Please Pay Attention hits you like a ton of bricks. It’s a profound novel-in-verse that makes you look beyond the “typical” student experience during a school shooting.

The story unfolds from Lucy’s first-person point of view. Born with cerebral palsy, Lucy uses a wheelchair. It’s something that already makes her different, and when the shooting happens, she can’t get down when the rest of the class huddled on the floor. After, she can’t let go of the moment, can’t let go of her teacher’s death, can’t let go of not being there for the “little” from kindergarten that she mentors.

Please Pay Attention is loosely based on the shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville in early 2023. Author Jamie Sumner was friends with the head of school there who was killed. Please Pay Attention is Sumner’s call to action.

Sumner’s respectful treatment of the subject is heartfelt and thoughtful. While not gratuitous, she does not shy away from the actual shooting. In the moment, Sumner focuses on the fear, confusion and desperation to find loved ones. Later, those feelings shift to profound sadness, anxiety and anger. And through it all is a calming layer of hope that helps pull readers through Lucy’s experience.

Please Pay Attention is a quick read — I finished it in a few hours. It’s a story of empathy and resiliency and it’s a book that I wish never had to be written. As a mom, it both broke my heart and made me angry. Nonetheless, it’s a beautiful and necessary read.

Technically this book is well-written and engaging, keeping the reader going along with Bea as she experiences and recovers from a school shooting. Content-wise, this book is so powerful and and important and emotional and everyone should read it. We talk about gun violence and shootings all the time (unfortunately) but I don't think I've ever heard anyone talk about what it means to be disabled in a situation like that. I appreciate the obvious care that was given to this story, especially knowing Sumner has personal experience with losing someone in a school shooting- the fact that she was able to write this is, frankly, incredible.

Having said all that, I think everyone should read this and I think it is appropriate for kids and adults alike.

Bea is an eighth grade student, at a small school that pairs each middle school student with an elementary school student; her Buddy is a girl named Josie, who has emotional problems that make going to school difficult. Bea is doing her best to help Josie, and Josie seems to be getting better - not so nervous about being at school.

Bea was born prematurely, which caused cerebral palsy, and adopted by the NICU nurse who cared for her after her birth - who took a job as the school nurse at Bea's school, so she could be nearby if Bea needed her. One day, Bea needed her more than ever, when a shooter entered her school - and Bea, in her wheelchair, couldn't get down when the rest of the class huddled on the floor. She finally did manage to get down, but only after everything was all over. Except it wasn't over; the "After" had only just begun.

This novel, based loosely on the shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville in early 2023, is written in blank verse, which highlights the scattered nature of Bea's thoughts during and after the shooting. It starts ten days before the shooting, and continues for six weeks after, taking the reader through Bea's experiences and reactions, her inability to deal with what happened, and her mother's attempts to help her, which include horse riding therapy, for both the trauma and her cerebral palsy.

This story hit home for me, in ways I hadn't expected. As a retired middle school special education teacher, I've taught students in wheelchairs - students who, like Bea, couldn't get down from their chairs for drills, who would need to be hidden in a corner, behind a cupboard, or anywhere else they might be less conspicuous should a shooting actually occur, because they couldn't get out of their chairs without help, and one teacher (and maybe an aide) couldn't get the child down safely while also getting the rest of the class safely onto the floor, in the corner not visible from the doorway. These students, and their parents, are universally terrified about the additional risks they face - not just in a school shooting, but also for other emergencies; there's nothing quite like being told to park a student in a wheelchair in view of a large window in case of a fire, and leave her there, because it's not safe to use the elevator, and her spastic cerebral palsy would make it dangerous to try to carry her down the stairs (yes, that really happened to me - and more disturbingly, to an 8th grade student).

This is a difficult book to read, because while it is fiction, it is an issue that is very near to the thoughts of staff and students. It would be valuable for students who have survived such an event, and also for any child who was part of an event they couldn't control, and who feels responsible for the outcome. I would suggest that, if it is read by a child who has experienced this type of trauma, it should be read with an adult the child can discuss the novel with. For children reading it alone, who have not experienced similar trauma, I recommend it for students in middle school and older, both because of the content, and because reading blank verse can be very difficult for people not accustomed to it.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book provided by Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

WOW! Jamie Sumner does an incredible job of handling a very sensitive topic. A school shooting occurs and Bea is in a wheelchair...what is she to do? The tragedy, the process of healing, the grief, the small moments. I was not prepared for this book, but know how necessary it is. Kids need to read this book, adults need to read this book just as much. Tragically beautiful.

Please Pay Attention follows Bea as she navigates the grief of a school shooting. The book takes us through the days and hours leading up to the tragedy and the healing that happens after.

Bea is an eighth grader with cerebral palsy who struggles to overcome the feelings of helplessness she had as her classmates took cover while she sat in her wheelchair when a gunman opened fire in her school. Jamie Sumner painted such a vivid picture of the fear, grief, and healing Bea undergoes throughout the book.

Written in verse, Please Pay Attention, was heavy and hopeful in the way that only middle grade can be. This one of those middle grade books that I would recommend to absolutely everyone!

Thank you to Netgalley, Simon & Schuster, and Libro.fm for the advanced copies of this book.

“Please Pay Attention” - Jamie Sumner

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

When the shooting took place at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012, my son was 6 years old and in kindergarten. This shooting shook me to the core and literally broke everything inside of me. 13 years later, I still remember those beautiful innocent 6 and 7 year olds who lost their lives that day due to gun violence, along with the school staff; which included a Special Education teacher. My daughter at the time was only 4 and was not yet in school, however, she is special needs and while reading “Please Pay Attention” I was able to relate to Bea, who has Cerebral Palsy. While my daughter has a different condition, children with special needs react differently under certain circumstances and the thought of my child being in a room feeling helpless, not knowing what to do, breaks my heart. I’d be lying if I said I never worry about there being an active shooting at my children’s school. Every time I hear about a school shooting, my mind goes straight to my daughter’s EC classroom, because they’re considered an easy target and it frighten’s me, especially knowing the location of her classroom from the outside. It breaks my heart every time a parent loses a child to school gun violence, because this could have been my child/children. My heart goes out to all parents/families who’ve lost children and/or loved due to gun violence at their school; a place where they should be safe.

“Please Pay Attention” is a children’s beautiful novel dedicated to Katherine Koonce who put her life on the line for the children of The Covenant School on March 27, 2023 when unfortunately, herself along with 3 students and 2 additional staff lost their lives to gun violence. The novel follows the life of a young girl named Bea who has Cerebral Palsy, who lives as best of a normal life as she can, until there’s an active shooting at her school. Afterwards, the novel follows her grief process and finally her healing process. The novel allows you to feel what Bea is experiencing and why she feels the way she does, especially being a child who is special needs and uses a wheelchair. She goes through so many emotions throughout the novel, but grief takes times and there are many ways to heal that brokenness that’s being felt inside your soul; which then it takes time to heal and get back to where you once were.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the eARC of Jamie Sumner “Please Pay Attention.”

This book was beautiful, heartbreaking, and everything in between. It calls attention to the important issue of gun violence in our schools. It’s become so prolific that my child is homeschooled so she doesn’t have to deal with a school shooting. I wish some lawmakers would read this important story and get a clue finally.

Bea has already had her share of challenges and is living a good life in a comfortable routine when tragedy strikes at her school. Confined to her wheelchair due to cerebral palsy, the 6th grader must wrestle with the helplessness she feels in the aftermath. This novel in verse is poignant and realistic with lots of heart. A gentle way to approach a very scary subject. I do recommend it with a caveat - Be sure to read it yourself when you add it to your collection, so you’re prepared to discuss it with your students.

I have always felt that books and other media surrounding school shootings are important, so when I found this book, I gravitated towards it. Please Pay Attention does not disappoint. Bea has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, and when she survives a school shooting, she learns to process all of her emotions and move forward in her own way. This book is a fast read since it is written in verse, but the impact of the book will, I'm sure, be felt long after people finish reading.

5/5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free ARC in exchange for my opinion and review!

I've read several books about school shootings and none of them are easy to read. This one made me think about things I'd never considered before - being an able bodied person. How terrifying it would be to be in Bea's position.

This book was powerful and had just enough of everything to know that she'll be all right but she'll never be the same.

Rating: 4/5 Stars
Pub Date: 4/15
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This made my heart race for the fear that must go through the children's but also the parents' minds. As a mom of a toddler who will soon enough be school aged, this is one of my biggest fears.
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This is a quick read as this is written in verse. I think it's a very important book for middle grade readers to read. This deals with acceptance of disabilities in many different forms. In this case it focuses on PTSD and the therapy for it but also being wheelchair bound. The idea of acceptance but also finding that outlet to express those big feelings is super important and I think that this was a great book that shows middle graders exactly how to do that.
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I read this in a matter of one sitting. It's a super-fast read and very impactful. It's one that I will be thinking about for a long time. Be sure to check this one out! Huge thank you to NetGalley, Jamie Sumner and Simon and Schuster Publishing for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is one I would recommend to everyone. It follows a middle schooler before and after school shooting. She has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair and realized that she couldn't follow the directions of "just get down" when the unthinkable happened at her school.

This book is told in two parts where we get before the shooting and after the shooting and we see bits and glimpses of bea's life before and how she slowly works to heal afterward. This book has a lot to offer and is nuanced enough that it's appropriate for kids yet serious enough that adults also need to read this.

Queer secondary characters

6th grader Bea Coughlin has survived the unthinkable, but that doesn't mean she's been able to move past it. She's can't get beyond the school shooting, experiencing the helplessness she felt, trapped in her wheelchair, paralyzed with fear. She can't talk to Max, her adoptive mom, and she doesn't want to talk to a counselor. It's when she tries equine therapy that she finally begins to find her voice once more.

In turns sweet and devastating, a novel written in verse from the perspective of a middle school student. I think this will be a great practice in empathy for students, and a reminder that kids are able to do things, even when they feel hurt or helpless.

Wow! I loved this book. It covers a very serious topic and even though it is written perfectly for the middle grade level, I feel everyone could benefit from reading this book. The main character is in a wheelchair and there is an active shooter at her school. I was pulled into the story by the range of emotions the main character went through. I can’t wait to get a copy for our school library. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this advanced reader’s copy

One of those books that will stay with you a long time after reading. Just all the feels. As a mother, this book broke my heart. I loved the inclusive perspective of a young girl with cerebal palsy, it was a point of view I had never thought about before. Nobody ever wants to think about these tragedies, but the awareness of how Bea, the main character, experienced this traumatic event as a differently-abled child was so moving that it forces you to feel her fears, her helplessness, and her survivor's guilt.

Novels in verse always hit me different (i.e. Jason Reynolds "Long Way Down"), and this one was no different. It was stay with me a long time, of that I am sure. I cannot even put to paper the emotions I felt in reading it, so I hope this is enough encouragement from me to highly recommend this difficult, but necessary, read.

Thank you to Jamie Sumner, NetGalley, and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing | Atheneum Books for Young Readers for the digital ARC of "Please Pay Attention". Mission accomplished.

My goodness, what a book. I wish stories like these weren’t necessary, but they are and this one, even in the sadness and grief, was so beautiful. Bea, a young girl with cerebral palsy, survives a shooting at her school and realizes more than ever how much the world isn’t built for her. A novel in verse, we follow Bea in the before and after of the shooting as she navigates through her grief, frustration and eventually her courage to speak out. I loved Bea so much. She was silly and vibrant and I really enjoyed her friendship with Josie and her relationship with Max. I liked seeing her slowly find her way back to herself, especially with horseback riding and how the book showed that healing isn’t linear. I think this is such an important book and I loved the author’s note at the end.
CW: school shooting, grief, child death, injury, ableism, medical content

Thank you to NetGalley, Simon Kids and Atheneum Books for Young Readers for an advanced reader’s copy!

This book had me sobbing the whole way through. I had to put it down and walk away a few times because of how emotional it made me. I teach and live in a district that experienced a school shooting, and I knew this would be a difficult book to get through. That being said, Please Pay Attention tackled the topic of school shootings in a sensitive way. It truly captured the pain, emotions, and healing in the aftermath of these events.

Fresh off reading and cried a little in my office :) I feel like this is well written and might be helpful before a school shooting, sadly enough to help people see what kids might think afterwards. It was sensitively and thoughtfully written. I like the use of equine therapy, wish I weren't allergic to horses so that I could!

Jamie Sumner tackles the deep trauma caused by a school shooting in her newest book Please Pay Attention. I hate that there are even books that have to deal with this. I can't even imagine what that would be like. Even though Sumner is an excellent writer I feel like this book would still be too heavy for young readers to process and deal with. I applaud her for tackling it though.

This was not my usual read but an important one. It gave me all the feels. This was a touchingly tragic story that followed Bea, an 8th grader with Cerebral Palsy, as she navigates grief, trauma, and loss from a school shooting. This story follows her before and after the tragedy.

I found the novel and verse form of Jamie Sumner’s writing to be very touching. This story at times was light and uplifting and other times dark and tough. I loved how you truly could feel and got an understanding of Bea’s feelings and struggle. This was a very touching and thought provoking read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atheneum Books For Young Readers for the eARC of Please Pay Attention. All options are my own. #NetGalley #PleasePayAttention