The world watched in horror in April 2007 when Virginia Tech student Seung-Hui Cho went on a killing rampage that resulted in the deaths of thirty-...
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Jun 08, 2009
David
rated it: 
Heartfelt but disjointed analysis of issues arising from the Virginia Tech mass murder of 4/16/07 by the English professor who had tutored/counseled the murderer a year or so previously. Makes some interesting points about how the university administration handled explaining (covering up) the exact details of their emergency response procedures that morning.
In general, though, it read like a brief magazine article trapped inside a long cathartic-for-the-author screed about every eve More...
In general, though, it read like a brief magazine article trapped inside a long cathartic-for-the-author screed about every eve More...
May 28, 2009
Steven
rated it: 
Lucinda Roy is one of my colleagues in the English Department at Virginia Tech. Since the 4/16 shooting, she, along with other public figures in my department, has been subject to all sorts of speculation and accusations.
I'm not close enough to the story to comment authoritatively on it, but I can report that Lucinda is a kind person with an ebullient, generous personality.
As to this book, I enjoyed it. It reads quickly for nonfiction and combines the genres of memoir, More...
I'm not close enough to the story to comment authoritatively on it, but I can report that Lucinda is a kind person with an ebullient, generous personality.
As to this book, I enjoyed it. It reads quickly for nonfiction and combines the genres of memoir, More...
Sep 17, 2009
I'm not rating this book. It just doesn't fit into one of these neat little categories. Although it was difficult to do at times, I'm glad that I read it. Ever since the tragedy at Columbine in 1998, two months after I left Denver, CO and a few kids who could have been Eric and Dylan...I've been unnaturally interested in school shootings and their various relationships to mental health.
Did anyone know that Nikki Giovanni was the professor that originally was concerned about her stud More...
Did anyone know that Nikki Giovanni was the professor that originally was concerned about her stud More...
Jul 28, 2011
If you want details about what happened at Virginia Tech go someplace else. The book is about 1/4 of her experience with Cho and her failure to get the people above her concerned about the possible danger. Another 1/4 concerns her own experiences growing up in Sierra Leone, educated and teaching in England and then coming to America and teaching 25 years at Tech. It is about 1/4 a description of the internal bureaucratic politics of Tech as an institution. For example I did not know until aft
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Jul 16, 2009
Donna
rated it:
Tragic. Dr. Roy asks some really tough questions concerning the safety of our college campuses and school adminstrations' responsiblity regarding privacy and mental health. Dr. Roy actualy tutored the Tech gunman after he "fell through the gaps" of the school's mental health system. I'm sure this haunts her, but her dedication to teaching is evident. Her account of the time she spent with Cho prior to the shooting is very interesting. Her struggles to get him the medical help he o
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Apr 24, 2009
Sue
rated it: 
This is a fascinating book of the events at Virginia Tech by the English professor who tried to get help for the shooter. Her perspective of the unfolding events is eye opening and calls for a re-examination of so called "privacy laws" protecting college students from revealing medical and psychological issues even to their own families. Having one child in college, and one about to start, I would want to know if my child was in trouble, but some schools prefer to treat the students as
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Jan 06, 2010
Jane
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I highly recommend this book for anyone who teaches in a public school. Roy details the steps she took in addressing the concerns of faculty about Seung-Hui Cho's disturbing behavior. As chair of the English Dept., she gave Cho an independent study in poetry because she had to remove him from a class in which he frightened and intimidated classmates. As she got to know him, she suggested he seek counseling. But she was prevented by FERPA from finding out whether or not he did that. She believes
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Nov 12, 2009
Deanahaley0502
rated it:
I read this book in hopes of finding answers to the terrible event. It was a fascinating read in many respects. However, I still have many unanswered questions. I got a strong sense of Lucinda Roy being a caring teacher who went out of her way to help the shooter. Too bad, other people at the university did not give her the support she needed. It might have made a difference in the outcome
Apr 28, 2009
Ron
rated it: 
Read up to page 96. Didn't like the personal thoughts and feelings that kept encroaching in the narrative. Unlike a historical perspective, the author is too close to the details of this story to create a compelling book. This just felt like a continuous diatribe against the people in charge of investigating the shooting at Virginia Tech. This was not what I wanted to read.
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Jul 13, 2011
Crystal
rated it: 
Roy asks the questions that many find difficult to ask in the wake of a tragedy with frank honesty and openness. How could this have been averted? What can we do to prevent such occurrences in the future? There are no concrete answers to these and other questions, but Roy examines what the Virginia Tech admisintration might have done better and what secrets they may be keeping.
Aug 19, 2011
John
rated it:
I lend this book out every opportunity I get. It's not like Cullen's Columbine; it was written too early to offer such an encyclopedic understanding of a tragedy. But it really helps the reader understand the frustration felt by those of us who were directly affected by the Virginia Tech shootings.
Apr 23, 2010
Carrie
rated it:
This book was not a page turner nor kept my attention. I didn't even finish it, although I tried to stick with it. I felt as though the author felt the need to talk more about herself then the actual events. I would not recommend this book.
Jun 29, 2009
Krystal
rated it:
this absolutely should be required reading for all employees of English departments (probably all personnel connected to undergraduate education, really), particularly adjunct instructors and graduate student staff.
Jul 21, 2009
Robin
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I feel like my rating for this book is pretty meaningless; I hate that there's a reason this book needed to be written, but the author showed a lot of courage writing it (and wrote well). Heartbreaking.
Aug 25, 2010
Laura
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Kind of a boring book given how interesting the topic was; I thought Columbine was much better-written.
Oct 11, 2009
Vanessa
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I was hoping for an overview and insight into the tragedy from all angles, but I didn't find it here.
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