Silent Alarm

Unforgettable and poignant, this young adult novel is a powerful exploration of the depths of loss and the unyielding pursuit of healing in the wake of a school shooting.

“A moving, insightful treatment of a difficult and timely topic.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Wow, what a book . . . the story of a school shooting from the point of view of the shooter’s sister . . . gripping from the very first sentence.”—Todd Strasser, author of Give a Boy a Gun

Life changes in a second . . .

Seventeen-year-old Alys Aronson’s life used to be about a lot of things: violin practice, her schoolwork, and lounging in the warmth of her boyfriend’s welcoming arms. But none of that matters anymore—not after what happened in the library that day. Not after her brother, Luke, walked through those doors with a rifle in hand and a deadly plan no one could have predicted. He spared her, though she’ll never know why, but killed fifteen others before turning the gun on himself.

Alys now lives in the aftermath. As the media descends upon her small town, poking around for answers and branding her brother a monster, Alys tries to piece together all that she didn’t know about Luke, searching for answers of her own—how could the brother she loved do such a thing? The answer, when it comes, is not what Alys expects, leaving her to find another way to make sense of who she is after all that Luke has done.