This review was originally posted on Lauren Reads YA. Click the link to read the full review (with pretty book photos!). 
 Trigger warnings for this book: violence, death, shootings, Emetophobia 
 I don't know why I'm so intrigued by such disturbing subjects, but for some reason, I was really excited to read this particular one, about a school shooting. Partly because the cover and the naked hardback are beautiful, partly because the author is Dutch, partly because I had its book launch and signing event on my schedule. 
 The setting was a bit hard for me to picture, as a non-American. I would have thought the author, being Dutch and all, would have described the place better. All I knew was what I've seen in those terrible teen shows set in high schools. I actually had to Google what a high school auditorium looks like, and even then, the image in my head kept changing. 
 As Marieke Nijkamp is a member of the We Need Diverse Books campaign, it's no surprise that her 4 main characters are wonderfully diverse. We get characters of colour, disabled characters, LGBTQ+ characters, and all of those combined. With some characters it felt a bit forced, with others it was so subtle that I almost didn't notice. 
 Some characters I really grew to love. I was even a bit sad when things happened to some of them, but it wasn't quite cry-worthy to me. They just weren't as developed as I need them to be for me to cry at their pain and suffering. 
 I felt like the characters often did stupid things that were portrayed as brave rather than actions that might make the situation more dangerous. Sure, the things they did were brave, but also really fucking stupid. 
 Overall, I would recommend this book if you like reading contemporaries about tough subjects, or if you want to pick up more diverse reads. It was good, but it wasn't mind-blowing and didn't make me emotional, so that's why it's getting 3 stars.