No Right to Remain Silent: What We've Learned from the Tragedy at Virginia Tech by Lucinda Roy

No Right to Remain Silent: What We've Learned From the Tragedy at Virginia Tech by Lucinda Roy, 325 pages

The month of April has many reasons to mourn and give thought to the major school shootings in American history and how they may have been prevented.  Columbine seems to me to be the first major school shooting in American history that people will never forget.  However, my mind always wanders to Virginia Tech.  The Virginia Tech Massacre happened on April 16, 2007 and as of now was one of the worst mass shootings in recent history.  It is hard to fathom how one young man could commit such a horrible crime. 

I wanted to find out more about the shooting and I discovered this book by Lucinda Roy, the former Chair of the English Department at the time of the shooting.  Although, she was not on campus that day, she does detail the path of the shooter.  What is unique about this book is Lucinda actually taught the shooter, Seung-Hui Cho and worked so very closely with him.  His writings alerted many in the English Department to the signs of mental illness that he displayed.  Lucinda tried to encourage him to go to counseling, and she warned others of his unstable thoughts.  This book is a wake up call to America to watch for the signs in potential school shooters and what our responsibility is to try and stop these incidents.  The author points out many flaws in the system and what can possibly be done in the future to prevent such acts.

People Kill People by Ellen Hopkins

People Kill People by Ellen Hopkins, 428 pages

I could tell by the cover this book may be controversial, but I really had no idea what the book was about and how Ellen Hopkins would deal with gun violence in today's society.  The book follows six teens all connected either by family or friends.  Their relationships are complicated.  Each one has been touched by violence and abuse.  But, how will it end?  In a shocking ending, the trigger is pulled.  Who will be the victim and who will pull the trigger.  Guns don't kill people.  Guns just make it easier, even for a child to do it.

A Mother's Reckoning: Living In The Aftermath Of Tragedy by Sue Klebold

A Mother's Reckoning: Living In The Aftermath Of Tragedy by Sue Klebold, 305 pages

One of the most tragic school shootings happened at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999.  Sue Klebold is the mother of one of the shooters.  On that day in April, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris walked into their school armed with bombs and guns intending to do the most harm they could do to their fellow classmates.  It was a tragedy.

A Mother's Reckoning is an account of what Sue Klebold has gone through in the past 16 years of her life.  Her account starts on that fateful day when she receives a phone call from her husband urging her to come home.  Fearing her son was one of the victims, she was in denial when she found her son was possibly one of the shooters.  Her account of what follows is chilling.  She tries to convince herself that her son in no way could be responsible for his actions and that rather he was a victim of brainwashing or drugs. We all thought of what was going through Dylan's and Eric's minds, but what about the parents who have to live with the aftermath of what their child has done.  Sue and her husband faced over 30 lawsuits in the years to follow.  Sue also had to return to her life and the person she once was.  Not only was it a fact that her child had killed others, but that her child had committed suicide.  This book will make you think and run to hug your children.

Newtown: An American Tragedy by Matthew Lysiak

Newtown:  An American Tragedy by Matthew Lysiak, 264 pages

I am not sure words can express how this book touched me.  This is the first detailed account written on the murders at Sandy Hook Elementary School. December 14, 2012 changed the world forever.  I remember how I felt the moment I heard about this shooting on the news.  It was one of disbelief.  I felt the reports must have the numbers wrong.  How could one individual murder 20 students and 6 educators in only 2 classrooms.  The first accounts identified Ryan Lanza as the shooter and Nancy Lanza as a teacher at the school.  That made a little more sense.  The shooter had probably gone to the school to kill his mother who had possibly been one of the teachers at the school.  My immediate thoughts were who could possibly shoot 20 innocent 6 year olds?  Who is so cruel and heartless?

Details began to come in.  That day we found out it was Adam Lanza who committed the crime, but not before first shooting his mother, Nancy, in the head at their home.  What Matthew Lysiak writes is taken from numerous accounts of that tragic day.  This book is extremely well written, one of the best I have read in years.  It is shocking and chilling.  It is written with extreme sensitivity to the lives of the children that were lost that day and to the families who lost loved ones.  Words cannot describe how I was moved by the details of that tragic day.  He details every step Adam Lanza made that day.  The author pieces everything together for the reader from Adam's childhood until the very end of his life.

Adam Lanza's upbringing was not typical.  He was a very troubled child stemming not from just being autistic but also from suffering from mental illness.  He was also very troubled by his parents divorce, which Nancy Lanza received a large amount of alimony, close to a quarter of a million dollars.  The book also details Adam's passion for the military, guns, and violent video games from a young age. His mother took him shooting from the age of four and encouraged his passion for shooting.  Nancy also purchased all his guns for him.  The book paints her as a devoted mother, but also a mother who was very troubled by her young son's behavior. I just could not help asking myself throughout the book if she new how troubled her son was why did she continue to keep buying him guns and leave him alone for days while she was away on spa vacations?

I for one was changed by this tragedy.  It affected every parent who sends their child to school believing they are safe.  Sandy Hook Elementary did everything right.  The school was secured and had a buzzer system, but that did not stop Adam Lanza from entering the school; he shot his way in. The school went on lock down, although some classrooms did not have locks, the teachers were trained on intruder alerts.  I also believe if it happened at Sandy Hook, it can happen anywhere. I also pray that an event so horrific as this never happens again.  One last note of irony, in the book it was written that first grade was probably one of Adam's more happier school years.

 

The Golden Chance by Jayne Ann Krentz

The Golden Chance by Jayne Ann Krentz - 342 pages

I listened to this book on audio after having read it several years ago.  You could definitely tell it was a romance from the early 1990s with the social agenda pushed by the characters in the book.  It was very heavy-handed with its message of gun control, social welfare, and more.  The language was also pretty dated with some slang words that are no longer used.  Still, I enjoyed listening to the story.