This book takes place in an Alabama high school over the course of 54 minutes, switching between four points of view. During a required beginning-of-semester principle’s speech/pep-rally type-thing, a former student locks all the exits of the gym, and then enters and begins shooting. Featuring a cast diverse in gender, sexuality and race, with exploration of how those experiences play out differently. Includes a sexual assault.
Publisher’s Description:
10:00 a.m. The principal of Opportunity 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 a.m. The auditorium doors won’t open.
10:05 a.m. Someone starts shooting.
Told from four different perspectives over the span of fifty-four harrowing minutes, terror reigns as one student’s calculated revenge turns into the ultimate game of survival.
Genre: Contemporary
Representation:
Gender:
Cis girls: Autumn, Sylv
Sexuality:
Lesbian/Queer: Autumn, Sylv
Romantic Orientation:
Not mentioned in the book. Presumed to be the same as the characters’ sexual orientation.
Race/Ethnicity:
White: Autumn
Latinx: Sylv
Trigger Warnings:
Mass shooting
Violence
Death
Sexual Assault/Rape
Ownvoices: Ownvoices for queer rep.