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Tireur!: Ceci n’est pas un exercice
Alice, Isabelle, Hogan, Alex et Noah se retrouvent coincés dans les toilettes des garçons quand le directeur de leur école ordonne un confinement barricadé. Les cinq adolescents, qui ont très peu de points communs, ne sont pas particulièrement enthousiastes à l’idée d’être enfermés, même momentanément, dans cet espace restreint. La tension monte d’un cran quand Isabelle reçoit un texto lui annonçant que cette fois, il ne s’agit pas d’un exercice. Il y a véritablement un tireur armé qui court dans les corridors.
La menace qui plane agira comme un révélateur sur chacun des personnages et des liens se tisseront là où ils semblaient tout à fait improbables.
Un roman choral à cinq voix qui raconte un huis clos prenant, doublé d’un thriller d’une redoutable efficacité.
La menace qui plane agira comme un révélateur sur chacun des personnages et des liens se tisseront là où ils semblaient tout à fait improbables.
Un roman choral à cinq voix qui raconte un huis clos prenant, doublé d’un thriller d’une redoutable efficacité.
448 pages, Paperback
First published May 3, 2016
120 people are currently reading
2594 people want to read
About the author
Caroline Pignat
15 books141 followersCaroline Pignat is the two-time Governor Generalʼs Award winning author of highly acclaimed young adult novels. Her historical fiction, contemporary, and free verse novels use multiple points of view and varied forms to engage readers of all ages.
As a Writer's Craft student, Caroline wrote a short story that years later became Greener Grass, the first of a critically acclaimed series, and went on to win her first Governor General’s Award for Children’s Literature in 2009.
A teacher with the Ottawa Catholic School Board, Caroline has taught elementary, intermediate and high school students. She spends her mornings teaching grade 12 Writer’s Craft and her afternoons working with students in Writing Workshops and Author Visits, or deep in her next work-in-progress.
A confident and inspiring speaker, Caroline has presented to students and educators; to historical societies and library groups; and at writing conferences such as: MASC, CANSCAIP, and SCBWI. In 2012, she was one of 12 Canadian authors chosen to tour with TD Book Week.
Recipient of two Red Maple Honour Book Awards and the Canadian Library Association Young Adult Book of the Year Honour Book, Caroline has been shortlisted for many others including: the CLA Book of the Year, three Geoffrey Bilson Awards for Historical Fiction, and the IODE Violet Downey Book Award.
Born in Ireland, she grew up in Ottawa where she lives with her family.
As a Writer's Craft student, Caroline wrote a short story that years later became Greener Grass, the first of a critically acclaimed series, and went on to win her first Governor General’s Award for Children’s Literature in 2009.
A teacher with the Ottawa Catholic School Board, Caroline has taught elementary, intermediate and high school students. She spends her mornings teaching grade 12 Writer’s Craft and her afternoons working with students in Writing Workshops and Author Visits, or deep in her next work-in-progress.
A confident and inspiring speaker, Caroline has presented to students and educators; to historical societies and library groups; and at writing conferences such as: MASC, CANSCAIP, and SCBWI. In 2012, she was one of 12 Canadian authors chosen to tour with TD Book Week.
Recipient of two Red Maple Honour Book Awards and the Canadian Library Association Young Adult Book of the Year Honour Book, Caroline has been shortlisted for many others including: the CLA Book of the Year, three Geoffrey Bilson Awards for Historical Fiction, and the IODE Violet Downey Book Award.
Born in Ireland, she grew up in Ottawa where she lives with her family.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 404 reviews
July 9, 2023
3 stars
I facilitated a grade 7/8 book club at my children’s school this past year and this was the novel they chose to read. It was a read-aloud book club where we met weekly to read and discuss a few chapters together.
This novel revolves around a group of students locked in a school bathroom while in lockdown. Each student brings a different background and head space to the story, slowly revealing the lead up to the school emergency.
This book packs a lot of hot topics in one story — school shooting, death of a sibling, child neglect, loneliness, abandonment, bullying, autism, mental health stigma, social anxiety, to name a few.
While this book lead to lots of great discussion and had many relevant topics to explore, it often felt cliche and over the top. It lacked a believability factor to truly make this story as serious and impactful as it should have been.
I rate facilitating this book club 5+ stars for the experience with the amazing students. As a group we rated the book 3 - 3.5 stars. Lots to discuss but not one that was memorable or made much impact.
Thank you to my lovely local library for the loan!
I facilitated a grade 7/8 book club at my children’s school this past year and this was the novel they chose to read. It was a read-aloud book club where we met weekly to read and discuss a few chapters together.
This novel revolves around a group of students locked in a school bathroom while in lockdown. Each student brings a different background and head space to the story, slowly revealing the lead up to the school emergency.
This book packs a lot of hot topics in one story — school shooting, death of a sibling, child neglect, loneliness, abandonment, bullying, autism, mental health stigma, social anxiety, to name a few.
While this book lead to lots of great discussion and had many relevant topics to explore, it often felt cliche and over the top. It lacked a believability factor to truly make this story as serious and impactful as it should have been.
I rate facilitating this book club 5+ stars for the experience with the amazing students. As a group we rated the book 3 - 3.5 stars. Lots to discuss but not one that was memorable or made much impact.
Thank you to my lovely local library for the loan!
May 15, 2017
You can't pitch this as being The Breakfast Club meets We Need to Talk About Kevin and then have absolutely none of the depth of either. To quote The Wire's Omar Little: "You come at the king, you best not miss." And Shooter, you missed. By a long shot.
The Breakfast Club worked because it was a group of teens - a representative of each high school stereotype, which was 100% borrowed/ripped off here - in a completely stagnant setting. They had nothing else to do besides pass the day. Their only responsibility that day was to sit in their chairs and write an essay and watch the clock. The way their personalities, social statures, and home lives clash is what added forward momentum to the story - their dialogue and character development was the plot. But in Shooter, it made absolutely no sense in any universe that these teenagers, stuck together in the boy's bathroom during a lockdown due to a shooter in the school, would sit around and wax poetic about the pressures in their lives and muse about their families and who's a nerd and who's going to prom with who. There is a SHOOTER IN THE SCHOOL. It's not Saturday detention, when there's NOTHING ELSE GOING ON. THEY COULD DIE. THEIR FRIENDS COULD BE DYING. In a society where school shootings are all too common, I can't help but feel like this juvenile, self-absorbed approach is actually kind of disrespectful to all the children who have been through this traumatic ordeal - I bet they didn't sit around talking about comic books and how demanding their mothers are or whether or not some boy is cheating on them. You can't have a book about a school shooting and then make that shooting be a tertiary plot, an AFTERTHOUGHT. The author could have absolutely pulled this idea off if she had added some depth to the topics of conversation while they're hiding from the shooter. I mean, if she had had her characters feel like they were ACTUALLY in danger then maybe they wouldn't have been so vapid and immature.
And then the author doesn't even bother to mention school shootings in her 3 pages of acknowledgements? Which I suppose makes sense what with the lack of respect she's given to the actual victims. Can you imagine being the parent of a child from Columbine or Newtown or Virginia Tech and getting a hold of this book and reading what these little jerks talk about while they're hiding from someone who wants to end their lives? The author literally made the shooter into a comic book character who LITERALLY dons a cape and mask. The audacity of that astounds me. A school shooting is not a vehicle for this kind of character exploration ~*bildungsroman*~ type of story, no more than cancer or mental illness should ever be vehicles for young adult romance.
Not only that, but can you imagine Judd Nelson and Molly Ringwald's characters sitting around talking about trvialities while under lockdown due to a shooter in the hallways? Like.. should that not affect the mood of the scenes? And furthermore - this cast of lacklustre, cliched characters with their interchangeable voices had NOTHING on The Breakfast Club and their incredible dialogue/backstories/development, and if I were Caroline Pignat, the last thing I'd want is for my work to be compared to a John Hughes classic.
And then the "We Need to Talk About Kevin" comparison - I cannot. How about you do some research into school shootings and psychology before you try writing a book like this and then passing it off as something akin to that book/movie. This didn't even scratch the surface of mass violence or the mental health of the perpetrator, and we barely even met the guy, aside from scenes where he's about as developed/deep as a Power Rangers villain, so to call this ANYTHING meets "We Need to Talk About Kevin" is like comparing Finding Nemo to Jaws or Paul Blart Mall Cop to Training Day. Just laughable.
So basically bottom line this book was surface-level drivel that has no business comparing itself to anything of merit and absolutely no right to use something so tragic and horrible and real as a backdrop for its juvenility.
The Breakfast Club worked because it was a group of teens - a representative of each high school stereotype, which was 100% borrowed/ripped off here - in a completely stagnant setting. They had nothing else to do besides pass the day. Their only responsibility that day was to sit in their chairs and write an essay and watch the clock. The way their personalities, social statures, and home lives clash is what added forward momentum to the story - their dialogue and character development was the plot. But in Shooter, it made absolutely no sense in any universe that these teenagers, stuck together in the boy's bathroom during a lockdown due to a shooter in the school, would sit around and wax poetic about the pressures in their lives and muse about their families and who's a nerd and who's going to prom with who. There is a SHOOTER IN THE SCHOOL. It's not Saturday detention, when there's NOTHING ELSE GOING ON. THEY COULD DIE. THEIR FRIENDS COULD BE DYING. In a society where school shootings are all too common, I can't help but feel like this juvenile, self-absorbed approach is actually kind of disrespectful to all the children who have been through this traumatic ordeal - I bet they didn't sit around talking about comic books and how demanding their mothers are or whether or not some boy is cheating on them. You can't have a book about a school shooting and then make that shooting be a tertiary plot, an AFTERTHOUGHT. The author could have absolutely pulled this idea off if she had added some depth to the topics of conversation while they're hiding from the shooter. I mean, if she had had her characters feel like they were ACTUALLY in danger then maybe they wouldn't have been so vapid and immature.
And then the author doesn't even bother to mention school shootings in her 3 pages of acknowledgements? Which I suppose makes sense what with the lack of respect she's given to the actual victims. Can you imagine being the parent of a child from Columbine or Newtown or Virginia Tech and getting a hold of this book and reading what these little jerks talk about while they're hiding from someone who wants to end their lives? The author literally made the shooter into a comic book character who LITERALLY dons a cape and mask. The audacity of that astounds me. A school shooting is not a vehicle for this kind of character exploration ~*bildungsroman*~ type of story, no more than cancer or mental illness should ever be vehicles for young adult romance.
Not only that, but can you imagine Judd Nelson and Molly Ringwald's characters sitting around talking about trvialities while under lockdown due to a shooter in the hallways? Like.. should that not affect the mood of the scenes? And furthermore - this cast of lacklustre, cliched characters with their interchangeable voices had NOTHING on The Breakfast Club and their incredible dialogue/backstories/development, and if I were Caroline Pignat, the last thing I'd want is for my work to be compared to a John Hughes classic.
And then the "We Need to Talk About Kevin" comparison - I cannot. How about you do some research into school shootings and psychology before you try writing a book like this and then passing it off as something akin to that book/movie. This didn't even scratch the surface of mass violence or the mental health of the perpetrator, and we barely even met the guy, aside from scenes where he's about as developed/deep as a Power Rangers villain, so to call this ANYTHING meets "We Need to Talk About Kevin" is like comparing Finding Nemo to Jaws or Paul Blart Mall Cop to Training Day. Just laughable.
So basically bottom line this book was surface-level drivel that has no business comparing itself to anything of merit and absolutely no right to use something so tragic and horrible and real as a backdrop for its juvenility.
June 6, 2017
4 STARS!!
This was such a fast paced read I got through it in two days and for me that's a win. This book also takes place in one single hour so that was interesting to read about. I don't think I've ever read anything like that before. I liked how all of the characters POVs were noticeable and diverse from each other because sometimes it's hard to tell whos talking in a lot of YA books that are told from various POVs. This is an intense and eye-opening read as well and has a thriller aspect to it that makes you not want to put the book down. So if you're looking for something heavy but thrilling, check out "Shooter".
- Richard
This was such a fast paced read I got through it in two days and for me that's a win. This book also takes place in one single hour so that was interesting to read about. I don't think I've ever read anything like that before. I liked how all of the characters POVs were noticeable and diverse from each other because sometimes it's hard to tell whos talking in a lot of YA books that are told from various POVs. This is an intense and eye-opening read as well and has a thriller aspect to it that makes you not want to put the book down. So if you're looking for something heavy but thrilling, check out "Shooter".
- Richard
April 3, 2017
Much more about the lives of five very different high school students than a school shooting. A modern day Breakfast Club, complete with the princess, the nerd, the weirdo, and the jock. Most of these people don't spent any time together or even notice each other at all. Locked in a room with no way out, is it possible that they could gain some kind of understanding about each other?
Alice is the shy and nerdy writer. She spends a lot of time worrying after her autistic brother, Noah. When everything is going right, he's fine. When things change, he can be unpredictable. Locked in a bathroom with strangers is not the ideal situation for anyone, and for him it's much worse. Isabelle is the stuck-up and spoiled school president. She has issues of her own, but it's hard to see past her ego-mania. Hogan is the huge ex-football player with a troubled past who radiates hostility and anger. Xander is a socially awkward photographer who has a really hard time understanding other people. These are not people that would hang out together... but now they have nowhere else to go.
They know their school is on lockdown. They know there's rumors of a shooter roaming the hallways. They know that there is a police presence in the school. What they don't know is who to watch out for... and how they're ever going to leave the school.
Read and enjoyed in one sitting. I'd recommend it to readers who like YA novels. There's bound to be a character here you relate to in some way, and the story is very intriguing.
I received a copy of this book from Net Galley and Penguin Random House Canada, thank you! My review is honest and unbiased.
Alice is the shy and nerdy writer. She spends a lot of time worrying after her autistic brother, Noah. When everything is going right, he's fine. When things change, he can be unpredictable. Locked in a bathroom with strangers is not the ideal situation for anyone, and for him it's much worse. Isabelle is the stuck-up and spoiled school president. She has issues of her own, but it's hard to see past her ego-mania. Hogan is the huge ex-football player with a troubled past who radiates hostility and anger. Xander is a socially awkward photographer who has a really hard time understanding other people. These are not people that would hang out together... but now they have nowhere else to go.
They know their school is on lockdown. They know there's rumors of a shooter roaming the hallways. They know that there is a police presence in the school. What they don't know is who to watch out for... and how they're ever going to leave the school.
Read and enjoyed in one sitting. I'd recommend it to readers who like YA novels. There's bound to be a character here you relate to in some way, and the story is very intriguing.
I received a copy of this book from Net Galley and Penguin Random House Canada, thank you! My review is honest and unbiased.
May 18, 2018
Do you ever read a book and just wonder why you wasted 2 hours of your life?
First off, this book was stupid. Just plain stupid. There is so much suspension of reality that needs to be done to even get past the first chapter.
Secondly, the characters were all shitty and vapid and caricatures of high school stereotypes. The Princess. The Nerd. The Outcast. The Rebel/Jock. And an autistic kid to claim diversity. I honestly believe the author was never a teenager. She went straight from child to adult because no teenager behaves like the ones found in this book! Teenagers are not this stupid. Teenagers are not this vapid. No person during an active shooting is going to complain about their parents, or their grades, or their boyfriend. Their friends could be dying. They might die. PRIORITIES!
Third, I hate that the shooter was so impersonal. Especially since this book is compared to We Need to Talk About Kevin, which extensively talks about Kevin, the shooter!
Oh and the part where Isabelle talks about her little charity trip. Infuriating. Yes, yes, we get it. You saw true poverty and now you don't understand your friends and all those things you used to love. Bullshit. Isabelle spent so much damn time thinking of her boyfriend and prom and her phone and a whole bunch of shallow stuff. Also I've always had a really big problem with people who use other people's life and misery to construct their own narrative. It's incredibly conceited and self-centered which is the essence of Isabelle's character.
Rating: 9/100
Age: 14 & up
Warnings: violence, self-harm
First off, this book was stupid. Just plain stupid. There is so much suspension of reality that needs to be done to even get past the first chapter.
Secondly, the characters were all shitty and vapid and caricatures of high school stereotypes. The Princess. The Nerd. The Outcast. The Rebel/Jock. And an autistic kid to claim diversity. I honestly believe the author was never a teenager. She went straight from child to adult because no teenager behaves like the ones found in this book! Teenagers are not this stupid. Teenagers are not this vapid. No person during an active shooting is going to complain about their parents, or their grades, or their boyfriend. Their friends could be dying. They might die. PRIORITIES!
Third, I hate that the shooter was so impersonal. Especially since this book is compared to We Need to Talk About Kevin, which extensively talks about Kevin, the shooter!
Oh and the part where Isabelle talks about her little charity trip. Infuriating. Yes, yes, we get it. You saw true poverty and now you don't understand your friends and all those things you used to love. Bullshit. Isabelle spent so much damn time thinking of her boyfriend and prom and her phone and a whole bunch of shallow stuff. Also I've always had a really big problem with people who use other people's life and misery to construct their own narrative. It's incredibly conceited and self-centered which is the essence of Isabelle's character.
Rating: 9/100
Age: 14 & up
Warnings: violence, self-harm
May 23, 2016
Shooter is a solid Canadian-Lit that features a multi-POV (5) narration using prose, verse, cellular text, and images.
Between this and the other YA school shooting book I read this year, This Is Where It Ends, I found Shooter to feel more organic, nuanced, and less "cinematic" (even if Marvel's X-Men is the inspiration for some character frameworks). While it has its faults in convenient plotting and a limited scope per the villain's voice, Shooter does well to champion the acknowledgement of problematic perception in the YA school environment and has all the right intents of shifting those "incorrect" thoughts. (For example and IIRC: there's a scene where one character is called a retard and that's quickly shut down -- A+.)
--Will probably be rated a 3 or 4 (out of 5 stars). Full review pending.
Between this and the other YA school shooting book I read this year, This Is Where It Ends, I found Shooter to feel more organic, nuanced, and less "cinematic" (even if Marvel's X-Men is the inspiration for some character frameworks). While it has its faults in convenient plotting and a limited scope per the villain's voice, Shooter does well to champion the acknowledgement of problematic perception in the YA school environment and has all the right intents of shifting those "incorrect" thoughts. (For example and IIRC: there's a scene where one character is called a retard and that's quickly shut down -- A+.)
--Will probably be rated a 3 or 4 (out of 5 stars). Full review pending.
March 21, 2016
I read this all in one sitting.....and never came up for air until I reached the last page!
I found this book to be a brilliant read!!!!!
Four teens held hostage in more ways then one. An unexpected outcome.
This is a sensitive, gripping portrayal of all the characters involved and how connections were made between them.
The author has taken a subject matter that is in much of today's media and is one that always has listeners holding a collective breathe until the final outcome....this is something that I also did as a reader as well!
Highly Recommended!
I found this book to be a brilliant read!!!!!
Four teens held hostage in more ways then one. An unexpected outcome.
This is a sensitive, gripping portrayal of all the characters involved and how connections were made between them.
The author has taken a subject matter that is in much of today's media and is one that always has listeners holding a collective breathe until the final outcome....this is something that I also did as a reader as well!
Highly Recommended!
Read
August 18, 2016There should be a warning on the cover of this book: "DO NOT start reading this book at Midnight!"
I decided to start this book at midnight a chapter or two before going to sleep, the next thing I knew it was 3:30am I'm 3/4 of the way through the book and my alarm was going of in 2.5 hours! If I didn't have to work in a few hours I would of stayed up the rest of the night to finish this book.
I have not picked up a book in a VERY long time that I've wanted to stay up all night to read.
I decided to start this book at midnight a chapter or two before going to sleep, the next thing I knew it was 3:30am I'm 3/4 of the way through the book and my alarm was going of in 2.5 hours! If I didn't have to work in a few hours I would of stayed up the rest of the night to finish this book.
I have not picked up a book in a VERY long time that I've wanted to stay up all night to read.
December 9, 2022
One of the worst books I've ever read! If any author is wondering about the right way to write about a school shooting, neurodivergent people, or mental health, this book is a great blueprint for how not to do it.
May 15, 2021
This book really surprised me! I put it on hold a while ago and I kept hitting deliver later. Before reading the only thing I knew was this book was about a school shooting. I didn't realize it took place in Canada until Hogan was talking about Canadian tire. I'm happy I went into this book blind, I think this is a book you sit down and read in one go.
Overall this exceeded my expectations, note they were quite low. I found the characters realistic and I really liked how well the writing flowed.
I enjoyed this book but I thought the last 20% was a little cluttered.
Overall this exceeded my expectations, note they were quite low. I found the characters realistic and I really liked how well the writing flowed.
I enjoyed this book but I thought the last 20% was a little cluttered.
July 21, 2023
Depuis le temps que je souhaitais lire ce roman!! J’ai adoré, je me suis attachée super rapidement aux personnages, l’intrigue était vraiment bien ficelée, le suspense présent, j’ai passé un super moment de lecture. Je le verrais bien joué en pièce de théâtre, ce huis clos dans les toilettes des garçons. La relation qui se développe entre les personnages, c’est wow!
May 24, 2019
J'ai bien aimé ce roman ado, même si au début, ça me faisait penser au film Breakfast Club de mon adolescence! Et la traduction est excellente, vous pouvez me croire! (Vous me direz que je ne suis pas très objective puisque je connais la traductrice!!!)
October 26, 2017
I am a huge fan of horror/suspenseful books and movies and if you are interested in that kind of stuff, you should definitely read Shooter by Caroline Pignat. She definitely will make you be on the edge of your seat while reading this book. This book is amazing because 1) it has various parts of suspense and 2) all the characters have different stories but they realize they are connected in a very similar way. Alice, Noah, Hogan, Isabelle, and Xander are five characters you will not forget during reading Shooter. Once you pick up the book, it will be impossible to put it down, trust me on that. This book will simply make you shook when you get to the turning point. The book is unpredictable in a good way! This book is very similar to the movie, The Breakfast Club. Five unalike students go to Saturday detention and have figured that they have more in common than they think. Read it!
August 6, 2023
Tbh did I read it cause it was one of the books at moms house- yes. Did I actually enjoy the suspense of the countdown- yes.
July 1, 2018
I had such a nice big review typed out for this and then I was dumb and x'ed out.
So, anyway.
I really, really wanted to like this book. School shooting is one of my bookish buzzwords, and I'm always interested in what an author has to bring to the table, because this is a phenomenon, largely American (note to everyone: author is Canadian), that just keeps happening, and these are stories that are interesting to tell and to hear, and are important to tell and to hear.
That being said, this book could have been a lot better if one of two things would have happened: the shooter himself was anonymous, and we focused on the kids learning about each other and that they're not so different, or we were closer to the shooter. I'm talking that Craig-Manning-motherfucker Xander getting more screentime, as annoying as he was, because he was the only person that gave us any insight into the shooter and, honestly... it wasn't great insight.
Which brings me to characters. Did not care about any of them other than Hogan. Alice and Hogan, when they were together, were pretty cute, too, I guess, but I didn't really care. Isabella was all right, but isn't there maybe something bigger than college acceptance that we should talk about right now, Izzy??? Noah was literally just a tool so that we could feel bad for Alice. I don't know why he was there.
The portrayal of the shooter was, while sparse, extremely caricaturist and simple. Pignat took Eric Harris's god complex and smashed it into a Hollywood Nerd and gave us zero direction with it. The portrayal of the shooter was why I think he should have been anonymous, also because he didn't even seem that important most of the time. It was like, oh yeah, this is an excuse to get these kids together, so why not just embrace it?
The writing was all right. It was fast-paced and easy to read. This book was a quick finish, and I'm kind of glad, because there were aspects that, the more I think about them, made me really, really mad.
So, anyway.
I really, really wanted to like this book. School shooting is one of my bookish buzzwords, and I'm always interested in what an author has to bring to the table, because this is a phenomenon, largely American (note to everyone: author is Canadian), that just keeps happening, and these are stories that are interesting to tell and to hear, and are important to tell and to hear.
That being said, this book could have been a lot better if one of two things would have happened: the shooter himself was anonymous, and we focused on the kids learning about each other and that they're not so different, or we were closer to the shooter. I'm talking that Craig-Manning-motherfucker Xander getting more screentime, as annoying as he was, because he was the only person that gave us any insight into the shooter and, honestly... it wasn't great insight.
Which brings me to characters. Did not care about any of them other than Hogan. Alice and Hogan, when they were together, were pretty cute, too, I guess, but I didn't really care. Isabella was all right, but isn't there maybe something bigger than college acceptance that we should talk about right now, Izzy??? Noah was literally just a tool so that we could feel bad for Alice. I don't know why he was there.
The portrayal of the shooter was, while sparse, extremely caricaturist and simple. Pignat took Eric Harris's god complex and smashed it into a Hollywood Nerd and gave us zero direction with it. The portrayal of the shooter was why I think he should have been anonymous, also because he didn't even seem that important most of the time. It was like, oh yeah, this is an excuse to get these kids together, so why not just embrace it?
The writing was all right. It was fast-paced and easy to read. This book was a quick finish, and I'm kind of glad, because there were aspects that, the more I think about them, made me really, really mad.
August 11, 2016
I loved the beginning of this book. It was fun and believable and I wanted to know what was going to happen to all the characters. However, the minute Alice ran out of the bathroom, I knew it was going to shit for a while. Up until they were all back in the bathroom, it was totally unbelievable. The plot with the X-Men pranks was on-again-off-again. The ending was realistic enough, but I definitely had to let some things go. Really, my main problem with this book as the level of believability. However, It was still pretty good and I liked it. Bonus points for it being set in Ottawa, aside from the school shooting.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 7, 2018
Read this book in 1 day!! So freaking good! I really identified with something in every character and absolutely LOVED all the difficult themes and ideas this book tackled beautifully! I really appreciated that although the main topic of the book, a school shooting, is one that can be terrifying and gory it was written in a way that captured the fear and felt genuine with out it being overly frightening. This makes it accessible to everyone I think that's great!
I also really liked that this took place in my hometown as I never get to read books that happen in Canada let alone my city!
Thank you for writing this book!!
HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!
I also really liked that this took place in my hometown as I never get to read books that happen in Canada let alone my city!
Thank you for writing this book!!
HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 4, 2019
Trigger warnings: school shooting, violence, mentions of death, agression against an autistic character
4 ⭐️
This is a story about stereotypical teens: the queen bee, the dangerous guy nobody wants to cross, the loner, the invisible girl and the high needs boy who can become violent at a moment's notice. Except they aren't exactly stereotypes: the queen bee has to work harder than anyone else to keep up with expectations, the dangerous guy constantly hears the voice of his dead brother bullying him, the loner doesn't understand social situations, the invisible girl will always put the needs of her brother before hers, and the high needs boy isn't violent, he's autistic.
A lot of this novel is about the characters and who they really are vs how others see them. Which is probably why the first half seems so slow. You don't really feel the urgency of the shooter in the school until the halfway mark or so. You get attached to the characters, but every once in a while you turn a page and it's the countdown and you remember they're supposed to be in grave danger, but you don't really feel any of it.
But then, it really becomes a race against time. Because not only is there a shoot in the school, one of those characters know him personally. And even worse, the little group discover his plan is far more sinister than shooting up random people.
You can tell Caroline Pignat did her research and that she works in a school. This book was well planned, the characters fleshed out and the action resembling a real school shooting situation. Even the newspaper article and the picture of the grave at the end are close to reality.
Like any book about a school shooting, it's not an easy read. The shooter is named, he's an actual character with a plan and a mind that we get to see a peek of through his "friend's" story. I wouldn't recommend it to victims of school shootings. But it's a damn good book and you should read it if you're alright with the topic.
4 ⭐️
This is a story about stereotypical teens: the queen bee, the dangerous guy nobody wants to cross, the loner, the invisible girl and the high needs boy who can become violent at a moment's notice. Except they aren't exactly stereotypes: the queen bee has to work harder than anyone else to keep up with expectations, the dangerous guy constantly hears the voice of his dead brother bullying him, the loner doesn't understand social situations, the invisible girl will always put the needs of her brother before hers, and the high needs boy isn't violent, he's autistic.
A lot of this novel is about the characters and who they really are vs how others see them. Which is probably why the first half seems so slow. You don't really feel the urgency of the shooter in the school until the halfway mark or so. You get attached to the characters, but every once in a while you turn a page and it's the countdown and you remember they're supposed to be in grave danger, but you don't really feel any of it.
But then, it really becomes a race against time. Because not only is there a shoot in the school, one of those characters know him personally. And even worse, the little group discover his plan is far more sinister than shooting up random people.
You can tell Caroline Pignat did her research and that she works in a school. This book was well planned, the characters fleshed out and the action resembling a real school shooting situation. Even the newspaper article and the picture of the grave at the end are close to reality.
Like any book about a school shooting, it's not an easy read. The shooter is named, he's an actual character with a plan and a mind that we get to see a peek of through his "friend's" story. I wouldn't recommend it to victims of school shootings. But it's a damn good book and you should read it if you're alright with the topic.
July 21, 2021
Pignat's many POVs and the intriguing Breakfast Club motif were both enjoyable. It's certainly a unique way of describing a school lockdown. Everything seemed to fit together nicely.
While I wanted to slap some of the characters for their harsh remarks, it also struck me as extremely true that individuals who don't understand are afraid of the abnormalities in front of them and/or make things they believe are completely acceptable. Plus, these are teenagers, and they're in a learning environment. I appreciated watching them learn about themselves and one other in a scenario that removed all barriers.
I enjoyed watching them come to terms with themselves and each other in a setting that blurred all societal distinctions.
Also, I'm very pleased with the conclusion. I was concerned that things would go in the wrong direction (especially with the way some of the characters thought and acted with each other.)
Even if it was more subtle for some than others, the climax itself demonstrated a lot of character growth and development.
One of the POVs, Xander, was the one of the best characters in this novel. While each character had unexpected complexity, he was the one who was literally a riddle for everyone to unravel. He was the most difficult to read, and it is through his storey that the reader truly understands who Xander is. He also produces excellent poems.
This was a fantastic read, and I'm in desperate need of more from this author!
PS: I read this in one sitting in a matter of three hours before the break of dawn so it officially qualifies as unputdownable!
While I wanted to slap some of the characters for their harsh remarks, it also struck me as extremely true that individuals who don't understand are afraid of the abnormalities in front of them and/or make things they believe are completely acceptable. Plus, these are teenagers, and they're in a learning environment. I appreciated watching them learn about themselves and one other in a scenario that removed all barriers.
I enjoyed watching them come to terms with themselves and each other in a setting that blurred all societal distinctions.
Also, I'm very pleased with the conclusion. I was concerned that things would go in the wrong direction (especially with the way some of the characters thought and acted with each other.)
Even if it was more subtle for some than others, the climax itself demonstrated a lot of character growth and development.
One of the POVs, Xander, was the one of the best characters in this novel. While each character had unexpected complexity, he was the one who was literally a riddle for everyone to unravel. He was the most difficult to read, and it is through his storey that the reader truly understands who Xander is. He also produces excellent poems.
This was a fantastic read, and I'm in desperate need of more from this author!
PS: I read this in one sitting in a matter of three hours before the break of dawn so it officially qualifies as unputdownable!
April 16, 2018
This book did remind me of Breakfast Club, but it was a fast read about a timely subject that I am sure YA's an new adults will want to read. Sadly, too many of them have encountered this situation. I think it's a different take on these school shooting books I've read. The most memorable one was Hate List by Jennifer Brown- excellent, gripping read. This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp was also a compelling read. But this one suits just fine. It is well written with a view point many YA's may not be familiar with.
I received a Kindle Arc in exchange for a fair review from Netgalley.
I received a Kindle Arc in exchange for a fair review from Netgalley.
July 14, 2017
I wrote this in a notes app half at 4am whilst half asleep so please forgive the mess.
I can't decide how I feel about the two autistic-coded characters in this book, Noah and Xander.
On one hand, Noah's chapters were for the most part spot on, though I'm not convinced she actually talked to any autistic people about their experiences; They show the fight-or-flight nature of meltdowns at one point and it's a good way to remind people that hey, autistic people are still people, they have thoughts -- you'd think this would be obvious but unfortunately a lot of people dont get that.
On the other hand, the way they discuss Noah, as well as the entire handling of Xander, makes me very uncomfortable. I can't tell how much of the ableism and misinterpreting was a conscious character-building choice and how much was the author's own opinions making themselves known.
Noah, for the most part, is roughly in-line behaviourally with a lot of of non-verbal autistic people. He stims (though it's only really portrayed as a negative), which is something a lot of authors leave out/aren't aware of, so that's nice. While he's somewhere between non- and semi-verbal during the hour we see, his chapters show that he does have an understanding and inner voice like anyone else, though any kind of AAC mention and usage would have been nice.
The main problem I have with his portrayal is the infantilism, assumption regarding his level of understanding and lucidity (not telling him exactly what's happening is a ridiculous thing to do, at the very least it would help him understand the schedule change and thereby calm him down), misunderstanding of what a meltdown is and the way they actively ignore him and bitch about him as if he isn't there.
And then there's Xander. Although he is never explicitly described autistic he is very obviously autistic-coded, but in the most stereotypical way you could go about it. Alice, in the end, seems to come around and work with his way of thinking, but again there is an awful lot of infantilism. The author very much sticks to the stereotype of autistic people being creepy/violent white boys, which is both untrue and extremely damaging. She went a bit too far trying to make him seem 'weird'.
All in all, the impression I get is that she read a pamphlet, maybe talked to someone who works with autistic people, and made a lot of assumptions, but hasn't actually consulted any autistic people. If she did, it certainly didn't come through.
The story was decent as a whole though, I burned through it in a day. I may recommend it to people, with a disclaimer about the stuff I mentioned earlier.
I can't decide how I feel about the two autistic-coded characters in this book, Noah and Xander.
On one hand, Noah's chapters were for the most part spot on, though I'm not convinced she actually talked to any autistic people about their experiences; They show the fight-or-flight nature of meltdowns at one point and it's a good way to remind people that hey, autistic people are still people, they have thoughts -- you'd think this would be obvious but unfortunately a lot of people dont get that.
On the other hand, the way they discuss Noah, as well as the entire handling of Xander, makes me very uncomfortable. I can't tell how much of the ableism and misinterpreting was a conscious character-building choice and how much was the author's own opinions making themselves known.
Noah, for the most part, is roughly in-line behaviourally with a lot of of non-verbal autistic people. He stims (though it's only really portrayed as a negative), which is something a lot of authors leave out/aren't aware of, so that's nice. While he's somewhere between non- and semi-verbal during the hour we see, his chapters show that he does have an understanding and inner voice like anyone else, though any kind of AAC mention and usage would have been nice.
The main problem I have with his portrayal is the infantilism, assumption regarding his level of understanding and lucidity (not telling him exactly what's happening is a ridiculous thing to do, at the very least it would help him understand the schedule change and thereby calm him down), misunderstanding of what a meltdown is and the way they actively ignore him and bitch about him as if he isn't there.
And then there's Xander. Although he is never explicitly described autistic he is very obviously autistic-coded, but in the most stereotypical way you could go about it. Alice, in the end, seems to come around and work with his way of thinking, but again there is an awful lot of infantilism. The author very much sticks to the stereotype of autistic people being creepy/violent white boys, which is both untrue and extremely damaging. She went a bit too far trying to make him seem 'weird'.
All in all, the impression I get is that she read a pamphlet, maybe talked to someone who works with autistic people, and made a lot of assumptions, but hasn't actually consulted any autistic people. If she did, it certainly didn't come through.
The story was decent as a whole though, I burned through it in a day. I may recommend it to people, with a disclaimer about the stuff I mentioned earlier.
February 12, 2021
was cleaning out my shelf today and remembered how much i fucking despised this book as an autistic person. this isn’t even to say the portrayal of noah was inaccurate, i do think we need to see the way autism varies and how there’s not one way to be autistic, but it ALSO makes me feel like the author didn’t do proper research because oh my god xander is so autistic. i don’t even know if it was intended or not because it’s never said in canon, but xander just screams autism/aspie (not getting sarcasm, special interest is comics & photography, etc.) and i loved him SO much but everything else abt this book was just terrible.
i have so many issues with this book but my biggest is the portrayal of the popular girl who’s name i don’t remember (violet?), who was obv the author’s attempt at subverting the trope which spectacularly failed. i also didn’t like how all these kids were just vibing while their classmates were out being shot to death. alice and hogan were fine, i didn’t care much for them.
i ALSO want to say rq that i’m kind of sick of authors making school shooting trauma porn books and then absolutely butchering it. please stop with the “breakfast club school shooter edition” it is not charming or enjoyable it is something real and horrifying and it can be portrayed right in books and plays but this is definitely not how to do it. i might read this book again tomorrow just to see if i changed my mind on it but these are my very frustrated thoughts from seeing this book on the back of my shelf again.
i have so many issues with this book but my biggest is the portrayal of the popular girl who’s name i don’t remember (violet?), who was obv the author’s attempt at subverting the trope which spectacularly failed. i also didn’t like how all these kids were just vibing while their classmates were out being shot to death. alice and hogan were fine, i didn’t care much for them.
i ALSO want to say rq that i’m kind of sick of authors making school shooting trauma porn books and then absolutely butchering it. please stop with the “breakfast club school shooter edition” it is not charming or enjoyable it is something real and horrifying and it can be portrayed right in books and plays but this is definitely not how to do it. i might read this book again tomorrow just to see if i changed my mind on it but these are my very frustrated thoughts from seeing this book on the back of my shelf again.
August 20, 2017
Actual rating 3 1/2. This is hailed as “The Breakfast Club” meets “We need to talk about Kevin” so I was intrigued to read it. And it’s pretty good!
Imagine a school lockdown with these five people trapped together in the boys’ toilets: friendless Alice, a writer; her older brother Noah who is non-verbal Autistic; school council president and straight A-achieving beauty Isabelle; enormous ex-footballer Hogan (named after the wrestler Hulk) whose brother’s death has left him broken and photographer and loner Xander, who lurks the school taking candid photos that have got him into SERIOUS trouble with the Principal and with Isabelle.
The five are thrown together in what they believe to be a drill. Only it’s not – it’s real. There is a shooter out there in the school and one of them may have more to do with the drama than the others know…
This is one you will start and then won’t be able to put down. Told in a variety of styles (non-verbal Noah’s chapters are DIVINE) through the eyes of all 5 students, the day unfolds in unexpected ways.
It's not the best 'lockdown' YA book I've read but it's entertaining. A great light read (sounds weird to be saying that about a high school shooting book but the shooting and shooter are minor players in this story).
Imagine a school lockdown with these five people trapped together in the boys’ toilets: friendless Alice, a writer; her older brother Noah who is non-verbal Autistic; school council president and straight A-achieving beauty Isabelle; enormous ex-footballer Hogan (named after the wrestler Hulk) whose brother’s death has left him broken and photographer and loner Xander, who lurks the school taking candid photos that have got him into SERIOUS trouble with the Principal and with Isabelle.
The five are thrown together in what they believe to be a drill. Only it’s not – it’s real. There is a shooter out there in the school and one of them may have more to do with the drama than the others know…
This is one you will start and then won’t be able to put down. Told in a variety of styles (non-verbal Noah’s chapters are DIVINE) through the eyes of all 5 students, the day unfolds in unexpected ways.
It's not the best 'lockdown' YA book I've read but it's entertaining. A great light read (sounds weird to be saying that about a high school shooting book but the shooting and shooter are minor players in this story).
September 12, 2017
I didn’t like any of the characters, they were typical and flat, and were dealing with generic senior year problems. I feel like the author just thought of the four most generic types of high school students, and picked one from each group to build her cast: the popular one, the loner, the nerd, and the bad boy. Oh, and then added an autistic brother to make it more diverse.
The plot was just as flat as the characters were, with the big reveal, being nothing special. All of the dramatic stuff happened right at the end, and was over before the reader knew we were finally getting somewhere. I never once felt as though these students were afraid for their lives, and instead felt their boredom seeping off the pages.
So I can tell you exactly why I gave two stars: One star for being set in a Canadian school. One star for the different writing styles, that made it a lot easier to read and kept the plot going.
Check out my full review on my blog!
http://theprincessgummybearreviews.bl...
The plot was just as flat as the characters were, with the big reveal, being nothing special. All of the dramatic stuff happened right at the end, and was over before the reader knew we were finally getting somewhere. I never once felt as though these students were afraid for their lives, and instead felt their boredom seeping off the pages.
So I can tell you exactly why I gave two stars: One star for being set in a Canadian school. One star for the different writing styles, that made it a lot easier to read and kept the plot going.
Check out my full review on my blog!
http://theprincessgummybearreviews.bl...
December 17, 2018
Fucking trash. Idiodic characters made up of the most stereotypical high-schoolers who seem to not give a single shit about the SCHOOL SHOOTER IN THEIR FUCKING BUILDING. In what would would you be opening up about your daddy issues when you might be about to ACTUALLY DIE?!?!?! Wouldn't you be calling your parents, telling your friends how much they mean to you, thinking about the things you wanted to do? Seriously, this is so disrespectful to everyone who's ever been involved in a school shooting.
There are so many problematic things about this book. Like, they basically say that all school shooters are mentally ill. Fuck you for perpetuating harmful stereotypes about people with mental illness while simultaneously excusing every single school shooter on the basis that "they couldn't help it - they're mentally ill!!!" This book is honestly pathetic and it tries way to hard to be ~deep~. I could barely get through half the book without acute nausea.
There are so many problematic things about this book. Like, they basically say that all school shooters are mentally ill. Fuck you for perpetuating harmful stereotypes about people with mental illness while simultaneously excusing every single school shooter on the basis that "they couldn't help it - they're mentally ill!!!" This book is honestly pathetic and it tries way to hard to be ~deep~. I could barely get through half the book without acute nausea.
January 26, 2019
J'aurais beaucoup aimé embarquer plus dans la psyché de ces quatre personnages , mais la situation toutefois dans laquelle il se trouvaient tous m'a un peu fait décrocher. À mon avis, quand on se retrouve dans une telle situation, ce n'est pas vraiment le moment de discuter de ses problèmes internes (problèmes de couple, difficultés d'adaptation à l'école ou dans la société, etc.). Le contexte de la rencontre me paraissait approprié, mais pas les propos tenus, car la peur devrait gagner les personnages plus que les remords... De plus, le titre fausse notre perception du roman: la moitié, voire le trois-quart du livre se concentre plus sur les conflits des personnages que sur la situation en tant que tel. On oublie presque qu'un tireur est caché dans les corridors de l'école, ce qui n'est pas normal!
J'aurais bien aimé ce livre, mais à part la fin plutôt réussi, je n'ai pas su autant embarquer dans le récit que je l'aurai voulu...
J'aurais bien aimé ce livre, mais à part la fin plutôt réussi, je n'ai pas su autant embarquer dans le récit que je l'aurai voulu...
May 8, 2016
Once you start this book it's very hard to stop. Every 2 pages gives you some critical information that just keeps you wanting more.
All of the characters are very unique and I love how when it's each other's chapter you can really see their separate emotions and the writing changed to suit them as well.
I will never think of x-men the same again.
A good description of what a lock down would be in their scenario.
Also don't judge people by their appearance because you might be very wrong about your judgement.
All of the characters are very unique and I love how when it's each other's chapter you can really see their separate emotions and the writing changed to suit them as well.
I will never think of x-men the same again.
A good description of what a lock down would be in their scenario.
Also don't judge people by their appearance because you might be very wrong about your judgement.
August 15, 2021
I’m so disappointed with this book cause I was so excited to read it only to not even be able to finish it :/. I just feel like the characters were written so poorly and there’s no depth to them that it was hard to really get into this book. If I could rate it a 0/5 I would’ve.
January 11, 2018
4.5 out of 5.
I really enjoyed this and couldn't put it down (except for when I had to go to work, but you know, those pesky bills must be paid, so.)
I enjoyed the multiple POVs and the interesting Breakfast Club theme that Pignat had going on. It's definitely an intriguing way of writing about a school lockdown. I liked how everything kind of fit together.
While I wanted to slap some of the characters for their insensitive remarks, it also rang very true that those who don't understand fear the oddities in front of them, and/or make remarks they think are perfectly okay. Plus, these are teenagers and they're literally in a place of learning. I enjoyed watching them begin to understand both themselves and each other in a situation that dissolved any definitions of social statuses.
Also, I'm super satisfied with the ending. I was worried that this would take a turn for the expected (especially with the way some of the characters thought and acted with each other.) The conclusion itself showed a lot of character growth, even if for some it was more subtle than others.
I liked Shooter overall, and my imperfect rating mainly comes from one of its greatest strengths--the multiple POVs. I found that sometimes a particular theme was being explored in certain POVs, and then it would be interrupted by one that I didn't want to read (even if it was important to the story. I'm selfish that way). Another thing was one of the characters herself. Not everyone is meant to be likable and everyone had some form of character growth. But this one particular character kind of pissed me off with how she treated others around her. I don't know what it is, she just really annoyed me and even at the end when she does something nice, I'm still hesitant on whether I like her or not.
I think Xander, one of the POVs, was one of the better characters in this book. While every character had a surprising depth to them, he was the one that was literally a puzzle for everyone to solve. He was the hardest one to read and it is in his developing story that the reader truly comes to understand who Xander is. Plus, he writes really good poetry.
This was a great read and I really need to sleep. Also, it was interesting to learn how close to my city this story is set in. That's two books this month set in Canada. I'm on a roll.
Happy reading!
I really enjoyed this and couldn't put it down (except for when I had to go to work, but you know, those pesky bills must be paid, so.)
I enjoyed the multiple POVs and the interesting Breakfast Club theme that Pignat had going on. It's definitely an intriguing way of writing about a school lockdown. I liked how everything kind of fit together.
While I wanted to slap some of the characters for their insensitive remarks, it also rang very true that those who don't understand fear the oddities in front of them, and/or make remarks they think are perfectly okay. Plus, these are teenagers and they're literally in a place of learning. I enjoyed watching them begin to understand both themselves and each other in a situation that dissolved any definitions of social statuses.
Also, I'm super satisfied with the ending. I was worried that this would take a turn for the expected (especially with the way some of the characters thought and acted with each other.) The conclusion itself showed a lot of character growth, even if for some it was more subtle than others.
I liked Shooter overall, and my imperfect rating mainly comes from one of its greatest strengths--the multiple POVs. I found that sometimes a particular theme was being explored in certain POVs, and then it would be interrupted by one that I didn't want to read (even if it was important to the story. I'm selfish that way). Another thing was one of the characters herself. Not everyone is meant to be likable and everyone had some form of character growth. But this one particular character kind of pissed me off with how she treated others around her. I don't know what it is, she just really annoyed me and even at the end when she does something nice, I'm still hesitant on whether I like her or not.
I think Xander, one of the POVs, was one of the better characters in this book. While every character had a surprising depth to them, he was the one that was literally a puzzle for everyone to solve. He was the hardest one to read and it is in his developing story that the reader truly comes to understand who Xander is. Plus, he writes really good poetry.
This was a great read and I really need to sleep. Also, it was interesting to learn how close to my city this story is set in. That's two books this month set in Canada. I'm on a roll.
Happy reading!
February 21, 2023
It was fine. I was excited to read it because it seemed like it would be a different angle and perspective on the harsh topic that is school shootings, but it was meh. If you want to read a powerful book that properly handles such a heavy subject I would suggest “This Is Where It Ends” by Marieke Nijkamp instead. I just felt like this book kept forgetting that a lockdown was going on and the author would be so focused on the characters trivial problems. Going off on the trivial problems, the one character Izzy is the most out of touch with reality character I have ever read. I actually could not stand her and how self absorbed she was. Like girl their is literally a school shooting happen where the shooter has your name on a list of targets and you are more upset about you shitty boyfriend cheating on you with your even shittier friend? And prom??? The girl was so worried about planning prom and people ruining it or not having a date for it. I think you should be worried if you’ll even live to see prom. Other than that one character I really did enjoy the others and the various pov’s. Like I said it was fine and a decent read but I think the heavy topics could have been handled a little bit better and the plot could have been developed more. Also if I see one more review claiming this book is a “modern day Breakfast Club” I’m throwing hands. This is actually the furthest thing because last time I watched that movie no one was in a lockdown scared for their life and safety.
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