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Content snapshot
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Violence
Very heavy
An armed hostage situation inside an elementary school drives the whole book; the review sourced here notes the threat is sustained rather than the shooting being rendered in detail
Language
A lot
Content notes mention strong language; the adult voices under pressure are blunt
Sexual Content
None
None
Substance Use
Some
Holly narrates part of the book from a painkiller-induced stupor after her burns
Emotional Intensity
Children held at gunpoint, a mother unable to reach them, severe burn injury and recovery, estranged family ties, and the specific dread of a parent listening to a lockdown from far away
What this book is about
The whole novel takes place in less than a day. A gunman enters the school and the lockdown is narrated by five people: officer Meg Barrett, thirteen-year-old Augie, her grandfather Will, teacher Evelyn Oliver, and Augie's mother Holly, hospitalised with severe burns and following it all from a bed in Arizona.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
School shooting and hostage situation
Severe burn injury
Children in mortal danger
Reader Verification
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