This is one I would recommend to everyone. It follows a middle schooler before and after school shooting. She has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair and realized that she couldn't follow the directions of "just get down" when the unthinkable happened at her school.

This book is told in two parts where we get before the shooting and after the shooting and we see bits and glimpses of bea's life before and how she slowly works to heal afterward. This book has a lot to offer and is nuanced enough that it's appropriate for kids yet serious enough that adults also need to read this.

Queer secondary characters

6th grader Bea Coughlin has survived the unthinkable, but that doesn't mean she's been able to move past it. She's can't get beyond the school shooting, experiencing the helplessness she felt, trapped in her wheelchair, paralyzed with fear. She can't talk to Max, her adoptive mom, and she doesn't want to talk to a counselor. It's when she tries equine therapy that she finally begins to find her voice once more.

In turns sweet and devastating, a novel written in verse from the perspective of a middle school student. I think this will be a great practice in empathy for students, and a reminder that kids are able to do things, even when they feel hurt or helpless.

Wow! I loved this book. It covers a very serious topic and even though it is written perfectly for the middle grade level, I feel everyone could benefit from reading this book. The main character is in a wheelchair and there is an active shooter at her school. I was pulled into the story by the range of emotions the main character went through. I can’t wait to get a copy for our school library. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this advanced reader’s copy

One of those books that will stay with you a long time after reading. Just all the feels. As a mother, this book broke my heart. I loved the inclusive perspective of a young girl with cerebal palsy, it was a point of view I had never thought about before. Nobody ever wants to think about these tragedies, but the awareness of how Bea, the main character, experienced this traumatic event as a differently-abled child was so moving that it forces you to feel her fears, her helplessness, and her survivor's guilt.

Novels in verse always hit me different (i.e. Jason Reynolds "Long Way Down"), and this one was no different. It was stay with me a long time, of that I am sure. I cannot even put to paper the emotions I felt in reading it, so I hope this is enough encouragement from me to highly recommend this difficult, but necessary, read.

Thank you to Jamie Sumner, NetGalley, and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing | Atheneum Books for Young Readers for the digital ARC of "Please Pay Attention". Mission accomplished.

My goodness, what a book. I wish stories like these weren’t necessary, but they are and this one, even in the sadness and grief, was so beautiful. Bea, a young girl with cerebral palsy, survives a shooting at her school and realizes more than ever how much the world isn’t built for her. A novel in verse, we follow Bea in the before and after of the shooting as she navigates through her grief, frustration and eventually her courage to speak out. I loved Bea so much. She was silly and vibrant and I really enjoyed her friendship with Josie and her relationship with Max. I liked seeing her slowly find her way back to herself, especially with horseback riding and how the book showed that healing isn’t linear. I think this is such an important book and I loved the author’s note at the end.
CW: school shooting, grief, child death, injury, ableism, medical content

Thank you to NetGalley, Simon Kids and Atheneum Books for Young Readers for an advanced reader’s copy!

This book had me sobbing the whole way through. I had to put it down and walk away a few times because of how emotional it made me. I teach and live in a district that experienced a school shooting, and I knew this would be a difficult book to get through. That being said, Please Pay Attention tackled the topic of school shootings in a sensitive way. It truly captured the pain, emotions, and healing in the aftermath of these events.

Fresh off reading and cried a little in my office :) I feel like this is well written and might be helpful before a school shooting, sadly enough to help people see what kids might think afterwards. It was sensitively and thoughtfully written. I like the use of equine therapy, wish I weren't allergic to horses so that I could!

Jamie Sumner tackles the deep trauma caused by a school shooting in her newest book Please Pay Attention. I hate that there are even books that have to deal with this. I can't even imagine what that would be like. Even though Sumner is an excellent writer I feel like this book would still be too heavy for young readers to process and deal with. I applaud her for tackling it though.

This was not my usual read but an important one. It gave me all the feels. This was a touchingly tragic story that followed Bea, an 8th grader with Cerebral Palsy, as she navigates grief, trauma, and loss from a school shooting. This story follows her before and after the tragedy.

I found the novel and verse form of Jamie Sumner’s writing to be very touching. This story at times was light and uplifting and other times dark and tough. I loved how you truly could feel and got an understanding of Bea’s feelings and struggle. This was a very touching and thought provoking read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atheneum Books For Young Readers for the eARC of Please Pay Attention. All options are my own. #NetGalley #PleasePayAttention

If I could give this one more than 5 stars, I certainly would. My review may not do it justice…
Bea is enjoying 6th grade, for the most part. Sometimes, she gets distracted during lectures in class, but her teacher Mrs. Cannelli has firm but gentle ways to redirect her. She is a buddy to a kindergartener, Josie, a shy child who has difficulty interacting with others. The fact that Bea has cerebral palsy rarely slows her down for long; she’s learned over the years how to navigate tough situations. Then, on a sunny Monday morning, she’s unable to handle “getting down” by herself when an active shooter blasts into the building. Though untouched by the bullets, Bea’s life will be forever altered.
I loved that the importance of therapy for anyone affected by such a tragedy was stressed. The equine therapy that Bea takes part in was amazingly detailed (it soothed me as I read, even as I was wiping away tears).
Thanks to Netgalley for a digital copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are strictly my own.

A solid 4. I really like this one. The verse style will be a real winner with students. It’s lovely and accessible to readers who struggle. If I was teaching middle school this would become a lit circle choice immediately. Highly recommend for classroom use. There’s so many important discussions and activities you could do with this book as the basis. I will have it on my classroom shelf in high school, too. The representation of exceptional students feels very authentic, unlike other books I’ve read recently. The path to healing from trauma is laid out in a very informed and easy to understand way here. Students will come away with some ideas about how to help themselves and others begin to feel better.

I just finished this book, and I'm so emotional! Since I work in a middle school in East Tennessee, I am very familiar with The Covenant School shooting in Nashville, Tennessee. As I read the author's words, I kept picturing these events happening in my school...to my students. It broke my heart. This book needs to be read for so many reasons. First, students realize that it can happen to them. Second, students need to realize that the aftermath is traumatic and developing PTSD is a very real possibility. Third and finally, healing from an event such as this is long and often requires intense therapy. I am not sure if I am allowed to have this book in my classroom due to the Tennessee Age-Appropriate Materials Act. I have had to pull many books off my shelves. But I still believe it's important for students to read this book. I will certainly recommend this title to my students as well as my co workers. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book. Excellent read!!!

Heart wrenching depiction of a school shooting and the aftermath. Something no one should go through and something is on everyone's mind nowadays. Gave me vibes of 1, 2, 3, All Eyes on Me.

I live in Nashville, and I will always remember the exact place I stood when I heard about the Covenant School shooting. I was standing in a different school on the other side of town. It felt like my heart stopped because I knew three children who attended Covenant. This book was heavy (as it should be), and it brought up a lot of emotions (as it should). I'm thankful Jamie put this into words.

"It's not just a cause for me; it is my life"

Bea is in sixth grade when a shooting happens in her school and, because she's in a wheelchair, cannot get down when her teacher tells her to. She has to deal with guilt and grief from surviving the shooting when others did not and is eventually aided by horse therapy.

Bea goes to church and a religious school. I was worried at the beginning that there would be a lot of religion, which is not something I enjoy, but there was only a bit.

I like that the focus was kept on Bea and did not really cover the community trying to recover or why the shooter did what they did.

This was heavy and I definitely teared up numerous times.

CW: school shooting, death from gun violence, death from childbirth

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital review copy.

The fact that there are children who have experienced what Bea has is heartbreaking.
Please Pay Attention’s look into the life of a girl struggling with the aftermath of a shooting at her school is well written and engaging, but difficult to read.
I would have reservations about placing it on classroom shelves for middle school students to find.

When tragedy strikes at her school, Bea is faced with the realization that she didn't really know what to do or how to save herself. Unfortunately, this sentiment is all too real for today's school age learners. Jamie Summer's story hits at the heart of the school violence crisis and poignantly shares the mindset of one of those students who finds her voice after the tragedy.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy to read and review. The book is written in free verse . Please don’t get it
Wrong from reading a synopsis of this book, it’s not a gory awful school shooting description and aftermath. It follows a student with cerebral palsy before and after a school shooting . It tells her side of the story and follows her through her PTSD and how she does or can’t deal with it . It was an easy quick read with big emotions from a students point of view .

Thank you Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing | Atheneum Books for Young Readers for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Summary: In Please Pay Attention, eighth-grader Bea, who has cerebral palsy, struggles with grief, survivor's guilt, and feeling invisible after a school shooting but finds healing and strength through therapeutic horseback riding and advocacy.

My review: *Please Pay Attention* is a powerful and necessary novel in verse that tackles the lasting trauma of school shootings through the eyes of Bea, a girl with cerebral palsy navigating grief, guilt, and healing. Sumner expertly balances raw emotion with hope, making this an important read for middle graders and the adults in their lives. I wish we didn’t need books like this, but since we do, I’m grateful for one as well-crafted and impactful as this.

Genres: Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Disability, Fiction, Grief, Poetry, School

Please Pay Attention is scheduled for publication on April 15, 2025, by Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing | Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

The cover caught my eye along with the title of the book. I like how the book was written, always easier to read when only a few words per line. The story is about a serious topic and had me really thinking. As an educator, you want to save all of your students from harm. And face it school shootings do happen. But I am also a hunter and know the safety of guns and my children were taught the safety at a young age. It is our source of food.
I like how Bea's caregiver sought out to do what is best for her. I like how the main character is in a wheelchair. This is often forgotten when tragedies happen.
I will be using this book for students to think about and reflect on what can happen and what can we do to help this situation along.
I will also be using this book to show students that bad things happen, but we need to keep living our life and move on. Things are scary everyday, but we can learn from these experiences.