this was a good read, the characters were great and I enjoyed the premise. I look forward to reading more from the author.

This book explores different themes that people struggle with in day-to-day life. Bullying, violence in general, abuse, gun violence, and many others. It would seem, at first glance, that exploring so many different themes would be difficult, but this author manages to pull it off.

Trigger warnings: This book mentions bullying, molestation, and gun violence in a school setting.

One thing I didn't enjoy about this book is it's written in present tense. I was always taught to write books in past tense, because they're easier to understand. So when a book is written this way, it makes it hard to resolve in my head what's going on. This is one of very few things I found "wrong" about this book, and it was easy to ignore, for the most part, so didn't affect my enjoyment very much.

This book was difficult to read. I was never bullied in high school, but I sympathize with those that were. It has to be a horrible situation to find oneself in. Not everyone decides to shoot up their school, though. Some decide to end their own existence. I think this book brings to light what effect bullying has on the victim, the perpetrators and everyone else in the community. It was hard to read, but I believe it was important.

I wasn't a huge fan of the book's being written in present tense. When I read a book like that, it takes some getting used to, because I was taught in school that it was taboo. School was a long time ago for me, so maybe things have changed. But the present tense of the book was one of the reasons I took away a star.

I found the characters of Kenny and Jake to be a little unrealistic. Most high school students I've met aren't as articulate and well-spoken as these young men were. I appreciated their relationship with their step-dad, but their use of language to get their point across was a little unbelievable to me.

All in All, I enjoyed this book. Despite the theme, and the ugliness of the subject, I believe this is an important book to read to see the "other side" of bullying and violence in general. I think the author did a good job of exploring these themes, and gave them a voice in a way I haven't heard before.

There is a really interesting story being told here, and a generally sympathetic cast of characters. Unfortunately this book feels unfinished in places. It frequently reads like a screenplay and sometimes feels more like notes on the story arc rather than a fully fleshed out narrative. The fact that the ARC that I read still contains a number of typos and some very peculiar paragraph breaks also adds to this overall impression. Having said that, this book offers a fascinating insight into the legal battles following a school shooting, and the reader is left in no doubt as to where the author’s sympathies lie.

I struggled to get into this book just wasn’t for me
I tried a few times to read this but didn’t interest me at all

I couldn't get through this. This book is politically driven and uses a high school shooting to enforce gun control. The focus is money and politics, not emotion or compassion.

I also struggled to get into the writing style and couldn't jive with the main family at all. I really couldn't stand them.

This wasn't for me.