When Dave Cullen's "Columbine" came out, just ten years ago this past April 6--can you believe it???????--I read it, and was riveted. It felt like being there, and the entire history of the tragedy, from the victims to shooters families, the planning and execution, were laid bare for all of us who were not there to take in.
As soon as I heard about him coming out with a book on Parkland, I knew I had to read it!
Just to recall, the incident known as Parkland, took place on February 14, 2108. Valentine's Day!!!!!!!!! Great, huh?????????????????? The shooter was 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, who fired on teachers and students at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School, from which he had been expelled the year before.
One reason I recount this is because Cruz, his background, motives, or outcome, are nowhere mentioned in this book. The tragedy is described through the eyes of those who were there, and then the book morphs into an almost how to on student activism. Many of the survivors, including Emma Gonzalez and David Hogg, demonstrate how they did not want to be remembered as another Columbine--whose twentieth anniversary, darlings, is this Saturday!!!!!!!!!!-- so they formed the MFOL (March For Our Lives) organization. The rest of the book details the students' experiences, leading, guiding, or simply participating in this organization.
Energy at this age is indefatigable--I remember having it, myself, but when nervous breakdowns, grades slipping, and inattention to AP courses took its toll, one could feel sympathy for these kids, who were in way over their heads but persevered. Cullen gets it all down, objectively, leaving the reader to admire both him and the kids.
I was glad to move on to something lighter after "Parkland," but I would not have missed reading it. My activist soul was stirred. There is something out there I need to do.
I just have to discover what!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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