Review - Red Heart Tattoo by Lurlene McDaniel

Red Heart Tattoo by Lurlene McDaniel

Series:  N/A

Publisher:  Delacourte/Random House Children's

Published:  July 24, 2012

Pages:  224

Edition:  ARC

Source:  eARC from Netgalley

Summary:

At 7:45 a.m. on the day before Thanksgiving break, a bomb goes off at Edison High. Nine people die instantly. Fifteen are critically injured. Twenty-two suffer less severe injuries. And one is blinded. Those who survive, struggle to cope with the loss and destruction. All must find new meaning for their lives as a result of something they may never understand.

Lurlene McDaniel's signature expertise and finesse in dealing with issues of violence, death, and physical as well as emotional trauma in the lives of teens is immediate and heartrending.

Review:

PLOT: I love books about high school shootings. Maybe it's because of the fact that I remember Columbine, and the dramatic impact it had at schools around the country. Anyways, this is a typical school volence book. Nothing really surprising or out of the ordinary happens in it. I did enjoy it none the less. Personally I have never read a Lurlene McDaniel book, as her books have always seemed corny and very "Nicholas Sparks" like. This books gives up the perspectiveof different high schoolers who were affected by the tradegy. And I loved that each story is kind of it's own story line while still intermingling them to the others.

CHARACTERS: As far as characters go, they were OK. I didn't really feel a connection to any of them personally, but we can't win 'em all. I think each character took the situation for what it was, without being to overly dramatic and sad. I liked that McDaniels wrote them realistically, some whiney and others brave.
I'm really glad I got approved for this galley, as I was very skeptical of this author. While I probably won't be picking up her overly sad books everyone knows her for, I will definately keep an eye out for other books like this one, if she writes more "mature" stories.