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mandyc1977's review against another edition
3.0
3.5..... I wanted to like this book more. The poems beginning each section were beautiful and thought-provoking. The stories....a bit less so.
It was a good premise, the idea of three novellas combined into one book was good. However, the writing was overly simplistic. I almost gave it a pass because it's a YA novel but I've read some gorgeous, beautifully written YA novels.
I wouldn't NOT recommend it but, also, I wouldn't recommend it
It was a good premise, the idea of three novellas combined into one book was good. However, the writing was overly simplistic. I almost gave it a pass because it's a YA novel but I've read some gorgeous, beautifully written YA novels.
I wouldn't NOT recommend it but, also, I wouldn't recommend it
brooke_review's review against another edition
2.0
Having been in high school myself when Columbine happened, and observing firsthand how that incident forever changed how schools are run and students interact with each other, I've always had an interest in books involving school shootings. Bryan Bliss's Thoughts & Prayers is one of the newest titles in the genre to explore the aftermath of a school shooting and its effect on three students.
Claire has moved away from her hometown where the shooting occurred, but finds she is having difficulty adjusting to her new school due to the past trauma. Eleanor brazenly spoke out about the gun violence at her school, but is now paying the consequence of sharing her views. And Brezzen has been hiding away at home since the shooting, lost in a world of Wizards & Warriors, a role-playing game. All three students witnessed the shooting firsthand, and hid under a staircase together, but are now dealing with the reverberations in their own way, which is told in three separate parts in Thoughts & Prayers.
While Thoughts & Prayers had some insightful bits, I found the book overall to fall flat and be void of emotion. As a reader, I felt distanced from all of these characters, and never really got a firm grasp on how the shooting affected them, nor what the experience was like for them - all we are shown is how they are now. Sure Bliss touches on these topics, but not in a meaningful way, making this book less impactful than it could have been for such a charged topic.
Additionally, I found Thoughts & Prayers to be biased and left-leaning. Guns are bad and at fault, Christians are strange and out of touch, and Republicans are rednecks and extremists. I didn't care for Bliss's obvious prejudice toward a collective people who hold a certain set of beliefs, and was disappointed that all three parts of his novel presented such people in the same way. His story would have held more depth and provided a wider lens had he wrote one of his characters to have come from a conservative family. As it stands, I found his novel to lack perspective.
Claire has moved away from her hometown where the shooting occurred, but finds she is having difficulty adjusting to her new school due to the past trauma. Eleanor brazenly spoke out about the gun violence at her school, but is now paying the consequence of sharing her views. And Brezzen has been hiding away at home since the shooting, lost in a world of Wizards & Warriors, a role-playing game. All three students witnessed the shooting firsthand, and hid under a staircase together, but are now dealing with the reverberations in their own way, which is told in three separate parts in Thoughts & Prayers.
While Thoughts & Prayers had some insightful bits, I found the book overall to fall flat and be void of emotion. As a reader, I felt distanced from all of these characters, and never really got a firm grasp on how the shooting affected them, nor what the experience was like for them - all we are shown is how they are now. Sure Bliss touches on these topics, but not in a meaningful way, making this book less impactful than it could have been for such a charged topic.
Additionally, I found Thoughts & Prayers to be biased and left-leaning. Guns are bad and at fault, Christians are strange and out of touch, and Republicans are rednecks and extremists. I didn't care for Bliss's obvious prejudice toward a collective people who hold a certain set of beliefs, and was disappointed that all three parts of his novel presented such people in the same way. His story would have held more depth and provided a wider lens had he wrote one of his characters to have come from a conservative family. As it stands, I found his novel to lack perspective.
peregrine22's review against another edition
3.0
This book covered such an important topic and it was shown well, but the execution of the book definitely could have been better. The only character I connected with at all was Eleanor, and I felt like all the characters' stories all seemed extremely unfinished. It felt only like a collection of short stories about a character I barely got to know and the character development was bad because it was so obvious. I read this because I really liked the blurb and the title but besides that it was quite meh
dont_look_now's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
lazygal's review against another edition
3.0
Essentially this is three short stories, linked by the fact that all three were students in a high school when there was a shooting incident. How all three deal with the aftermath and how they heal (or not) doesn't follow the same template, which feels very real. But because these are such separate stories the quality is different and (IMVHO) the editing could have snipped here and there, as well as perhaps linked them better.
eARC provided by publisher.
eARC provided by publisher.
itsdianakelly's review against another edition
4.0
The title of this book is what grabbed my attention. “Thoughts & Prayers.” How sick are we of hearing that phrase every time there’s a school shooting? “Thoughts and prayers to the family. We’re not going to try to do a literal thing about gun control, but I’m so sorry this happened to you!” “Thoughts and prayers to the family. We cannot BELIEVE this keeps happening, especially since we’ve done absolutely NOTHING to try to stop it! Such a shame so many children have to die, but this is America and we have the right to bear arms! We love our guns and we deserve them! I love my gun so much I want to shove it up my ass!!!!”
I digress.
(Sorry, can you tell I hate guns?)
Anyway. This book is split into three different perspectives. Claire, Eleanor and Brezzen. By the end, we realize their stories are all connected. They all hid under the same stairwell during a shooting at their school. Each character’s trauma plays out in different ways.
Claire, clearly suffering from PTSD, moved away with her brother and tried to put it all behind her. Her trauma was very apparent and I had a hard time connecting with her because of it. Well, not because she was traumatized. Of course she was? Due to the third person narration, I couldn’t gleam much about her personality, so she kind of fell flat for me. I was intrigued by her new friends, but we didn’t get to know them as much as I’d hoped.
Eleanor was the most interesting character to follow and I vibed with her the most. After the shooting, she started making shirts that read “FUCK GUNS!” and wearing them to school every day. The school board and teachers weren’t really doing anything to address gun control,the emotional trauma that countless students were facing, and the severe harassment that was happening to Eleanor because she dared to speak out (GASP. No way?) They wanted her to stop protesting and “making a scene.” Eleanor’s perspective really fit into the title “Thoughts and Prayers.” I would’ve loved to read more about her journey. I would have also loved to throw most of the adults in her life into an active volcano due to their lack of empathy. :)
Brezzen took a year off from school after the shooting and threw himself headfirst emotionally into Dungeons and Dragons. This was how he learned to cope. Every person in his real life became a character. He carried around his die (Dice? Die? There’s an actual D&D term for it but it’s slipping my mind, oops) and had to roll for initiative every time he was faced with a decision. He eventually goes back to school and reunites with some old D&D pals. Brezzen is easy to root for and I enjoyed his character.
I think this is an important book. I think I would’ve liked it more if it was just one perspective because I feel like I didn’t have enough time to fall into the character’s brains, but it was still good. They all took different paths to heal (some healthy, some unhealthy) which made it very realistic. School shootings need to be taken seriously. Changes in gun control NEED to be made. Books such as this one can spark the conversations we need to get the ball rolling. Thoughts and prayers just aren’t going to cut it.
Thanks to Greenwillow Books and Netgalley for sending this ARC to me in exchange for an honest review.
I digress.
(Sorry, can you tell I hate guns?)
Anyway. This book is split into three different perspectives. Claire, Eleanor and Brezzen. By the end, we realize their stories are all connected. They all hid under the same stairwell during a shooting at their school. Each character’s trauma plays out in different ways.
Claire, clearly suffering from PTSD, moved away with her brother and tried to put it all behind her. Her trauma was very apparent and I had a hard time connecting with her because of it. Well, not because she was traumatized. Of course she was? Due to the third person narration, I couldn’t gleam much about her personality, so she kind of fell flat for me. I was intrigued by her new friends, but we didn’t get to know them as much as I’d hoped.
Eleanor was the most interesting character to follow and I vibed with her the most. After the shooting, she started making shirts that read “FUCK GUNS!” and wearing them to school every day. The school board and teachers weren’t really doing anything to address gun control,the emotional trauma that countless students were facing, and the severe harassment that was happening to Eleanor because she dared to speak out (GASP. No way?) They wanted her to stop protesting and “making a scene.” Eleanor’s perspective really fit into the title “Thoughts and Prayers.” I would’ve loved to read more about her journey. I would have also loved to throw most of the adults in her life into an active volcano due to their lack of empathy. :)
Brezzen took a year off from school after the shooting and threw himself headfirst emotionally into Dungeons and Dragons. This was how he learned to cope. Every person in his real life became a character. He carried around his die (Dice? Die? There’s an actual D&D term for it but it’s slipping my mind, oops) and had to roll for initiative every time he was faced with a decision. He eventually goes back to school and reunites with some old D&D pals. Brezzen is easy to root for and I enjoyed his character.
I think this is an important book. I think I would’ve liked it more if it was just one perspective because I feel like I didn’t have enough time to fall into the character’s brains, but it was still good. They all took different paths to heal (some healthy, some unhealthy) which made it very realistic. School shootings need to be taken seriously. Changes in gun control NEED to be made. Books such as this one can spark the conversations we need to get the ball rolling. Thoughts and prayers just aren’t going to cut it.
Thanks to Greenwillow Books and Netgalley for sending this ARC to me in exchange for an honest review.
shorterthana6thgrader's review against another edition
4.0
I was a bit hesitant to read this book simply because, as an educator, school shootings are a possibility in my line of work. I went in blind, hoping for the worst and I was pleasantly surprised!
This book was gut-wrenching, hopeful, sad and full of redemption. I think Bryan did an excellent job at really encapsulating the fear and paralyzing effects of living through an unspeakable trauma! We got to see the change Claire, Brezzen and Eleanor went through emotionally, mentally and physically after such a tragedy and what was so heartbreaking was that I felt their pain!
As far as introducing this book into my classroom or recommending it to students, I don't know if I would put too much focus on what caused the trauma but the power in feeling all the feelings, seeking the help and not letting something hold you back. People move on and life goes on but it's okay to take the time to invest in yourself to heal and to grow from those terrible experiences.
The beauty that unfolded in this story was the path each of the characters took to heal. In their own time, they each starting healing through therapy, role playing and being a voice for the voiceless!
This book was gut-wrenching, hopeful, sad and full of redemption. I think Bryan did an excellent job at really encapsulating the fear and paralyzing effects of living through an unspeakable trauma! We got to see the change Claire, Brezzen and Eleanor went through emotionally, mentally and physically after such a tragedy and what was so heartbreaking was that I felt their pain!
As far as introducing this book into my classroom or recommending it to students, I don't know if I would put too much focus on what caused the trauma but the power in feeling all the feelings, seeking the help and not letting something hold you back. People move on and life goes on but it's okay to take the time to invest in yourself to heal and to grow from those terrible experiences.
The beauty that unfolded in this story was the path each of the characters took to heal. In their own time, they each starting healing through therapy, role playing and being a voice for the voiceless!
charireads's review against another edition
3.0
So disappointed with this book. I expected it to be so much more.... I feel like it’s a missed opportunity. Oh, and I feel the author could make his point without Republican bashing.
i_love_you's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
eleanor’s story was 5 stars
rebar351's review against another edition
2.0
I picked up this book because I wanted to learn how how survivors cope after a school shooting but sadly the stories just didn’t connect the way I thought they would. I found myself only liking some characters stories instead of others and just created some disconnect throughout the stories!