Tomorrow will be the one year anniversary of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT. Just since 1996 there have been forty-six (46) incidents of school shootings in the United States. (Add one more to the number of incidents, now 47, with the addition of the Arapahoe High School shooting on December 13, 2013.) One hundred and eighty-four (184) students and teachers have lost their lives. (Add another victim, now 185. The student shot at Arapahoe High School died eight days later. 12/23/13) (This number does not include the shooters who were killed or who killed themselves.) In most of the incidents, the shooters have been students who have been bullied or otherwise marginalized. In other cases, like Sandy Hook, the shooter has been a disturbed individual from outside the school.
This Is Not a Drill, like the incident at Sandy Hook, is the story of such a disturbed individual. Brian Stutts, the father of one of the children, is a soldier suffering from post–traumatic stress disorder after serving in Iraq. Stutts uses deadly force to get to his son when he’s denied access because of a custody battle. The children’s fate is in the hands of the two high school students who have been teaching French to the first-graders. Emery and Jake, who are both recovering from personal losses and who are angry at each other as the result of a betrayal, tell the story from alternating points-of-view. In addition to the question of what will happen the the children, the story examines the often hidden effects of war.
If you are interested in similar fiction books, try these from our library.
The link below is a good article about the people of Newtown and how they are coping with the tragedy.
‘Frozen in time': Sandy Hook’s struggle to move on from shooting
This Is Not a Drill, like the incident at Sandy Hook, is the story of such a disturbed individual. Brian Stutts, the father of one of the children, is a soldier suffering from post–traumatic stress disorder after serving in Iraq. Stutts uses deadly force to get to his son when he’s denied access because of a custody battle. The children’s fate is in the hands of the two high school students who have been teaching French to the first-graders. Emery and Jake, who are both recovering from personal losses and who are angry at each other as the result of a betrayal, tell the story from alternating points-of-view. In addition to the question of what will happen the the children, the story examines the often hidden effects of war.
If you are interested in similar fiction books, try these from our library.
- Hate List by Jennifer Brown
- After the First Death by Robert Cormier
- The Healer by Dee Henderson
- After by Francine Prose
- Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
- This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp (#5 on the 2017 Teens' Top Ten List)
The link below is a good article about the people of Newtown and how they are coping with the tragedy.
‘Frozen in time': Sandy Hook’s struggle to move on from shooting
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