likeable character, but I felt like there was not any lead up or story line regarding her prior to the event happening. There are some flashbacks throughout the chapters, but they are not highly organized. I also read the entire book in one hour due to it being short with no build up to the events of the day. I enjoyed the short read, but the length and storyline left me wanting a bit more.

Note: I received an Advance Reading Copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review.

I'm disappointed in this book. This book is too short. A school shooting is a complex matter and cannot be summed up in 200 pages. This matter should be analyzed in depth and this book does not do that. Another reason why I was disappointed in this book is the fact that our main character is recounting this story without the emotion that this story deserves.

Received a digital ARC of this book via NetGalley.

A short narrative of a school shooting in Canada told in first person perspective of a student.

A disappointment of a story. Actions and responses from the students in the class seem highly unrealistic given the situation.

Alarms going off, sounds of popping in distance, teacher barricading the door, and yelling to get under the desk and be quiet. Blood on the floor. YET, most of the students are acting as if its a drill and are chilling and taking naps?! Even the MC is more focused on getting comfortable under the desk and her internal thoughts seem like a disconnect from what’s going on and are self-centered.

Warning: MC is a self-harmer and there is a hint that a side character was raped by another student in the past

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Right. I'm disappointed in this book. Let's break it down.

Length7depth: this book is entirely too short. A school shooting is a complex matter and cannot be summed up in 200 pages - which brings me to depth: it is not extensive. You'd think a book about a school shooting, one of the most horrifying problems of our time would be explored in depth and with nuance. The issue with this book is that it doesn't do that. It doesn't go into the complexity of the shooting or how the victims in the locked classroom are feeling. Quite frankly, this reads like somebody is just recounting what has happened without any emotion.

Characters: So we've got our main characters, Kayla and Ginny. Ginny's character is two dimensional and there is no reasoning behind her actions. Kayla is a character with many positive aspects about her but again she is not given the space to be explored. No character is fully formed in this book and the friendship between Ginny and Kayla is far too quick. I mean, a cheerleader and the loner become friends within two seconds? Nah. I know that school shootings are complex and emotions run high but their friendship was unlikely and shouldn't have happened.

Tense: the book is written in past tense which completely removes the tension of the story. Because it's in the past, we know Ginny makes it out alive and thus aren't as invested as we could be. The book would do much better if it was written in present tense.

Overall: I think this book needed several rounds of revisions, at least another 200 pages, and more research.

***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of #NotReadyToDie by Cate Carlyle in exchange for my honest review.***



The only good part of #NotReadyToDie is that it’s short. Reviewing will be difficult because Cate Carlyle’s story isn’t just bad, it’s terrible. Ginny, hiding under her desk during a school shooting, her crush Owen is shot and blood is dripping toward her, has time to narrate her life, her romantic hopes, history of self injury while teaming up with Kayla, a popular girl to nurse the wounded.

I can guarantee, if we asked any of the Columbine or Parkland or other mass shooting survivors what they were thinking during a shooting, it wasn’t about the bleeding guy asking them to prom. #NotReadyToDie is an insult to teenagers and disrespectful to shooting survivors.

Aside from a terrible premise, #NotReadyToDie is filled with 1990s cultural references that Carlyle needs to explain to readers, rendering them meaningless. I’ve read a number of very good YA novels centered around school shootings. Avoid #NotReadyToDie.

5 stars.
This is a heartbreaking novel, about a school shooting through the eyes of a teenage student.

Most of the plot happens in a day, where the emotional agony the characters were going through was making me cry. I have no words for this novel, it was raw, beautiful and sad at the same time.