May's twin brother, Jordan, was killed last year in a shooting at their high school. Now she's just barely managing to get through each day, her parents are AWOL, and the kids at school treat her like a pariah because she's just so angry that she has managed to push everyone away. Zach's mother is an attorney in charge of defending the shooter, and her taking that case has made his life a living hell. His girlfriend broke up with him, his dad is depressed and spends all day in his room in his pajamas leaving Zach to take care of his little sister, and someone has been painting insults on their garage and leaving threatening letters in their mailbox. May and Zach meet through their only remaining friends, and the two should probably be mortal enemies but somehow they manage to make each other feel more seen than they have in a long while. But will their survivor's guilt and the secrets they both carry destroy the fragile relationship they both desperately need?

This book was really well-written despite the horrifying and heartbreaking subject matter. As the author says in her note, this is the world we live in now where our kids deal with lockdown drills and school violence throughout their childhoods. And while the victims are usually counted as those whose lives were lost, the ones left behind (the "lucky" ones) deal with long-term effects, too. The story is told in a relatable, casual way which is a perfect tone for YA, but it doesn't at all play nice or try to sugarcoat anything. These kids are in PAIN, and that absolutely comes through, but so does the beautiful support that exists for them from friends (Lucy and Connor are the best), school staff, and families (although both sets spend a lot of time majorly sucking before they figure it out here). I also love the hope that comes through by the end and the message that living isn't a betrayal of those who died...it's NOT living that would let them down.

What a sad, strong debut by Liz Lawson!

**Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children's for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.""

ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

“The fact is: I’m a SURVIVOR.
I’m the leftover.
The lucky one.
The only one in that room who lived.”

Pulling myself out of this book, the world seems like such a different place to look at. I was sucked in from the very beginning, drawn onto an emotional rollercoaster that kept going, even after the last page. I’m not sure I can fully articulate what this book taught me about grief, loss, human interaction, and our society in today’s gun-violence-filled world.

So what is this book about?

Nearly a year ago, a school shooting occurred at Carter High School and rocked their community and those around them. One kid entered the band room, leaving many dead and one survivor. That survivor is May, and she still can’t wrap her head around the fact that she survived that day when her twin brother, Jordan, did not. A few towns over, Zach is just a normal kid who has had to grow up too fast thanks to his absentee parents. The effects of the shooting have spilled over into his life as well, first when Carter was shut down and half of the school sent to his own, but even worse when his defense attorney mother decides to take the case and defend the shooter. Suddenly, Zach is a pariah and hated by proxy. Both May and Zach are tackling their own demons, and when they meet, they finally feel like someone understands how they feel. But young love can’t cure all things, and sometimes things have to get worse before they can get better and allow the healing to begin.

This story, by nature, is a deeply emotional and raw journey from beginning to end. Dealing with intense grief after losing her brother, survivor’s guilt, and more guilt of her own over how she left her relationship with her brother, our main character May is in a very dark and scary place. Anger has become a constant companion for May as she pushes back against professional help, family, and friends. If readers are looking for a touching journey from grief to healing that is full of hugs, therapy, and reaching milestones, they will not find it here. This book takes a hold of May’s darknesses and runs with it, pulling readers into her anger and guilt until it becomes a living thing. For some, this journey could be triggering.

In our other main character, Zach, we find a different kind of emotional journey. After his mother takes the case to defend the shooter, his friends, girlfriend, and community as a whole turns on him, subjecting him to harassment, vandalism of his home, and pushing him to isolation. Like May, his life has shrunk to a few (okay, one) good friends and senior year verifiably sucks. But then Zach meets May, and he thinks that maybe it’ll suck a little less with her. She should hate him (his mom is her enemy, after all), but she can’t and soon a friendship-to-maybe-more begins. They understand each other in a lot of ways, and support each other in others. Yet where other books may have taken this and run with it to a happily ever after of healing, Lawson knows better. What makes this book so great is that it never pretends that this young, teenage romance could fix the deep and raw trauma that our characters, namely May, have experienced.

Lawson takes May’s trauma and lets it speak for itself, showing a realistic and personal experience with PTSD that is surely happening to hundreds of thousands of Americans. In the Author’s Note at the end, Lawson addresses our nation’s gun violence epidemic head-on, yet it is the story and May’s experience that makes the most impact. As readers dive deeper into May’s story, they get to experience the real ways that her trauma has paralyzed her, from panic attacks in crowded places, fear of loud noises, flashbacks, and the inability to complete mundane daily tasks with ease. A very specific PSTD is being experienced by school shooting survivors in our country, and May’s story gives a look into just how debilitating it can be to move on with your life.

Yet this story doesn’t just stay on this one topic. As we go deeper into the story, Lawson addresses some issues and questions that flesh the story out and make the reader think. We see the affects that absentee parents have on children, we see characters that have struggled with addiction and others that have suffered from depression. We see what it means to let people in, even when it feels like the last thing you want to do. We see that grief can be selfish and messy and mean, and that it’s okay and not okay all at the same time. But mostly, we see that while there is no one road to healing, none of those roads can be walked alone.

If I’m being honest, I found myself angry at this book at times because I wanted it to fit in a box. Why was May being so stubborn and not letting people help her? Why couldn’t she see reason and start her healing when she’s been given so many opportunities? But Lawson makes it clear that this book isn’t about making readers comfortable with May’s journey, Zach’s journey, or anything else in the book. It’s meant to be messy and real and in doing so, it speaks volumes about journey that the next generation is going through as they grow up to fear school.

Reminder: trigger warning for gun violence, depression, PTSD, and bullying.

Do you like to cry? Well, then I have the perfect book for you! OMG this book. I knew what I was getting into after reading the synopsis for The Lucky Ones, but still...the sobs. This deals with an issue that I wish wasn't a problem anymore: school shootings. But it does so in an interesting and unique way. Let's get to the review!

May and Zach are our main characters and they are bonded in a way neither of them are aware of.

May is the survivor of a school shooting. She lost her twin brother in that shooting. Since that day, she visits the house of the defense attorney who is representing the shooter. She vandalizes it and leaves scathing letters in the mailbox.

She also happens to be finally going back to school after being away for months. But she's not going back to the school where it all happened. The administration decided it was better for the kids to go to a school where a school shooting didn't happen (ya think?!). 

May is not looking forward to going back and seeing everyone who bring up memories  of her brother. But her friend, Lucy tries to support her despite her less-than-friendly demeanor (can you blame her??)

Zach is the defense attorney's son. He doesn't understand why his mother is defending a monster and with his dad falling further into depression and his mom working long hours, it's up to him to take care of himself and his little sister. And that doesn't even get into the problems at school. Everyone knows his mom is defending a school shooter and it leaves him almost friendless. If it wasn't for his friend, Connor, sticking around, he'd have no one.

He's also dealing with "someone" defacing his house and trying to make sure his sister isn't affected by it all.

How do these May and Zach meet?

May's friend, Lucy, is a badass musician and takes May with her to audition for a new band. And the singer in the band just so happens to be Connor, Zach's best friend. So Zach and May meet at the audition and it's clear from the moment they first speak that there's a spark. They also end up having an awful drama class together

But, as you can probably guess, their relationship is no cake walk.

Zach is the first one to realize who May is and why it might not be a good idea for her to know who he is. But when their drama teacher says his last name during class, she comes to the horrifying conclusion that she's been vandalizing Zach's house all this time and that he's been lying by omission to her

But this story is much more than just Zach and May's relationship.

May is going through a lot internally and at home. Without her twin, she feels like there's an empty space in her life. Her parents don't speak to her and are barely home and she's also so completely depressed and angry, she finds it hard to function. It's difficult to really get across her inner turmoil. She feels like she's lacking and a huge disappointment to most people.

Zach is dealing with a similar isolation, but in a different way. He didn't lose a sibling, but his parents are often absent. And with his mom's choices, he lost his friends and his girlfriend (she's dating his former friend...).

Ok, let's get into it. This book. It's digs so deep into these two character's emotions it almost feels like you know them personally by the end. I read books for characters and The Lucky Ones is very character driven and extremely well-written. And yes, of course it's dark, but there are some light moments as well. 

The friendships are often where those light moment happen. Connor never gives up on Zach and Lucy (along with a few others) never give up on May. The way May's friends fight through her depression and anger made me sooooo happy.

And bookworms...there's a scene in a bookstore with May and Zach and it's EVERYTHING! Don't let the darkness surrounding these characters make you think there aren't sweet moments as well. If anyone deserves a nice, happy moment, it's these two.

The Lucky Ones is (sadly) a book that needed to be written. It represents an experience too many people have gone through and Liz Lawson did a wonderful job showing all the emotions a survivor of a tragedy might feel and experience. I'm giving it 5 out of 5 stars. If you're looking for a book that covers an all too real issue or simply want to read an emotional YA novel, please read this book. 

The Lucky Ones by Liz Lawson comes out April 7,2020

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House/Delacorte Press for the free eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a tough read. Trigger warning, it deals with a school shooting and the survivors. Its a very emotional read.
We meet Maya who hid in a closet during the shooting but she lost friends, she lost her favorite teacher and her brother. Because she survived she is filled with anger and self hate and even becomes self destructive to herself.

Zach has a different tale. His mother has decided to represent the shooter. His loses friends because of her decision. the two of them come together and begin to bond in only a way surviors can.

Such a very heavy and heartbreaking book. Thank you so much NetGalley for sharing this book

One of the finest examples of voice I've read and a gripping, heart-wrenching look at the aftermath of trauma, THE LUCKY ONES takes us inside a community struggling to rebuild after a school shooting. Lawson tackles issues of grief and healing as she introduces us to a staggeringly human protagonist floundering in her own guilt and rage after losing her twin brother to a shooting she survived. Our other protagonist, the stunningly kind and lost Zach, is playing parent to his younger sister and muddling his way through the aftermath in a different context: his mother is the shooter's lawyer. Debilitatingly poignant and piercing, THE LUCKY ONES is at once a love letter to all those who have been "lucky" enough to survive and an embrace to families suffering with loss.

This book is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!

Liz Lawson has done an amazing job at capturing the raw emotion of the aftermath of a school shooting and how there are so many different sides to the pain that it causes and the ways it changes lives.

The most poignant thing about this book is how as readers empathize with both May and Zach there still is a sort of distance from the realness of events. But May and Zach's story has been the story of so many young people throughout recent history.

My hope is that this book hits a nerve and gets a dialogue started about how this type of tragedy (and all the aftermath) can be prevented in the first place.

Bravo to Liz Lawson for giving us the Lucky Ones.

WOW I loved this book. I have read many different novels about school shootings this past year from several different points of view. The thing is there are so many different people involved and so many points of view that a novel about this type of situation can be written from that the possibilities are sadly endless. This one was really good. May survived a school shooting in which her brother and 6 others were killed. The book takes place 11 month later and it seems as thought everyone has moved on in their own way except for her. It appears that way on the outside anyways, but that isn't really true. Her family is just a shell of what is was before without her twin brother. After being home schooled, she reenrolls in the school where her former schools classmates were sent after her other school as closed post-shooting. It is hard for her because she is not used to crowds or loud noises or people in general. She tries but keeps hitting roadblocks and has a lot of anger much of which is directed at the attorney defending the shooter who is in prison. At school, she meets Zach, the only person who makes her laugh or feel comfortable at all. This is the story of two lost sad souls people finding each other and somehow managing to lean on each other in spite of so much anger and pain. Definitely do not miss this book! Thanks to NG for the ARC!!!

3.75 stars

I hate that a book about school shooting has to exist and be considered contemporary realistic fiction, but I am grateful that there are authors who are willing to take it on and explore the complex experiences that survivors of these horrific incidents face.

The novel alternates between the perspectives of May, whose twin brother Jordan was a victim of a school shooting, and Zach, whose mother is the attorney representing the shooter. Both characters are developed, intriguing, and - as expected - highly emotional. For very different reasons, they are both dealing with some terrible issues.

There is a lot to like about this novel if one can get in the head space to read about this topic. It isn't easy. The one aspect I did not love is the romance component. I found this distracting and would so much rather have seen a friendship develop.

This is a tough subject and a sad read, but for what it is, it's well devised.

Upper YA for sure. I wouldn’t give to freshmen or younger. Lots of cursing and too many uses of the word “lame” and “psycho”...the author’s note isn’t enough.

BUT—important story and lovingly told. Grief is strange and real and smacks you in the face and so does this book.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2990086761

The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. This book hits hard.

The Lucky Ones is the story of two teens in the aftermath of a school shooting: May, whose twin, Jordan, was killed in the shooting, and the other, Zach, whose mother is the defense attorney for the shooter. May and Zach's voices tell the story of how a tragedy of this magnitude impacts the whole community. How it impacts relationships and infects every minute detail of existence. This book is raw and emotional and so, so timely and important. I think it deserves a lot of recognition for the topics that it grapples with and depicts so unflinchingly and yet with such sincerity and care.
I'm glad that the author chose to include pre and post notes, as well as resources at the end of the version of the book I had, so that readers can process this book on their own terms.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Last year, May's brother was killed in a school shooting. A school shooting that she has survivor's guilt about and anger toward anyone defending the killer. Zach's mom is the killer's lawyer. His family is constantly harassed and he has lost the majority of his friend's due to his mom taking the killer's case. When May and Zach meet, they aren't sure they have much in common. However, as they get to know each other, all of that changes.

This is a very timely book, and well-written. I recommend it to anyone interested!

The Lucky Ones is about May and Zach and how a horrendous event transformed their lives. For May, she lost her twin brother Jordan. For Zach his mother decided to be the defense lawyer for the boy who committed the horrible crime. May is full of anger, anger towards everything and everyone. Towards people who mourn in public, who want to talk about it with her, and as the story progresses it escalates. One way she liberates that anger is by spray painting messages and leaving nasty notes on the defense lawyers house, who also happens to be, you got it Zach’s house. Thus, more conflict is introduced because sooner or later, it’s going to have to be confronted.

The writer did an excellent job of defining the characters. It’s told from dual POV and the reader at no point is wondering who is narrating because the voices are well developed. It’s a poignant story. Written towards current events, and the fallout from surviving through one. I especially appreciated that the author didn’t try to relive that whole scene. It’s all from May’s POV and the reader understands why she’s dealing with this guilt of being the only who survived that day.

That said, I did not particularly like May as a character. Like at all. She wasn’t likeable. You feel for her, absolutely. And the reader mourns with her to a degree but that was my biggest dislike. Zach too, his personality was just kind of meh. The way the teenagers interacted with one another and spoke felt forced, not natural at all. I work with teens, and they don’t speak like this.

Overall, I definitely think this story is one that needs to be told.

Liz Lawson does an incredible job of showing the messy after effects of what a school shooting does to the "lucky ones" left behind in this heartbreaking and poignant debut. Both May and Zach's lives are equally torn apart by the actions of the shooter, although both of them have distinctly different relationships to him. One of the things that struck me the most was how Lawson showed how most families are thrown into the chaos of the mass shooting's consequences even while already dealing with the issues previously facing the families. One thing is clear, when mass shootings happen, no one gets away untouched.

A gripping read from beginning to end.

It was difficult for me to read, and I mean that in the very best sense given that this is terrible and difficult subject matter. It's raw and unflinching -- a book that tears the scabs off of grief, anger, helplessness, guilt, in the wake of a horrific event.

In the subgenre of school shooting-based YA novels (which unfortunately are necessary in order to reflect the lives of today's readers), Liz Lawson makes some intriguing choices. She chooses to examine why a lawyer would choose to represent an obviously guilty party, and also chooses to show some of the ways that one person's choice affects so many others. May was not a likable character, and I resented this at first. However, it soon becomes clear that she does not like herself, and therefore, the reader needs to feel that. I think anyone struggling with guilt or regret could learn from her battles.

The Lucky Ones is told in the wake of a school shooting. The story is told in alternating viewpoints, starting with May, who survived by hiding in the music room closet. She lost her twin brother Jordan amongst the others and she carries so much guilt for not going out there to rescue him, to stop the shooter. Jordan was her parent's favorite, they pinned all their hopes and dreams for his future on him, while she got pushed into the background. In fact, she wasn't really getting along with Jordan the last year of her life, and she carries a lot of guilt over that.

The other point of view is Zack, whose mother is defending the shooter. Life has been miserable since his mother made that decision because teenagers are unable to separate Zack from his mother. Someone has destroyed their lawn and has repeatedly spraypainted their garage. His mother is gone all the time and his father has checked out, so it's up to him to take care of his sister, to hide the paint, and he's feeling desperately alone.

This isn't easy subject material at all. May has PTSD and even though she's in therapy, it isn't enough because it rules her every action and decision. I find myself really angry with her parents for being too lost in their own grief and problems to get her the proper help she needs because seeing a therapist once a month clearly isn't enough. It's because of the unlikeliest of heroes, Zack, that she even starts to make a turnaround in her recovery. He's a really good guy who is stuck in a bad situation that is out of his control.

This is well-written, there are many layers to the story, and it can be incredibly heartbreaking to read. The characters are complex, all going through their own version of grief. I could completely relate to a lot of what May said and her journey was so incredibly hard, even having a best friend like Lucy, who was incredible and a rare gem. I think Lawson took on a heavy subject and she did it very well.

I could hardly put this book down. The story had me engrossed the entire time and I had to keep reading to know what was happening between May and Zach. The subject matter was difficult but unfortunately that is our society now. Thank you netgalley for an ARC.

The Lucky Ones felt like it had a lot of potential to be a powerful read. The premise is it follows a girl named May, w ho survives a school shooting in which her twin brother is killed. I went into this book expecting it to cover some hard topics and content. Unfortunately it didn’t quite hit what I was looking for.
I wanted to feel more of the character’s emotions throughout the book. It just fell flat for me. I wanted to go through the stages of grief and feel May’s hurt and anger. Instead, I was left with self-pity grief that just felt wrong given the circumstances. There was an excessive use of expletive/provocative language that I could see turning some people off from this book.
Don’t get me wrong, though. This book is covering some hard topics that are definitely relevant to today’s society. I just wish that there was more emotion to it.
I received an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

School shootings should not be a daily part of our lives, yet it feels like everyday that there is another one. We live in a world where shooter lockdown drills are practiced by elementary school students and it seems like knowing how to shoot a gun should be a prerequisite for teachers. It’s terrifying. Sickening. We’ve settled into this new atrocity in a way where those of us who see it on the news aren’t even effected by the actual horror of the situation. Another day another school shooting. The names start to blend together and we start to forget. We. The people not effected. Those who live through it, the lucky ones, don’t have that luxury. I personally have never stopped to think about the aftermath that those who survive face. So thank you Liz Lawson for writing this story. It was important and needed to be told.

➼ May - A year after the school shooting that took her brother life but left her she’s still trying to come to terms with the fact that she’s a survivor; one of the lucky ones. Her parents barely acknowledge her existence and she’s still dealing with the PTSD from the experience. She’s full of anger and doesn’t really know how to direct or who to direct it at. To feel like she’s doing something, anything, she sneaks out and vandalized the house of the lawyer who is defending the shooter that tore her world apart. It never feels like enough though. Forced to go to a new high school after her old one is shut down, May runs into the last person she wants to see; the son of the lawyer defending the shooter.

➼ Zach - Each day is a slow torture for him thanks to his mom defending the shooter that took the lives of 7 students last year. No one will speak to him and even his friends have turned on him. Not to mention the random acts of vandalism he has to clean up since both his parents are absent in his and his sisters’ lives. Then he meets May, a cute new girl who acts like he exists. They hit it off immediately but then he finds out she is May McGintee, as in the twin to Jordan McGintee who died at the hands of the shooter his mom insists on defending.

The Lucky Ones is about the aftermath of those surrounding a school shooting. We get to see firsthand how May deals with being a survivor and it’s not well. There is so much guilt at being left alive and from her actions of hiding. This book is an emotional journey that had me crying at times because of May’s hurt and knowing that while she may not be real, there are others out there with similar stories to her. She was lucky to have the support system of her friends and meeting Zach might not be the worst thing to happen to her.

Zach and May instantly connect with their outcast status. While the shooter has effected their lives in different ways, he’s still upended them. It was a cute and healthy relationship but more so a friendship each needed in their lives. So while there is a bit of romance between the two it’s not the main focus of the story. May needs help and she finds it in Zach along with her friends Lucy and Chim.

The secondary characters were such amazing friends. Lucy is May’s shoulder to cry one, her ride or die and her moral compass at times. Their friendship was my favorite part of this book. Everyone needs a Lucy, who was so unabashedly herself and never apologize for being fierce and knowing what she wanted. Chim was another of May’s friends, pre-shooting her best friend, but whose relationship changes after. No matter how hard she has to try with May though, she keeps trying and being there for her. Conor was Zachs’ Lucy and while annoying like a brother he sticks with Zach through thick and thin. I’m secretly hoping for another book that follows Zach, Lucy and their band because I need more of them.

I’ve never stepped back and considered what life must be like for the survivors of school shootings or even those who have lost someone in one during the media storm after. Or even after all that dies down. I’ve considered their grief but Lawson explores the emotions and situations beyond that. It was eye opening and my heart bleed not only for May who lost half of herself, but also Zach who has to deal with his mother’s decision to do her job and make sure everyone gets the fair trial they deserve even if they are guilty. This is a heavy topic especially for those of us here in America and The Lucky Ones tackles it head on while still being sensitive and at times light-hearted.

What an incredibly moving and powerful book! Lawson does a phenomenal job portraying the aftermath of a school shooting and handles the topic with sensitivity and expertise. Readers will immediate connect with both May and Zach as they each present so many universal themes of adolescence. This book is essential reading for any classroom as it is timely and important.