This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp

The starter gun shatter the silence, releasing the runners from their blocks.

Track season starts in a couple weeks, but no one has told Coach Lindt about winter. He's convinced that the only way to get us into shape is to practice- even when my breath freezes right in front of me. 

Published by Source Books Fire in January 2015

Pages - 281

Summary

10:00 a.m.

The principal of Opportunity, Alabama's high school finishes her speech, welcoming the entire student body to a new semester and encouraging them to excel and achieve.

10:02 a.m.

The students get up to leave the auditorium for their next class.

10:03

The auditorium doors won't open.

10:05

Someone starts shooting.

Told over the span of 54 harrowing minutes from four different perspectives, terror reigns as one student's calculated revenge turns into the ultimate game of survival.

****

You hear about the events in this book happening. They occur a lot more than they should, especially over the last few years. But actually reading about it and seeing the unfolding events from the perspective  of the characters involved, really brings to life how terrifying this type of situation must be. One minute you are just a normal kid, trying to get through high school, worrying about the small things in life, the next you are hiding from a bullet that could kill you within seconds.

The book is told from various few points but only covers the hour that the shootings took place in. So from the start, it is extremely quick in pace and you find yourself reluctant to put the book down.You quickly invest your hopes and energies in to the characters, desperate to make sure that they will survive the massacre. 

Each character involved shows how tight knit the community are, making this whole situation seem even worse. You don't expect someone you love and have cherished to shoot a member of your family, like shooting ducks at the fair. 

I think the author captured this scenerio with such accuracy and authenticity, it's actually quite scary. Not once did I feel the story was unbelievable or ridiculous. It all felt so real. My knuckles stayed brilliant white through the whole book as I gripped the furniture in fear. 

My heart goes out to Sylv and Autumn. What these two went through would be enough to have you committed to a hospital. How do you come back from some a dramatic experience? How do you pick up your life and move on?

This book really raises the question about having fire arms in the home and how dangerous and life threatening it can be. 

It hard to say you enjoyed a book like this, but it is so well written. It is just such a harrowing story, however definitely one that needs to be read. An explosive debut from an author to look out for in the future.