This Is Not a Drill

Oct 29, 2012 Giselle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, own, contemporary

With only a mere 224 pages, I was surprised by how much power this short little novel emitted. This Is Not a Drill takes us into the lives of two teenage kids who are tutoring first graders, when an angry, unstable post-military father arrives and takes the class hostage.

This situation is a real tragedy that we sadly see happen in our world much too often. School shootings, school bombings; any school disaster is a parent's worst fear. To get a call that your first grader is in a classroom with...more With only a mere 224 pages, I was surprised by how much power this short little novel emitted. This Is Not a Drill takes us into the lives of two teenage kids who are tutoring first graders, when an angry, unstable post-military father arrives and takes the class hostage.

This situation is a real tragedy that we sadly see happen in our world much too often. School shootings, school bombings; any school disaster is a parent's worst fear. To get a call that your first grader is in a classroom with an unstable gunman is unimaginable. For this reason, although this book is clearly a YA novel and anyone of any age would likely enjoy it, I think readers who are parents will get the most out of this story. Because, not only do we care about the teenagers and feel for the situation, we understand the very big picture of this tragedy. We care about the parents outside who are sick with worry for their little ones, we can easily put ourselves in their shoes. We also care about what the teenagers are doing at a deeper level. Every single thing they do to help these kids is every single thing I would hope someone would be offering my kid as a comfort if this would happen. We also understand the kids perspective - at least I feel I understand kids a lot more since I had my own. While I'm not saying those without children will not get all of this, I'm thinking the level of poignancy this book will have on a parent will be heightened.

With that said, the strongest and best part of this novel is, in fact, the kids. Kids may scream, irritate, and simply be unforgivably annoying sometimes, but they are incredibly generous, supportive, and so kind-hearted. The way Beck portrays the children is this book is both realistic and wonderfully uplifting. I found that part to be exactly what I could imagine happening in this situation, from tears to fears to the oblivious cheers.

The teenagers, at least at first, had me a little less impressed. They kept reminiscing on their past relationships a little too much during this crisis. I also had a hard time keeping track of the two perspectives that weren't distinct enough. After a while, however, they became a lot more real, and their actions during the whole event were definitely admirable. I loved the way they handled every dilemmas from potty time to high-stake traumas. I was also deeply moved by the gunman's story. Making me extremely surprised by just how much punch this little book could pack at every turn.

One minor complaint of mine, was the reaction, or lack thereof, from the cops. We have people specialized in hostage negotiations who are trained to go into situations like this and diffuse it, but in the whole day it took to go through this story, the cops barely made a peep. I found this a little doubtful. I understand it's a very complicated situation especially when kids are involved, and I'm no expert, but I would think they would have done more.

This Is Not a Drill delivers an intense thriller that will make you feel equally hopeful and heartbroken. It's a powerful novel that is bound to move you, not only from the tears of a child, but from the laughter that only they can bring.

--
An advance copy was provided by the publisher for review.

For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads

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Nov 26, 2012 Maree rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Maree by: Mandee

Shelves: hardie-grant-egmont, ya-contemp, 2012-read, thought-provoking

Jake and Emery are high school students assisting a group of first graders in their lessons one day when something happens which will change their lives and the lives of those around them forever. They are interrupted by the father of one of the boys in the class who demands to see his son; when he is refused he turns violent, pulling a gun and holding the class hostage. Right from the opening sentence I knew this was going to be a tense read and I was not disappointed. However, what I was not p...more Jake and Emery are high school students assisting a group of first graders in their lessons one day when something happens which will change their lives and the lives of those around them forever. They are interrupted by the father of one of the boys in the class who demands to see his son; when he is refused he turns violent, pulling a gun and holding the class hostage. Right from the opening sentence I knew this was going to be a tense read and I was not disappointed. However, what I was not prepared for was just how much I would come to care for each and every one of the characters, even those who initially seemed to be bad.

I really liked both Jake and Emery as narrators. I felt that the dual narration was perfect for this novel as both characters worked together to tell the story and the shifts in perspective felt very natural. I loved the way their history together was slowly revealed as it really gave a good understanding of each of their personalities. While their relationship was not the main focus of the novel, I was pleased that it gave some sort of happy ending to an otherwise completely tragic situation.

I was so pleased that Emery talked to Brian and the audience was given some insight into the complex issues he was facing. It would have been all too easy for McDowell to paint Brian as the ‘big bad man’ and leave it at that, but she handled the issue of PTSD admirably. It really illustrated the point that the world is not black and white, but a million shades of grey. Everyone has their own story which is not always what it seems and may contributes to the actions they take, whether those actions be right or wrong. The revelation of the reasons behind Jake and Emery’s break up also reinforced this message.

The children almost stole the show in This Is Not a Drill, showing maturity beyond their years as they displayed courage, love and compassion in the face of danger. I would be interested to see how the children and Jake and Emery cope in the aftermath of the whole event. I also loved Jake and Emery so much as characters that I would happily read more about them and their relationship.

Although the end was heartbreaking, there was something fitting about it. It was very realistic, I think I would have felt too ‘happily ever after’ if it was done another way, yet there was a note of hope there as well.

This Is Not a Drill was a suspenseful read, highlighting some very important issues and dealing with them with sensitivity. Told through narrators you come to care deeply about, this isn’t a book that will be forgotten in a hurry.

This review and many more can be found at Maree's Musings.
Thank you to Hardie Grant Egmont for providing a copy of the book for review.(less)

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Mar 26, 2013 Vivian Xia rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, must-reads, read-rated-and-reviewed

WOW. This book is sooo thin and short but you wouldn't expect something so powerful to come from it. This book is about a soldier who is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. He holds a class of preschool age children hostage, including his own son. This book is very moving because we have seen gunmen in American schools before. This book scares me because I know that things that happened in this book might actually happen one day, which is one of my and every other citizen's greatest f...more

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Feb 20, 2013 Matilda rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

“We started class this Moring with our lesson on French words for animals. By the Afternoon three people were dead”

It starts off a normal day for Emery , well as normal as you can get with teaching elementary school children French, while working with your ex who just happened to sign up to for being a helper as well .But when a parent charges into the room demanding his kid things change. Now held in the room at gun point with no chance of escape nobody knows what to do but the kids must come f...more

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Dec 01, 2012 Pamela Kramer rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In "This is Not a Drill" by Beck McDowell, readers are allowed into the minds of two high school students who are volunteering in a classroom when a crazed parent with a gun holds the young students, the high school students and the teacher hostage.

The whole book takes place during the hostage situation, but is ably fleshed out with flashbacks that tell the back story. Emery and Jake, who previously had been a couple, are the two students who are volunteering to teach French to the young student...more

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Nov 08, 2012 Stephanie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult

This review originally appeared at www.readinasinglesitting.com.

Dear This is Not a Drill,

This is a tough letter to write, and I’m sorry not to be doing this in person, except, you know, you’re a book, so I thought this might be a nicer let down than just saying this to your cover. Maybe.

I’ve been wanting to say this since a few pages in, but you seem like a nice book, and I thought that maybe, if I hung in there long enough, things might change and perhaps I’d feel that spark. Not everything can...more

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Oct 25, 2012 Liviania rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Beck McDowell doesn't shy away from big subjects in her debut. In THIS IS NOT A DRILL, an armed veteran comes to an elementary classroom looking to take his kid out of school early. The completely awesome teacher tells him he needs to follow procedure and refuses to just let Brian Sutton take his son away - leading to Sutton taking the class hostage.

THIS IS NOT A DRILL is told through the alternating points of view of Emery and Jake, high school seniors who tutor the class part time. They've ver...more Beck McDowell doesn't shy away from big subjects in her debut. In THIS IS NOT A DRILL, an armed veteran comes to an elementary classroom looking to take his kid out of school early. The completely awesome teacher tells him he needs to follow procedure and refuses to just let Brian Sutton take his son away - leading to Sutton taking the class hostage.

THIS IS NOT A DRILL is told through the alternating points of view of Emery and Jake, high school seniors who tutor the class part time. They've very clearly got a past - Emery dislikes working with Jake and is mad at him for some reason. The exact details unfold as the two work together to protect the kids. Jake, I would say, has a more dynamic character arc than Emery, but both are fairly stock characters. But THIS IS NOT A DRILL isn't about their character growth, so it doesn't matter that they're pretty thinly drawn. It's a thriller with a decent-sized helping of political commentary.

McDowell puts little kids in danger, which both ups and lessens the tension. It's scarier because no one wants little kids to get hurt and the kids are terrible at behaving and not angering the upset gunman. They need to go to the bathroom, they can't sit for too long, they get into fights. They're kids. But it's less scary because I never felt that McDowell would actually transgress convention and kill one of the kids. Only the older characters felt like they were in danger. (McDowell also gives the death count at the beginning, which definitely makes it seem like the kids will be fine.)

As for Sutton, he's suffering from PTSD and clearly didn't integrate well into civilian life after his tour and Iraq. His wife definitely has grounds to divorce him and go for full custody, and he definitely overreacts, but McDowell still makes a decent point. Soldiers not getting the psychological support they need after spending time fighting a war is a real problem. At the same time, the message of THIS IS NOT A DRILL is delivered in such a ham-fisted manner that I literally cringed while reading.

THIS IS NOT A DRILL is a surprisingly quick and easy read, given that it's about a school shooting. There are some really clever moments, as the teacher, Emery, and Jake try to get help without Sutton noticing and hurting someone. And I did hope than none of them would be included in the final body count, no matter how unlikely that seemed. But what could have been a taut thriller went off the rails every time it started to harp on PTSD and the government's responsibility to soldiers. It's even a point I agree with, but it just kept killing momentum instead of being folded into the action. THIS IS NOT A DRILL is an okay read, but ends up being more forgettable than hard hitting.(less)

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Oct 22, 2012 Crystal rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

First thoughts
I read the synopsis for the book and was immediately enthralled! I kept thinking about how I wanted to read this book. I book marked the goodreads page (to keep tabs on it) and made it my waiting on Wednesday choice like three times, and this was all three months ago people. I begin supporting both author and book and became a big fan of both before even reading it. I felt that this would be one that stayed with me long after I read the last page, and when I got my hands on a copy...more First thoughts
I read the synopsis for the book and was immediately enthralled! I kept thinking about how I wanted to read this book. I book marked the goodreads page (to keep tabs on it) and made it my waiting on Wednesday choice like three times, and this was all three months ago people. I begin supporting both author and book and became a big fan of both before even reading it. I felt that this would be one that stayed with me long after I read the last page, and when I got my hands on a copy I hoped it would not disappoint.

My thoughts
Ok this book had me with so many mixed emotions. The main characters are Emery Austin a senior girl who is teaching a group of first graders with Willoughby her Ex-boyfriend. In the middle of one of their lesson a man by the name of Brian Stutts walks in demanding his son. They think they have the situation under control when the teacher Ms. Campbell escorts him to the office. But he soon returns with the same demand and things escalade from a normal day to the worst you can possibly imagine.

What I loved about this book is that the teens had their own story and past and that made them connect with each other and I felt that gave them added support and helped them remain calm. Also this story was written in both their perspectives and normal I don’t like that in novels but this time it added to the story. Like while one was doing something in the next chapter you could see what the other main character was doing. They had very different voices and that was shown with the dual POV. Emery also had POTS (Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome) so her views were completely different and the feelings she had were different when put in stressful situations.

Later we find out that Brian is struggling with post-traumatic stress from his stints in Irag. So he is not in in right state of mind. I guess Brian is the villain in this story and I’m supposed to hate him but all I could think about was that he was a victim also. Don’t get me wrong holding a group of kid’s hostage with a gun that is ready to shot is wrong. But I can also sympathize with him also, especially after hearing his story.

This is not a Drill had me up in down the entire time. You are constantly asking yourself questions and wondering what will happen next? Could this situation have been prevented? What’s going to happen at the end? And after the story is over how long would this hunt the people involved memories’?

This is a serious book that brings forward a lot of issues that probably go unnoticed. The event wasn’t sugar coated but also wasn’t something that will hunt you and scare you. It was a story of how certain events can change your life, and how not everything is as it seems. It is a YA novel that I think all should read.

So not all is gloominess We get to see Emery and Jake’s interaction with the young kids, and they are truly remarkable. They thought fast and handled everything in the best way possible. And since kids are a big part of the novel,no matter they situation you will get some funny parts, because let’s face it kids really do say the funniest things.

The only gripe I had was I wasn't ready for it to end I could actually have a couple fuller pages and I would have been even happier.

Overall this was an amazing story! There are some funny moments, some gut wrenching moments, and moments where you a scared and try to predict the outcome, but you just have to keep reading. I highly recommend this novel and I’m so happy I got the chance to read it!!!

I've already pre-ordered a hardcover copy :D (less)

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Oct 11, 2012 Debbie Shoulders rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-life

A small town, first grade class, not a place to find a man with a gun, right? Told through the eyes of two student helpers, "This is Not a Drill" takes a minute by minute approach to help the reader understand the intensity of being a victim, even while trying to help understand the person who has them hostage.
A father of the one of the children in the room, disgruntled because of his lack of parenting rights, comes to school to pick up his son. When the teacher won’t allow this, a gun appears,...more

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Sep 23, 2012 Beth_Adele rated it 4 of 5 stars

A multi-faceted read.

When I first picked up this proof, I didn't realise it was a YA novel. I brought it home and my 14 year old son honed in on it. (The other proofs I had piled on the shelf all seem to contain vampires or werewolves which are not his thing.) He devoured this book in a 3 hour sitting and proceeded to stroke it like he was Golem protecting his precious. Which is why, although I am in the middle of a few other reads, I put them down to read this one. And I am glad I did.

Teenage...more A multi-faceted read.

When I first picked up this proof, I didn't realise it was a YA novel. I brought it home and my 14 year old son honed in on it. (The other proofs I had piled on the shelf all seem to contain vampires or werewolves which are not his thing.) He devoured this book in a 3 hour sitting and proceeded to stroke it like he was Golem protecting his precious. Which is why, although I am in the middle of a few other reads, I put them down to read this one. And I am glad I did.

Teenagers are remarkable, and what I liked most about this book was how the author chose to tell this through the eyes of Jake and Emery. Two 17 year olds. Two teens with problems of their own and with each other, who under extraordinary circumstances have to rise above it all and be exceptional. Because really, teens cop a bad wrap and this is perhaps the reason that I enjoy YA. In YA teens are given permission to shine.

Both protagonists are battling demons of their own and are suddenly thrown into a life or death situation where they must deal with the demons of their captor, whilst keeping a classroom of first graders safe from harm.

There is a beautiful tenderness in these pages. The younger children are drawn with clarity and their interactions with their teacher, Jake and Emery, each other and even their captor evoke a miscellany of emotions.

For me, it was those interactions and the parts where Stutts tells pieces of his story, that really made this a provocative and profound tale. PTSD is not the easiest thing to portray, and it's the slow reveal of Stutts's mental state and the things that lead him there that give his PTSD a believability I have found lacking in other tales.

There are parts to this tale that are gut wrenching. Moments where you see the unravelling and want to reach out your hand to stop it from happening but you can't. You're bound by the barrier of the page and the story already told and you feel utterly helpless but unable to look away.

This is not a Drill, is no ordinary, run of the mill YA. (less)

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Sep 15, 2012 Tee loves Kyle Jacobson rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-must-reads, around-the-world-arc-tours, sep-2012

This Is Not A Drill is one of those reads that will stay with you for years to come. While reading this ARC I kept thinking about The Columbine Shooting and The Arkansas School shooting. School shootings are becoming an everyday occurrence and it scares how we send our kids to school not knowing if someone has decided today is the day they are going to go to school and shot it up.

In this case Brian Stutts is a soldier who has just come back from Iraq and his family has fallen apart. His wife is...more

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May 21, 2012 Haley rated it 5 of 5 stars

You’d think signing up to tutor a classroom of first-grade kids would be a fun exchange for a morning of high school. That’s what high school seniors Emery and Jake think—until Brian Stutts, a soldier with PTSD, comes in with a gun. Stutts wants to check his son out of school, but he’s on the blocked list. Frustrated with his lot, Stutts holes up in the classroom with Emery, Jake, and the kids as hostages. Emery and Jake, who recently went through a messy break-up, must come together again and l...more

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Apr 12, 2012 Megan Carroll rated it 5 of 5 stars

Beck McDowell's latest novel is an intense, thrilling, fast-paced ride through a day filled with unexpected events. This Is Not a Drill follows high school students Emery and Jake as they go to a local elementary school for a weekly tutoring session. The day this novel takes place turns out to be quite different when everyone in the classroom is taken hostage by an angry parent. Jake and Emery have to find a way to hold themselves and each other together to keep the children in the room safe. Mc...more

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Jan 20, 2013 Kris rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-read-in-2013

Just a week after the horrifying events at Sandy Hook Elementary, This Is Not A Drill by Beck McDowell came into the library. It was a chilling coincidence. I showed it to my colleagues and we debated whether we even wanted to read it. The pain of the recent events was still very raw but I felt someone should read it and so I checked it out. It sat on my “book shelf of good intentions” for several weeks before I picked it up. I am very glad that I did. McDowell tells the story of two teens, Emer...more

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Nov 10, 2012 Kelly rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-fiction, read-in-2012

2.5.

Brian Strutts wants to take his son Patrick home from school, but he doesn't want to deal with school administration and he doesn't want to deal with the fact his wife has told the administration Brain's not to be around Patrick. Rather than go through the channels he needs to, Strutts wanders into Patrick's classroom and takes it hostage.

In the classroom that day tutoring are high schoolers Emery and Jake. Neither them nor the teacher are prepared to be hostages nor are they prepared to be...more 2.5.

Brian Strutts wants to take his son Patrick home from school, but he doesn't want to deal with school administration and he doesn't want to deal with the fact his wife has told the administration Brain's not to be around Patrick. Rather than go through the channels he needs to, Strutts wanders into Patrick's classroom and takes it hostage.

In the classroom that day tutoring are high schoolers Emery and Jake. Neither them nor the teacher are prepared to be hostages nor are they prepared to be the calm adults for the class full of 1st graders. As tension builds and Strutt's behavior becomes more erratic, things aren't looking good for any of them. Especially as Strutt pulls out a gun. Even more when the first bullet kills someone.

McDowell's debut is a unique and engaging story about what PTSD can do to a former soldier. Strutts suffers and his illness has caused him to be unclear and unstable in his thinking. We get the backstory into his time in the service and we learn where and why he is as he is.

At times the novel suffers from no tension being built, and this is amplified only by the fact there are long periods of time when nothing happens. In a hostage situation, I suspect there are lengthy periods of nothing, but in the fictional world, these times should feel more tense than they do here. There were periods in the narrative that didn't seem necessary, especially the couple of scenes discussing hamster sex; this took me entirely out of the story when Jake found it necessary to research what makes a hamster a male or female because -- let's remember -- they're being held hostage in a classroom by a solider who has already shot and killed someone. It felt a little too much like pandering to teens (and I don't think that was the intention, but it felt a little bit too much like a nudge in the direction of reminding readers this is a book meant for teens so it has to include something sort of bizarre).

I found when the action rolled, the story was more absorbing, though there were many times it simply felt over the top in terms of what was going on. This is particularly the case near the end of the book where Strutt reveals his entire back story.

I think the real issue is actually Strutt himself. He never quite feels like a threat; he's simply someone who is very mentally ill. McDowell does a great job of coloring him that way, except because he never feels like a true threat, when he DOES open fire, it feels out of character. It almost feels more like shock factor for the reader than honest character and honest illness occurring.

The other part of the book that didn't work was the relationship between Emery and Jake. I didn't care about their former romance that was tied up in silly friend-related drama. (view spoiler) I think the book would have been a lot stronger if it had been more tightly focused on the hostage situation OR if Jake and Emery had been much more fully developed as characters. That would have made their relationship a more vital part of the story. As is, it felt like an add-on to tie things up neatly.

Overall, McDowell's debut is fine, and I can see fans of stories told in short time frames, stories about those with mental illness, or stories ripped from newspaper headlines finding this a worthwhile read. The problems don't overshadow the fact it's interesting and fast-paced.

Longer review likely to come.(less)

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Feb 03, 2013 Annabell rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: a-z-challenge-2013

In the wake of the Newtown tragedy, a book like This is Not a Drill is not only immensely palpable, but emotionally heartbreaking.

Emery and Jake are two seventeen-year-olds, who not only use to date and had a nasty falling out, but have also been partnered up to teach a class of eighteen first-graders as part of their grade for their French class. On a usual morning of reading to the kids, a man suddenly storms into the classroom, demanding his son, Patrick. Brian Strutts is an ex-soldier suffe...more In the wake of the Newtown tragedy, a book like This is Not a Drill is not only immensely palpable, but emotionally heartbreaking.

Emery and Jake are two seventeen-year-olds, who not only use to date and had a nasty falling out, but have also been partnered up to teach a class of eighteen first-graders as part of their grade for their French class. On a usual morning of reading to the kids, a man suddenly storms into the classroom, demanding his son, Patrick. Brian Strutts is an ex-soldier suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and has fallen on hard times. His wife has chosen to divorce him, but he’ll be damned if she takes away his son. Since the front office won’t let him leave with Patrick, Brain sees no other option than to take the entire class hostage.

This book hits at every parent’s worst nightmare and reminds the world of the horrors many parents have already had to endure in the history of our country. This is Not a Drill is targeted toward Young Adults, but parents will benefit from reading it as well.

The best part to this book are the children—the eighteen first-graders. They are so beautifully innocent and amazingly resilient and brave for being so young. They’re scared but determined to believe everything is going to be okay, especially because they truly and fully trust their first grade teacher, Mrs. Campbell, as well as Emery and Jake. Kids are so trusting and filled with so much hope and reading through how they react throughout the book just brought tears to my eyes. There is this one memorable scene where a little boy named Simon confesses it’s his birthday and that his mother gave him cupcakes to pass to the class. I just wanted to scoop him up and hug him! He even shares the cupcake with the man holding them hostage. I lost it after that. Just a reminder to how loving and forgiving kids are.

There isn’t much of a plot to the book. It’s mainly focused on the students and Brian Strutts inside the classroom. The kids keep the plot alive and Mrs. Campbell. The moments of Brian’s outbursts or when the security guard and police get involved add tension and minor action to the plot. But the story still manages to keep the reader’s attention and pulls at your heartstrings throughout.

Mrs. Campbell is the type of teacher every parent would want for his or her child. She is kind, sweet, yet firm and patient. She keeps her cool in the face of such crippling fear and keeps the kids feeling safe even with a gunman inside their classroom.

Brian Sturtts story is, sadly, an all too common tale of what soldiers endure when they return home from service: emotional and mental breakdown as they work toward readjusting to civilian life and the lack of adequate care for veterans. The heartache and pain he had to live with and the struggles he faced are very much real.

I did have some issues with the story though. Emery and Jake’s romantic relationship seemed to be unnecessary to the plot. The flashbacks as to what happened to break them up and how they still feel about each other, and Jake trying to convince Emery he’s changed in the middle of a dangerous situation, felt out of place. I did like how they teamed up to work together to protect the kids and the way they interacted and reassured the children.

There’s a scene where Jake searches for info on how to identify a hamster’s sex and hamster sex in general (because of something one of the kids said) and that seemed ridiculously unnecessary. And how he ends up getting online without Strutts noticing wasn’t all too believable. HOW Jake winds up finding a way to reach the outside world I could believe, but Strutts never picking up on it or noticing, I didn’t believe.

The ending was predictable and came off feeling very rushed and convenient. I would have liked a longer book to really grasp the tension and fear in a situation as horrifying as the ones the characters face, and for the ending to be done more smoothly.

I would still recommend to both parents and young adults to pick up a copy of This is Not a Drill. Whether you read it separately or together, this is a book that will touch your heart and leave you grateful for the people in your life. You will want to wrap your children in your arms and demand better care for our soldiers who give so much to ensure our freedom.
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Oct 10, 2012 Diane rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

First I received this book from Goodreads. I just could not wait to read the book.

Beck Mcdowell did a wonderful job in bring this story together. I found it fast read and could not put the book down. I had to know what next was going to happen.
I forgot to say this is a YA book. Wonderfully present and would highly recommend it..

The book is written in two person. The story follows two young teens that have volunteered as teacher assistants to help teach French to 1st graders. Emery and Jake tell...more

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Oct 29, 2012 Butterfly rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

WOW. I was a wreck when I read this. Seriously crying and bawling and snoot and everything. I don't even udnerstand why the hell I read a sad book when I were in a bad mood but I couln't stop. I just couldn't and Embry and Jake was such good people. I loved how they handled it and I liked Mr. Strutt, he had gone through so much and I understand how he felt because I've met soulders from Afghanistan and I've talked to them and they told me pretty much what he did. You don't look at life the same...more

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Oct 27, 2012 Melissa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

***Spoiler Warning***

I had the feeling this was going to be an interesting book and I love it when I'm right.
Besides a few details the reactions from both hostages and hostage taker are realistic. And those children.. poor children! They acted so brave the whole time. And Jake and Emery impressed me. How they dealt with the situation -being still teenagers themselves- was courageous. They ignored their own fears and the kids stayed their number one priority the whole time.

With exception of the...more

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Nov 05, 2012 Sarah (YA Love) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: more-than-one-pov, read-in-2012, 2012-debut-author-challenge, mystery-thriller, realistic-fiction, contemporary-ya

What I Liked:

**The suspense and characters. Emery and Jake are developed well enough to distinguish who is speaking when. The different font and the names at the beginning of the chapters helps, but the characters voices are developed enough to know the difference.

**Reading from both Emery and Jake’s point of view keeps This Is Not A Drill gender neutral, which I always love.

**The fast pace. Despite the circumstances, the situation doesn’t take up that much actual time, so the quick pace real...more

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Nov 01, 2012 Candace rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is another one of those books I probably wouldn't have picked it up if it hadn't just shown up on my doorstep. I thought it sounded good but it's not a subject that had me all excited or anything. And I'm so glad it showed up and that I read it because this was a fabulous read.

This book takes place over the time period of one day. Pretty much just one morning actually. But we get memories from Emery and Jake and know that they were in a relationship and broke up. We see what they went throu...more This is another one of those books I probably wouldn't have picked it up if it hadn't just shown up on my doorstep. I thought it sounded good but it's not a subject that had me all excited or anything. And I'm so glad it showed up and that I read it because this was a fabulous read.

This book takes place over the time period of one day. Pretty much just one morning actually. But we get memories from Emery and Jake and know that they were in a relationship and broke up. We see what they went through in the past and we see they still care about each other now. We also see some of the stuff they go through daily with their families and how it has affected them. So while the story is about this crazy guy who holds the classroom hostage, we still get a good idea of the characters personalities and a bit of romance even if it's mostly in the past. I thought this worked really well and kept the story more interesting.

Emery and Jake both think that this is something they can't handle, having to take care of all these kids while held hostage by a guy with a gun. But they are wrong- they are exactly the right people because they have so much more strength than they think. And while Emery may have some nerve problems, when it's important she's really able to step up. And Jake may think he's no hero, but when it comes down to life or death he really does what needs to be done. They are both hero's and they handle these small children so well.

One thing that I think was great and added a lot to the story, as well as kind of giving us info, was that the guy holding them hostage is a soldier suffering from PTSD. This kind of humanized him for us as Emery talks to him about his experiences, we see the things he went through, the horrors he's experienced and the pain that's inside him. This was once a good guy and he doesn't want to be who he's become. There's a lot about PTSD and the way things are for them when they get back. How hard it is to go back to normal after so long over there dealing with death and just struggling to stay alive each day. I think in this book I saw things differently than I did before. I wasn't very knowledgeable about this and I appreciate the author showing us through such a fantastic story.

This isn't an easy book to read because it's intense and scary, but it was a fast book to read. I read it straight through in under two hours and would have been happy to keep reading.

I definitely suggest you give this one a read!

You can find this review and others like it on my blog at http://www.candacesbookblog.com (less)

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Oct 06, 2012 Katlyn rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads, awesome-books, own-it

When I won this book from a giveaway I have to admit, I was pumped.

So when it came in the mail I immediately started reading. At first the book started to lose me because the insane ex-military psychopath was more of a plain kind of sort of insane ex-military psychopath. It would have been better if they had described him more of if he did more than yell and then fall into fits of complete silence. It made the tension not as real for me, which was a downer.

Also, this book was almost completely...more

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May 20, 2013 Emily Fok rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book is one of the best realistic fiction books ever!!! I finished this in just a few days. It was so unpredictable and had so much diction. I could picture all he scenes that I read going through my head. This is just a must read! It is bundled with excitement, terror and romance. This story talk about a soldier who came back from Iraq eight months ago. He is a very dangerous armed man who comes into a first grade classroom with a gun. The children were terrified but thanks to Emery and Ja...more

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Dec 15, 2012 Katie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary, 1st-person-male, 1st-person-female, read-in-2012

This is Not a Drill was a great book. It is suspenseful and kept me engaged in the story the entire time. I couldn't put it down because I constantly wanted to know what would happen next to the characters. I didn't want anything bad to happen to them, and I was worried about them.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD

This story is told in the alternating POVs of Emery and Jake, people who used to date and now teach French together to 1st graders. Both of their characters were well-developed. Emery has symptom...more This is Not a Drill was a great book. It is suspenseful and kept me engaged in the story the entire time. I couldn't put it down because I constantly wanted to know what would happen next to the characters. I didn't want anything bad to happen to them, and I was worried about them.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD

This story is told in the alternating POVs of Emery and Jake, people who used to date and now teach French together to 1st graders. Both of their characters were well-developed. Emery has symptoms of a syndrome known as POTS. Her symptoms include having panic attacks. There are some moments during the book when she feels like she could have a panic attack, but she doesn't. She tries to connect with Brian Stutts by asking him about his experience in Iraq. Jake is the mayor's son. He's gotten into some trouble in the past because he was friends with a guy who used drugs. The friend got busted by the police for having drugs, and Jake was there, so he got into trouble too.

The first graders in the story are great characters. Since they are so young, it is clear that having a man with a gun in their classroom could really scare them. Some of them definitely do have moments when they get scared and cry, but they also stay strong through the situation. The kids in the book can vary from sweet to dramatic to scared. They each have distinct personalities. Reading about these kids made the book even more heart-wrenching because I worried that something would happen to them.

Brian Stutts was an interesting character. He was hard to like since he was wielding a loaded gun in a classroom of first graders, yet, when he started talking about his experiences in Iraq, I could feel sympathy towards him. I don't think his actions are excused in any way by what happened to him, but I think somebody needs to help him with his PTSD. He saw some horrible things over in Iraq, and I can see why he would be traumatized by them.

If you like YA contemporary, read this book.(less)

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Oct 11, 2012 Sharon rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-october-release, hardie-grant, arc

Review: 3 ½ out of 5 stars

This is Not a Drill by Beck McDowell was kindly provided to me by Hardie Grant Egmont Australia.

This is Not a Drill was such an intense, emotionally gripping read which kept me immersed in the story from the very beginning.

This story is told from the POV'S of 17 year-old Emery and Jake, high school seniors who have volunteered to be French tutors to a group of first grade students. They are thrust into a life threatening situation when a childs father, Brian Stutts, a s...more

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May 19, 2013 Averee Peterson rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I finished this book in two days. I don't know how to really explain it, and I don't really want to even say its good. It's a very touchy subject that most people have trouble talking about. 'This is Not A Drill' is about a returning soldier from Iraq that has PTSD. He is armed and dangerous and claims he wants to get his son, a first grader in Mrs. Campbell's class. He keeps them locked in the classroom with a pistol only a few feet away from killing 18 first graders.

I liked how Beck McDowell c...more

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Nov 14, 2012 Jenni Arndt rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own

You can read all of my reviews at Alluring Reads.

I always get nervous going into a short novel about whether or not there will be enough substance packed in for me to come to care about the characters and the events of the story. Beck McDowell proved that worry completely unfounded; in 224 pages she created a bond that I cared about and got me all misty multiple times.

This is Not A Drill is the story of two high school students, Emery and Jake, who are French tutors to a first grade class. The...more You can read all of my reviews at Alluring Reads.

I always get nervous going into a short novel about whether or not there will be enough substance packed in for me to come to care about the characters and the events of the story. Beck McDowell proved that worry completely unfounded; in 224 pages she created a bond that I cared about and got me all misty multiple times.

This is Not A Drill is the story of two high school students, Emery and Jake, who are French tutors to a first grade class. The day starts out like any other but that all changes when one of the students father, Brian Stutts, comes to pick him up and the class quickly finds themselves in a hostage situation. This story starts off with a bang, McDowell wasted no time to get the story moving which at first had me a bit disjointed. But as the story goes on and we are fed Stutt's history on his tours in Iraq as well as the romantic history between Emery and Jake. I enjoyed both aspects of the story so much and found myself feeling terrible for Brian which was not an emotion I thought I would have for him going into the novel. The horrors that he saw overseas and how the effects of that touched everything in his life when he came back was haunting. The author created this gray area where you knew that what Brian was doing was terribly wrong but once we delved more into his life it was almost as if he had his back against a wall and was just so desperate to have his son in his life. Now, that doesn't make what he did OK but it definitely made me understand his motivations perfectly.

Brian's story is not the only one we are treated to here, we also get glimpses into Emery and Jake's history and see what they have gone through together. I really liked Emery she was incredibly smart and she was fantastic with the children. I loved how much she had absorbed from the teacher in her few months tutoring and watching her step into Mrs. Campbells role once she was gone was great. Jake's history was another aspect of the story that really pulled at my heartstrings. Seeing how lost he was after the loss of his mother was so sad and so was the resulting rebellion when his father started dating "The Christine."

Don't be fooled by the small number of pages of This Is Not A Drill, this story packs a punch and is full of characters that you will come to care immensely about. This is a tough subject and it truly frightened me, it probably wasn't the best book to read on a day when my 5 year old daughter was at school. Beck has created a frighteningly real story that will make you think and will definitely have you grabbing for a box of tissues.(less)

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May 11, 2013 Kristen Ho rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is an amazing realistic fiction book! I learned so much how scary this experience could be. This book has so much action and excitement! It is a must read for everyone! I loved everything about this book! I kept on reading this book and couldn't put it down! I was always wondering what would happen next because it was just so unpredictable. This book made me realize that you have to be prepared for anything, such as what happened in the story. I think knowing that this stuff can happen is i...more

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Oct 10, 2012 Olivia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. ***I received this book from a Goodreads giveaway.***

I am quite pleased with this book. What struck me most about it is the realistic feel it had to it. It is clear that McDowell has spent plenty of time with teenagers, as well as young children. The dialogues of both Emery and Jake were very believable & at times I found myself laughing because of the things they either thought or said aloud. (very witty, very appropriate of what a teen in this day & age might say) Along with that, the...more

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Feb 19, 2013 Newport Librarians rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ms-colleen, ya-fiction

This is a pretty interesting read about a father that holds his son's 1st grade class hostage, along with the teacher and two 17 year old volunteers that teach French to the kids. Told in alternating viewpoints between the teens (Emery & Jake), the story unfolds dramatically over the course of a few hours.

Enlightening after the Newtown tragedy, it depicts a father that fought for his country in Iraq and has returned to his family with PTSD. The reader gets background information on the soldi...more

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