I'm extremely conflicted on this book.

First, I want to acknowledge that the students that executed the March for Our Lives rally are truly inspirational. It served its purpose in the sense that it got so many people in the United States talking about such a critical issue. I cannot begin to tell you how much that I admire the fact that the students involved in this movement have been essentially running on empty in their quest to be heard, making their first remark to "get in touch with your local congressman" just hours after the tragedy occurred. To be so young and to be so focused in on the issue, to not have your feelings of sadness and despair cloud your vision, is really nothing short of incredible.

There are definitively a few things that I could pick apart, specifically some of the students' remarks during interviews, but I think that has a lot to do with the fact that they had just been a part of a tragedy and did not have the adequate time to recover and analyze what had just happened. Their hearts are definitely in the right place, but in terms of the way that they were portrayed in this book, I think their headstrong moments of tunnel vision don't always work to their benefit.

In terms of literary quality, I am completely floored that this is the same Dave Cullen who wrote Columbine. I know that the books are two different entities, but when I read Columbine, I was completely enthralled. This on the other hand is stale and dare I say even a bit sloppy. It's evident that Cullen didn't spend ten years writing this book like he did Columbine, and I think because of this speedy publication, the book suffered. I will say that Cullen does deserved to be praised due to the fact that he did not name the gunman once, further stressing that the issue here is so much larger than this one individual. ( )

I just finished this book about an hour ago, and I should probably wait a few days to give a more thorough and thought out review, but...here goes.

This book was not quite as tough a read as the last Cullen book I read, [b:Columbine|5632446|Columbine|Dave Cullen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442939134l/5632446._SY75_.jpg|5803859], which destroyed me. To this day, working in a bookstore, if anyone asks for a horror recommendation, that is the book I point to because, to me, there is no greater horror than the fact that two kids went in and killed a bunch of their classmates, and America sat back and let it happen again...and again...and again.

This book builds on that same horror. Cullen has an obvious bias toward the kids that started the movement that grew out of the Parkland shooting, but honestly, I don't know how anyone could learn about both what they went through, and then their reaction to it, and not be awestruck.

I know "awesome" and "awestruck" are words that are used so often that they've lost their power, but I can only describe my admiration of these people as "awe". It's the only word that works.

There's a lot to unpack in this book. There's the actual event itself, coming mere months after the Las Vegas shooting, and something like the 81st one after Columbine, not two decades previously.

Let that number sit in your head. Columbine happened. Then eighty-one more shootings in schools. Then Parkland.

But...the Second Amendment. But...the NRA.

The outrage is so underwhelming compared to the cost. Throughout this book, I kept thinking, are these few kids the only sane ones in the room? Are they truly the only ones that understand the stakes here?

And then they draw in other like-minded but even more ignored factions, like Chicago. They go up against politicians—some, unbelievably, that have actually survived shootings themselves—who resolutely close their eyes, plug their ears, and spout the familiar refrains of "thoughts and prayers" and "it's a mental health issue, not a gun issue". It's infuriating, but it draws a very solid line under the fact that the politicians that are elected by their constituents do not actually work for them. They work for whomever yells the loudest from the upper ranks of their party, and often that message is whispered in their ears by those with the most money.

So yes, the initial outrage stems from the fact that 17 people—17 more people—died needlessly while everyone hid behind a 250 year old piece of paper, wrung their hands, and offered thoughts and prayers. But the outrage goes beyond that, scaling up to understand the sheer enormity of the issue at hand.

At one point, toward the end of the book, one of the March For Our Lives group says she hopes that the movement won't be needed by the time she's 30. It's a beautiful thought.

It's a terrifying book. It's an inspirational book. And it's just as much of a horror story as the first one, but it does cast some hope. ( )

A compelling and comprehensive study in how a social justice movement is born and sustained in the wake of tragedy. I learned a lot about the Parkland kids and what helped the gun safety movement grow. ( )

This started out strong and I'm really lost my interest halfway. I I just don't find the minutiae of the lives of teenagers and the way they relate to each other remotely interesting. ( )

A breathtaking, clear and accurate account of what happened in the aftermath of the Parkland shooting. I applaud the teens and young adults who decided to take a step into the limelight. Most adults aren't brave enough to take on Congress or even their own state legislature, and these teens did it without a second thought. And they inspired many others to follow in their footsteps. ( )