Rating is 3.0 stars even
I picked up this book on Book Outlet because 1) it sounded interesting and 2) there were two recent school shootings that happened in my little section of the world recently, the first being at Seattle Pacific University in Seattle, WA which is my hometown and the second at Reynolds High School in Troutdale, OR which is about 15 miles from where I live currently.
After a school shooting at Pleasant Valley High School, a grief counselor shows up at Central High School, seemingly to provide support in case the students feel uneasy or knew someone at Pleasant Valley. However, soon freedoms are taken away. It starts with a restriction on the dress code i.e. no color red allowed, then there are metal detectors and backpack searches, no gum or makeup permitted and then there is a curfew set in place and no student is allowed to go to the mall, at all. It doesn't stop there either, eventually even unapproved books and music are discouraged.
Tom, the main character is a good kid. Plays basketball, gets decent grades and has a core group of friends: Silas, Avery and Brian. As the book progress and the above mentioned practices are put into place, due to wanting to keep the student body "safe", Tom and his friends start to question what is happening to their school......and it's not good.
How far would we go to protect our kids and what liberties would we defend for them and what ones would we hand over?
Pros: A quick read, subject matter is interesting, and gets you thinking.
Cons: The writing style could be better, the characters at times seemed flat and the ending didn't wrap up anything.
*Book was bought by myself from Book Outlet
I picked up this book on Book Outlet because 1) it sounded interesting and 2) there were two recent school shootings that happened in my little section of the world recently, the first being at Seattle Pacific University in Seattle, WA which is my hometown and the second at Reynolds High School in Troutdale, OR which is about 15 miles from where I live currently.
After a school shooting at Pleasant Valley High School, a grief counselor shows up at Central High School, seemingly to provide support in case the students feel uneasy or knew someone at Pleasant Valley. However, soon freedoms are taken away. It starts with a restriction on the dress code i.e. no color red allowed, then there are metal detectors and backpack searches, no gum or makeup permitted and then there is a curfew set in place and no student is allowed to go to the mall, at all. It doesn't stop there either, eventually even unapproved books and music are discouraged.
Tom, the main character is a good kid. Plays basketball, gets decent grades and has a core group of friends: Silas, Avery and Brian. As the book progress and the above mentioned practices are put into place, due to wanting to keep the student body "safe", Tom and his friends start to question what is happening to their school......and it's not good.
How far would we go to protect our kids and what liberties would we defend for them and what ones would we hand over?
Pros: A quick read, subject matter is interesting, and gets you thinking.
Cons: The writing style could be better, the characters at times seemed flat and the ending didn't wrap up anything.
*Book was bought by myself from Book Outlet