Beyond Broken Pencils

A School Shooting Tale of Heartbreak and Healing

By: Julie C. Gilbert

Narrated by: Curt Bonnem

Length: 5 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

He has a goal and a plan. If he carries through with the plan, his sister will die first. His ex will die next, and he will die last. In between, he’ll take out as many people as he can. Students. Security guards. Teachers. First responders. They are all fair game.

Who will live, and who will die? How will those who live go on when their world is shattered by unthinkable tragedy?

©2018 Julie C. Gilbert (P)2019 Julie C. Gilbert

Insight vs understanding

This book is worth the time to listen and provides good insight into the reasoning and mindset of a troubled teenage boy. The author does an excellent job of presenting him simply as what he is. A teenager who is solving his problems with a gun. He has no complicated thought processes and his end goal is juvenile and as simple as a competition. Part of trying to understand why these shootings are happening is first understanding that the shooter is a child as well. The question is not why did he do this, it is why was this the solution to the problem.

The reason I only gave the overall story 3 stars is based on the authors complete lack of understanding of an evacuation and triage system. As I read the parts pertaining to police actions I was cringing as it was clearly written as if taken from the breaking news reports. Bumbling cops, one go in alone, two wasting time playing with communications. The swat team evacuating while there was still active gunfire! EMT’s demanding to enter the building when shooting still active, expecting PD to set up, direct, and manage triage and transport of the injured???? What a backward mess! The Author needs to do a bit of research for a better understanding of how first responders work

A story of a school shooting

A sad but excellent account of what can occur when a school shooting happens. This should be read or listened to by all of us, to help us to be forewarned and ready to help some of those in need before it is too late.

Blames violent video games

The author seemed to blame violent video games as one of the motivations for his school shooting. This perpetuates a lie that politicians and the uninformed believe, when no correlation exists between violent video games and acts of violence.

good

I totally enjoyed reading this book. It’s well written and the characters were fantastic. I would suggest this book to my friends that like this sort of genera. this was an excellent book

Wow

I picked this book because I thought would be interesting. and different. And I wasn't wrong. This book was crazy! I grew up in NJ around the time of Columbine. I think I was in like 7th grade when that happened. It was the school shooting that started all school shootings. I remember how much fear happened because of it. This book brought back a lot of memories from that time. But I did really enjoy reading/listening to this. It was very well written and it did what a good book is supposed to do. It brought a bunch of memories and feeling to the surface. The narrator was awesome also. I definitely recommend it

This one blew me away.

This book was awesome. I really enjoyed the book. The book was the story of a school shooting. It was told several points of view. The only disappointment was that at the end, it seemed to stray away from the shooter and seemed to focus on one of the survivors. But overall I enjoyed the book. I was given a copy of this audiobook in exchange for a review.

Hits to your heart & soul

The narrator was very easy to listen to. I found the book to be one that hits to the very heart & soul for all those involved with such horrific actions. It’s a huge reminder of how fleeting life can be, and that the thoughts of another can truly go from just thoughts to action without anyone noticing before it’s to late.

Heartbreaking & Tragic

This story was riveting. Once the audiobook started, I couldn't draw myself away until it ended. The story featured a boy who made a plan and fixed a goal to take out as many people as he could, starting with his sister. The story was heartbreaking. The story was tragic. This story reflected events that have been seen in America's national news. As I listened to the audiobook, I couldn't help but wonder, when will school shootings stop being news? Curt Bonnem's narration was great, and his performance reflected the seriousness of the subject. I was given a free copy of the audiobook, and I have voluntarily posted this review.

WOW. Stayed up till 5 am to finish this.

Amazing. Sad. Wow. Just wow. This is so well written and narrated. I've never felt so many emotions from a book before.

Very thought provoking

Being a high school teacher previously I found this book to be both thought provoking and scary. I understand all too much what these kids go through daily at home and at school. This book made me feel as if I was living this journey along with the characters. I highly recommend every parent and teacher read it to understand the emotional journey some kids go through. Thank you!