This book was breathtaking. I had chills right from the first page. Even from the first chapter, I could tell that it would be heavy, and difficult to read, but so interesting as to giving even the smallest of insights as to what these students and teachers were thinking and going through on that horrific Valentine's Day. Thankfully, the chapters alternated between students writing about their journalism experience, what being a journalist in the midst of the Parkland shooting meant to them, and peoples' retelling of their experiences during the shooting. So many details of this book are so difficult to wrap my head around (like how the shooting itself lasted only 6 minutes but students stayed hidden in classrooms and closets for 2 hours), and it brought so much perspective to the "tedious" code red drills we have to do at school. I truly felt nothing but heartbreak and an incredible amount of respect for the Parkland families while reading this book.

These kids make me so proud, and they aren’t even my students.

I want as many teachers and students to read this as possible. It’s heartbreaking, but it gives me hope in the future generation.

As a young person, I was born into the world of school shootings. I feel so desensitized to violence. Its just part of my reality. These strong people just like me stood up in the midst of tragedy to fight violence like that with strength, dignity, and peace. Incredibly moving.

first read:
A powerful story, there's no doubt, but there is no escaping its excruciatingly slow pace. It took me forever to read this one, though over all, I know that it is important. 3 stars

second read:

I think I'm going to bump my rating up to four stars. I reread this book because we had to choose a nonfiction book for a project in school, and with the pandemic happening I wanted something already on my shelf because shipping was even more unreliable then than it is now. I think I was picking between this and one other book, and honestly I think this one won because it had a lower page count. I should probably feel ashamed but I don't. (also, edit- the final product i had to produce was an abstract and i remembered that this book was very to the point, they said what they meant, which makes for good quotes when you don't have a lot of room for analysis.)

Reading this with a purpose in mind definitely gave the book direction for me, and it was an overall better experience the second time around, even if I had already read all the essays. Actively trying to parse out themes and essential questions and picking up quotes for status updates made sure I was constantly engaged with the text, where as upon first read, I struggled to get through some parts because I could feel my mind wandering/ I wasn't as invested.

This is also when I discovered that I actually really like writing in books, especially ones for school. I've always hated taking notes when I'm reading half because I like reading for fun and not for school, which is mostly still true, but also because I hated having to stop reading to rip off a sticky note and have it obstruct the text when I put it on the page- plus they'd always be falling out no matter how sticky it was.

But then I started using a pen and it was great! I've discovered that I love underlining important passages and sentences, starring ones I want to come back to later or even writing what analysis I could do on a certain quote in the margins so when I came looking for quotes later I already had them lined up. And also- superficially, the feeling of the pen gliding on paper never gets old. I'm reading another school book now- The American Spirit by David McCullough- and I've found it's actually fun to write things in the margins, and to and/or disagree with what he's trying to argue.

As for this book, the second reread renewed my appreciation for not only the strength the Parkland survivors exhibited then and continue to exhibit now, but the power of activism and its widespread affect. I will say that at some point both the structure of the novel and the ideas expressed in each essay did get a little repetitive and the writing seemed a little disjointed as the quality varied from essay to essay, but neither of these things put a damper on the power of the stories being told.

It saddens me to see that with each year that passes, the Parkland shooting becomes less and less a part of the public consciousness, just yet another in a long list of gun tragedies we Americans have become appallingly desensitized to. It is my hope that one day there will be no need for books such as this to be published, yet We Say #Never Again is necessary now more than ever.

The kids at Parkland wrote essays that their Newspaper and Television teachers assembled into this book. It's quite moving -- the fear and horror that the kids experienced as the shooter wandered the halls murdering 17 people, the dedication the kid put into reporting on themselves and their peers during the aftermath, including putting out a memorial issue that honored the fallen, and then how many of them felt the need to reach further. We hear from the kids that put together their movement against school violence, from local marches to lobbying state legislators to national marches.

But they are all so young! So hopeful and sure that things will change. I hope they are right. I don't believe it, though. I suspect teens will appreciate this book more than I did, as the kids sounded like kids.

CW: school shooting, gun violence, PTSD, anxiety

This book is especially good on audio as it is read by many of the student journalists (and their faculty advisors) who wrote the essays. Something that made this book stick out from other similar books I've read is that it included essays encouraging students' involvement in activism. It feels weird to give a rating to a book like this, but I tried to rate it based on how much I liked it in the audiobook format, which was quite a bit.

So I just finished this book, and despite the fact that I feel like crying, I also have a lot of thoughts.

The first surround the book itself. The fact that these students and teachers managed to write so well about the horror they went through on that Valentines Day is impressive, as is the activism they’ve pushed for since then.

The teachers, the students… They went through hell. They’re making sure everyone knows that, and they’re doing it well. As they’re finishing high school and starting college or their lives, it’s not an easy time in general. The book hits a place very close to home for me when I worry about the fact that my siblings are still in high school.

Which leads to my second set of thoughts about gun violence and mass shootings.

The fact that gun violence is so pervasive in our country. We lose so many people every year to gun violence and many more people get hurt… Particularly in communities that don’t get the same coverage as majority white communities. (And this completely leaves out the conversation on how people of color shot by the police are treated)

We see so many mass shootings that we’ve become numb for it. I’ve actually said “I’m glad school’s out. There won’t be any school shootings for a few months.”

And I can’t explain how fucked up that is.

I remember pre-Sandy Hook, but I was still in school after it. I’ve been in lock down drills where they bang on the doors. My parents didn’t have to think as much about sending me to school and worry about me getting shot. In. A. School.

Now, I jump when I hear balloons pop on a hot day. I’ve had nightmares about being stuck in these situations. I worry about my brothers going to school. Because it’s not like they haven’t had gun threats before.

Do you know how fucked up that is?

The oldest is 16.

He’s the same age as the children who died in Parkland.

I have a sister who is four.

She’s almost the same age as the children that died in Sandy Hook.

I think about how pervasive this shit is, and I think about the fact that I’m just talking about schools here, but they happen elsewhere. Places of Worship. Clubs. Concerts.

It’s been seven years since Sandy Hook this year.

It’s been twelve years since Virginia Tech.

It’s been twenty years since Columbine.

And those are just the schools.

But we have done very little to make a change here. We see other countries start making changes the next day like in New Zealand, but it’s been almost twenty years since Columbine and our national government has done very little to make it stop.

We’ve had 71 mass shootings in 2019. It’s March.

So someone tell me why we don’t fucking change.