After Anderson
Aftermath of a Tragedy
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- $0.99
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- $0.99
Publisher Description
The day that Anderson brought a gun to school was the day Aly's life changed forever. Her fellow classmates were murdered right before her eyes as her former best friend embarked on the deadliest high school massacre since Columbine. Now, nearly two years later, Aly sets foot in the halls that nearly cost her her life for the first time since the shooting, ready to face her demons.
Unanswered questions linger, anxiety abounds and flashbacks are frequent as Aly struggles to understand how Anderson could've mercilessly gunned down her friends and classmates and how she's not only going to forgive him, but herself as well, for the role she might have played in influencing his actions.
Was she to blame? Did she have blood on her hands? Could she have done something more? Could anyone have done anything more? Aly sets out to find the elusive answers to just that as she also attempts to rebuild the life that was shattered by gunfire that otherwise quiet Friday morning nearly two years prior.
Customer Reviews
You should not miss this one!
What a timely and thought provoking book. Too often in the wake of school tragedies we hear so much commentary by the tv talking heads (we rarely see their full bodies) and politicians who do little to nothing to effect some real change. The tragedy falls out of the headlines until the next occurs. But what of the victims, their families and friends who are reminded of it EVERY DAY and then again sent right back to living those exact moments when a new tragedy comes down the barrel.
Jamila Mikhail’s AFTER ANDERSON tells the story of the best friend (Aly) of the perpetrator; someone from whom we rarely hear. What bullying led up to this ultimate act of betrayal, the incident itself and how she learns to pick up the pieces of her life and relationship with Anderson. Brought along by VERY wise twin sisters she meets on her return to classes on the campus and their wonderfully crazy cast of characters, we see Aly come to grips with what happened and dissect her relationship with the friend she had in Anderson.
This story also offered me some hope as we see members of the town also realize that the shooter was also a victim, albeit in a different way. BRAVO to Ms. Makhail for a job very well done!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.