My first piece of official #BookMail! Thank you, Turner Publishing for taking a chance on a #bookstagrammer with less than 2,000 followers. I appreciate it! And what a book to get!

I think this book stands out for what’s not in it. No Earth-shattering twist. No ghosts. No sci-fi storyline. No childhood trauma. No coming-of-age. No “gotcha” moment. Just the stories of fictional-yet-still-relatable people dealing with an all-too-real issue: a mass shooting.

Hooper’s deft ability to capture the authentic voices of the humans on all sides of this tragedy—the victims, the relatives of the victims, the injured, the mother of the shooter and yes, even the shooter—is quite something to read. While some people only get a chapter (the victims “speak” in a single chapter that leads up to their death and we get one chapter that shares the content of the shooter’s angry journal entries), others get more, with the focus on three women—Joyce, the mother of the shooter; Tessa, the bartender at the bar where the shooting happened; and Angie, the wife of a man who was injured and is now in a coma. Hooper tells the story of how these women cope with the trauma. Each character is complex and Hooper expertly shares their fears, joy, sadness, and questions. As with everything in life, nothing can be tied up with a neat bow, but life goes on after tragedy and the humans here grow, survive, suffer, and heal as best as they can with time. Hooper tells the stories of these women with authentic, open-ended, and hopeful grace. Highly recommend.

I will say, if you’re looking for a “beach read” or an “escape” book, this is not it. But when you’re in the mood for an affecting, powerful, character-driven story that offers a glimpse into what could ideally be a slice of true American life, this is it. This is an engrossing story told by a talented writer who is adept at sharing the human experience, good and bad.

Thanks again to @Turnerpub for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.