summary:
This story follows 8th grader Bea Coughlin who grapples with the after effects of the day a gunman invaded her school, her nightmares and her recurring feelings of helplessness due to not being able to move as quickly as the others during the incident because of her wheelchair. With the help of a horse named Dumpling and her mom, Bea finds a way to move forward and make sure no other kid has to experience what she did ever again.


my thoughts:
Honestly I think this book has become one of my favorites for 2025. It's so raw and I felt so much emotion reading about Bea. A school shooting is something no child should ever have to experience yet SO many do every single year.
It's something that affects everyone in the community and I'm really glad Jamie Sumner was able to bring this topic into the form of a middle grade novel. The prose worked really well in my opinion and really helped to bring out the many feelings that Bea grappled with throughout the story.
It's easily 12+ but I do think it's written in such a way that is accessible to a variety of ages.

Bea was born prematurely and has cerebral palsy. She’s a sixth grader in a wheelchair which may slow her down, but doesn't let that stop her from leading a big life. Her best friend is Josie who she cares about deeply and delights in being a friend for her at school to help her through her anxiety. So you see, life is pretty great for Bea. Then one day during class there are loud pop, pop, pops and it’s not fireworks. The alarm whines and there is yelling to get down, get down! Yes, it’s a shooting at her school. Suddenly Bea is dealing with feelings and fears she has never experienced before and no-one especially at her age should have to feel. Her guardian Max recognizes Bea’s sense of grief and loss gets her into equine therapy where she begins to get her confidence and joy back.

"Please Pay Attention" is told in verse and through the lens of writing to her local governor in a plea to enact stricter gun laws.

Bea’s character is extremely compelling, possessing great will and a very strong voice she to uses even though she struggled to at times.

Although not much could stop this strong girl, still she of course had limitations. It’s scary enough for an able-bodied individual to experience the fear of not being able to escape an active shooting but it greatly pales in comparison to the terror that must be felt by being physically unable to get away let alone onto the floor and out of sight.

School shooting is a sensitive and tough yet very relevant topic so this book may not be for everyone. I read in horror as the events unfolded in that classroom, even though there was nothing graphic depicted. There were children and adults who died that day.

This story written in verse by author, Jamie Sumner is loosely based on a school shooting that occurred in 2023 in Nashville. Be sure to read The Afterward.

A sincere and heartfelt quote from “Please Pay Attention”

"Sorrynotsorry
if that was hard for you to read.
Trust me,
it was worse to live through."

This is not a long book and gets to the point quickly. It is a good read and I would recommend this book to an upper middle grade or adult reader looking for a book that is sure to strike a chord on your emotions and empathy

Please Pay Attention


The journal in verse format works in this instance as the reader can see into the emotions, and mindset of a preteen girl with cerebral palsy. Her life is good, if not perfect, before a shooter enters her private school, kills several people, and changes everything in her life forever. She grieves and feels helpless. Her mother wisely finds a wonderful way to cope. Therapeutic horseback riding seems to help.

This book would fit well into a YA collection in a public library, in addition to being a mainstay for a middle school or high school library.

This is a difficult but important book to read. The author was friends with Katherine Koonce, one of the victims of the school shooting at Covenant, and was partly inspired by these events. The author also has a child with cerebral palsy, so she writes as a knowledgeable source of a parent of a child with a disability.

This beautiful book is written in verse, and celebrates found family, healing in more ways than one, and the importance of taking a stand for students and their future. This story forced me to consider a new fear about school shootings--when we are told to run, hide, or fight, some children are at the mercy of their assistive devices. Bea was strapped into her wheelchair, with the wheels locked. This is a frightening reality that classrooms will also have to consider on top of how to barricade doors, break windows, or throw textbooks to distract a shooter. We shouldn't have to live like this, and at the end of the book we learn that she has been writing her story to advocate for better gun control. May it be so.

I received an electronic ARC from Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing through NetGalley.
Readers meet Bea as she faces a traumatic event which triggers PTSD. There is a school shooting and she freezes in her wheelchair and does not know what to do. Sadly, she loses someone close to her and doesn't want to deal with the emotional pain. Her adoptive mom pushes her into horse therapy and it helps Bea recover. The entire book is written as a letter to someone and in the final pages we discover who that is. Sumner wrote for the lower middle grade level and uses sensitive and real language to convey the book's message.

This is a hard book and I had trouble finishing through my tears. Bea is such a sassy little spitfire and she doesn't let her limitations get her down. She's already bravely faced so much before she is present during a school shooting.
You can tell the author knows someone with cystic fibrosis and she was friends with a lady who died during a school shooting. What will it take before this is dealt with? This is such an important story
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced readers copy.

"Sorrynotsorry
if that was hard for you to read.
Trust me,
it was worse to live through."

Bea is a young girl, sixth grader to be exact, with cerebral palsy but she doesn't let that stop her. She is a buddy for her Little Josie who she cares about deeply and love being a friend for her at school to help her through her anxiety. Life is pretty great for Bea. Until a shooting occurs at her school. Suddenly Bea is dealing with feelings and fears she has never experienced before and never should have had to. Feeling lost her guardian Max get her into equine therapy and Bea begins to get her power back.

This story is told in verse and through the lens of writing to her local governor in a plea to enact change.

"Please Pay Attention" was a deeply moving and important story. No child should fear going to school or wondering if they will make it back home that day. Bea as character was extremely compelling. She had a very strong voice and wanted to use it even if she struggled to at times. Bea's telling of her story was very impactful. As an able-bodied individual the fear of not being able to escape an active shooting pales in comparison to what Bea was feeling during the incident, being unable to get away let alone onto the floor and out of sight. I will admit that when thinking about "imminent threats" I do feel that we as a society lack significantly in providing practical information about keeping oneself safe if one has a disability. Its certainly something that hadnt crossed my mind but I will always cross my mind from now on. I felt that the portrayal of PTSD was also very well done and digestable for a younger audience.

I think that this is a very important book and children should be made aware of this issue as it effects them directly. This is a book that I feel should be read and discussed with adults so that questions can be asked and answered and an open discussion can be had. There was nothing egregious or graphic and though there was death it was not of characters that were super close to Bea which I thought was a tasteful decision by the author but did not take away from the emotional impact of the story. I was still in tears multiple times.

Overall this is worth the read and I believe we could all learn a lot from this story and find a little more compassion in our daily lives.

I wish that this book didn't have to be written, but I'm very glad that Jamie Sumner was able to tackle this topic with such grace.

Bea is a student with cerebral palsy who experiences a school shooting. She goes through an incredible amount of trauma, as she isn't able to hide or move her wheelchair after hearing the gun shots. The book covers the days before the shooting, the day of the shooting, and the days after. It shows Bea's fear, frustration, and eventually her way to healing.

As someone with a family member who is wheelchair bound with cerebral palsy, I recommend this book to anyone and everyone. It is heartbreaking and scary, but well worth the read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing | Atheneum Books for Young Readers for allowing me to read this book. It is on preorder for our library already. And thank you to Jamie Sumner...you wrote this book phenomenally and I appreciate the thought and effort into making this book so realistic from the point of view of a child with PTSD.

This is so terribly gut wrenching. I tried to read it from the perspective of a young audience, imagining me as my middle school self again. It hurts you, it makes you feel, it makes you understand tragedy and care for everyone about you but one concern I have with it as how serious will middle schoolers take this book. Everyone knows this is our reality, a horribly sad reality but it may be hard for middle schoolers to truly grasp what the meaning and feelings are behind it without only seeing it as fictional.

Lockdown drills are a shared experience amongst all school aged children and youth in America. However, what happens when it's no longer a drill? Bea is in a wheelchair and has grown up practicing for the "what if". However, this time it's not a drill and she experiences the loss of classmates and a teacher. Flipping between Bea before and Bea after she grapples with this traumatic experience and what she can do to push for change.

Sumner goes for the heart with this incredible, heartbreaking story that is a reality for too many kids in America every year. Bea is an inspiration. She shows kids that you don't have to be loud and on the frontlines to make a difference. She shows kids that healing from tragedy is possible. These types of stories are so hard to read - but they are just as important as textbooks and pamphlets.

Please Pay Attention
by Jamie Sumner
2 out of 5 stars
To be published April 15, 2025

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for a free copy of this e-book in exchange for my honest opinion.

After living through a school shooting, Bea finds that she has the strength to speak up and to be a fighter.

I liked that this middle-grades novel was written in verse so it had short sections of text and short chapters. I liked the character of Bea and her mother Max. I appreciated the friendship of their neighbors. Bea has a community that surrounds her and is able to support her.

What I didn't like, however, outweighed the good. I am definitely going to be an outlier here, but I didn't find this book appropriate for middle-grades readers. It was much too heavy for a young reader to process, while at the same time written too simplistic. There were far too many themes for a young reader to handle all at once- school shooting, character who uses a wheelchair, and adoption.

The character was making an appeal to the Governor regarding gun control laws, and she was saying she was ready to fight. In my opinion, 6th graders don't need to be ready to fight. They need to be protected. It is the adults who need to be ready to fight. The depth of pain and fear were not portrayed to the extent that is realistic, and middle grades readers don't need to be subjected to that fear.

My overall opinion of this book is that it was a big miss. I would recommend this book to adults who want to start a personal conversation about school gun violence and to be reminded of the children who we are all tasked with protecting every day.

Bea Coughlin has a good life, full of a supportive community, and the opportunity to mentor one of the "littles" at her private school. But when a school shooter upends life, killing her teacher, Bea's inability to get from her wheelchair to the floor leaves her feeling ashamed and exposed. I loved how the author acknowledged that some of the change needs to come from legislation, while also upholding Bea's agency. Learning about how horseback riding helps both PTSD, and core stability for those with cerebral palsy was wonderful. The multifaceted community, and Bea's connection with her little friend felt especially powerful to me. The space on the page from the verse novel format gave the breathing space I needed to read a school shooting-related story. Especially powerful to me where the myriad ways Bea finds to move forward and strengthen herself, while leaning into her community.

With school shootings more common and active shooter drills now a regular occurrence in schools, this book comes at a critical time in our lives. The emotional terror of experiencing the horrific event at an elementary school along with the post-traumatic anxiety felt raw and honest. The steps towards healing and the loving adults who provided the tools and support felt powerful and offered excellent examples of how to be a helper in these cases. This felt authentic as Bea is a middle grader who was already dealing with challenges and now has to deal with something no one should ever have to encounter in their lives. This novel in verse also gives readers examples of how to make their voices heard to bring about changes in gun laws. The ending is hopeful, but also realistic in that we as a country have a very long way to go to end this senseless violence. The danger and devastation of a school shooting is not glassed over emotionally, but readers will not encounter explicit graphic scenes with the resulting injuries and death.

Bea is a sixth grader who uses a wheelchair due to her cerebral palsy. Through her words, her history is revealed.
She has a loving adoptive mother and supportive neighbors. When a school shooting occurs, she freezes and
is unable to follow the safety procedures. PTSD makes her afraid of noises, being shut in and afraid to return to
school. Horse therapy helps her reclaim her spirit and resume living.
Her feelings are beautifully expressed. Bea's story may help students who have experienced a school shooting,
something that seems to be happening too often
#PleasePayAttention #Simon&Schuster #AtheneumBooksforYoungReaders #NetGalley

Please Pay Attention is a poignant new middle grade novel in verse. The story is told through the eyes of Bea Coughlin, a sixth grader with cerebral palsy. Bea enjoys her life with her adoptive mother, Max, who is also the school nurse. But a shooting at her school shatters Bea’ sense of security. With the help of an equine therapy program, Bea begins to move towards healing and finds the confidence to speak up for change. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

Using the spare yet powerful form of free verse, author Jamie Sumner tackles a tough topic from the point of view of a differently abled student. Bea lives with cerebal palsy and uses a wheelchair to get around. When a day at school turns deadly, though, she is stuck, unable to hide, run, or fight back during an active shooting. Dealing with severe grief in the aftermath of the trauma, Bea must learn to navigate her new reality, using horse riding therapy as a way to move forward into her future. Bea's is a voice that will not soon be forgotten.

This fictional account is just as compelling as what inspired the author to pen it.

The lyrical format is one that I do not gravitate towards. I prefer the standard narrative but the cover and the description kept me coming back to this book. Glad I did.

The reader will connect not only with Bea through Bea herself but also through her interactions with her mom, her teacher, and even the therapy horse.

This ARC was provided by the publisher, Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing | Atheneum Books for Young Readers, in exchange for an honest review.

EXCELLENT novel in verse. Very moving; it deals with a heavy subject, but I think it's handled very well for a middle-school audience. Highly recommended, and I hope it makes a lot of state reading lists and awards lists in the next year.

Thank you to NetGalley, Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, and Jamie Sumner for the opportunity to read Please Pay Attention in exchange for an honest review.

Please Pay Attention is a HiLo novel written in a poetic verse style and follows Beatrix, or Bea for short. She is a sixth grade student who is wheelchair-bound due to cerebral palsy. The first-person perspective shares some of the challenges of her life, as well as what it was like as a baby and having to learn how to take care of herself.

The novel starts with the sound of gunshots in her school. Before exploring the event, Bea shares the days leading up to that. What life is like for her and her adoptive guardian, being a Buddy to a Little at school, the involvement of her neighbors in her life; basically the daily life of Bea before she experiences the trauma of a school shotting.

The reader gets some snippets of the event during the shooting. It's not super detailed, as it is only from Bea's perspective of what she knows and experiences in the moment. Post-shooting, there is evidence of trauma, like the sound of a pinata scaring her like the sound of a gunshot. School nurse and adoptive mother Max pushed Bea to start taking care of and riding horses as a form of trauma therapy. The novel explores building a bond with an animal and how powerful that can be. It also acknowledges the power of letting go and moving forward, as well as speaking out to your local leaders in an active way.

Despite the content, this is a well-written and thoroughly enjoyable novel. As an educator, it resonates with the fear that I sometimes experience in my line of work, yet shouldn't have to feel that way, and neither should students. Ever. It is reading novels like this that share a traumatic experience to give at least a small snippet of what it might be like to be a victim in having experienced a circumstance such as a school shooting. All staff and students should feel safe where they are, but the world is unpredictable. The best thing to do is have a plan and be prepared, and when something does happen, check in with your people and explore ways to cope (such as equestrian studies).

I loved the way this novel was put together, but it just irked me a bit that the motive of the shooter wasn't really explored, and aside from Bea's teacher, the people on the list were kind of just that. A list. Their lives could have been explored more of Max (Bea's guardian) and Bea could have done something together, like watched a memorial, or interviews or something. I understand the desire for a parent wanting to shield their child, but there is also a need to understand what happened, acknowledge the peoples lives who were lost on a deeper level, and learn to mourn and cope together.

Overall just a really great novel, not meant to scare, but meant to share a diverse perspective and educate not only middle grade readers, but young adults and an older audience as well.

This was such an emotional read! The story follows Bea, an 8th grader who uses a wheelchair, in a dual timeframe narrative surrounding the before and after of a school shooting. Trauma, grief, daily difficulties, and healing are all covered with great care and sensitivity. Though this is categorized as a novel-in-verse, to me, it read more like a traditional novel with some dramatic pauses. Overall, this was a good read and I would recommend this book to an upper middle grade or adult reader looking for a book that will tug on your emotions and empathy.