*I received an ARC of this book from Net Galley for review*

I couldn’t decide if I wanted to give this book 3 or 4 stars but I ultimately decided on 4 because I think it ended pretty strongly. Update: I’ve thought a lot about this book and decided to change my review to 3 stars because I just didn’t like most of the characters.

I want to start by saying that mass shootings are one of my biggest fears and I hate that they’re something that have become so normalized in the lives of Americans that they are something we have to constantly be worried about when we go out in public. This book is about a girl that is the only survivor from the room where a school shooting happens and a boy that’s mom is the defense attorney for the shooter. Both May and Zach are dealing with the trauma a year after the shooting.

I had a really hard time connecting with both May and Zach in different ways and while I felt horrible for the situations that they were in, I found them both to be really unlikable. I understand why they would be because of all they’d been through but I just didn’t really like either of them until the end. Although I didn’t connect to them, I was rooting for them to make it through their grief and I was so sad for everything they went through. I especially can’t imagine the pain, grief, and regret that May was dealing with after being the only survivor and losing her twin brother and I was hoping she would be able to realize that it wasn’t her fault.

Overall, I think the book was okay. Even though the characters didn’t click with me through most of the book, I’m glad they were going down a path of healing at the end and I hope that they’re both able to live good lives!