I left Simon's Rock the year before the shooting. Nothing surprised me much in the parts of the book dealing directly with Simon's Rock; the administration's actions (or lack thereof), and perhaps not even the shooting itself. The school, as another reviewer noted, was very much a sealed organism and prone to sealing off against the unwanted. Wayne Lo and his friends (for whom the idea of shooting someone was a way of relieving stress, not something to be actually *done*) were reacting, I think, to just that tendency.

It should be noted that, as Gibson says at the end of the book, that Wayne's parents are suffering the worst. They have lost their son without losing him.


brave & eloquent   August 25, 2001
 6 out of 6 found this review helpful

For such a disturbing and sad subject, you are unable to take a break or put it down. It remains facinating and never falls into a "sob story". It is rational but allows you to feel every emotion along with the author. This book is a triumph!


A Fantastic, well written epic   October 21, 1999
 5 out of 7 found this review helpful

I received this book as a present, one of those books that should sit indefinitly on the table adjacent to your bed. For what ever reason, this book was around when I was looking for something, anything to read.

I never put it down.

The story is compelling and extremely well written. The amount of emotion that manages to seep through the pages is unparalled. While other reviews I've read compare this tome to other current books or reports on teen violence, I would not. This is an independant work, it stands alone, and you will be better for having read it.