Surviving American History

This book releases in October and was a good quick read. Once I started it last night, I could not stop until I finished it. The story (told in verse) is about a girl who moves across the states the day before a school shooter kills everyone in a class that she should have been in. She is left with survivor guilt all while trying to find her place in a new town and school.

Gabi is furious about her parents divorcing and moving her away from her hometown, her friends, and her school. But on the day she moves away, a shooter opens fire on Gabi's old school, killing her American History classmates. She knows she should have been in that classroom. Now Gabi has to navigate a new school and new social circles, while dealing with a looming dark cloud of grief, survivor's guilt, and fear. She meets impulsive troublemaker Lennon, who might just understand her dark side, or may pull her deeper into it.

This was a strange one? Half novella, half poetry but full of poignancy and deals with a very important current topic; school shootings and the impact it has on those who are left behind.

We experience the aftermath of a school shooting from the perspective of teenager Gabi who is also coming to terms with the breakup of her parents’ marriage and being shipped halfway across the country.

At times heart wrenching at others lacking depth this was an interesting read but for me it was just missing that little sparkle to really get the feels going.

#bookreviewsbymrsc #survivingamericanhistory #maxhoward

Gabi couldn't know that on the day her mom moves her from home after a divorce he former classmates experience, dan die in a school shooting in the American History class she should have been sitting in. But that happens and she's left with the grief and the survivor's guilt. She should have been there, she might have been able to help, she could have stopped it.

But life goes on and it's a life she's not exactly thrilled with. Her mom's new boyfriend is a bore. Living in Maine-boring. But Gabi needs to find an escape from her thoughts and she just might have found it in a new classmate, Lennon. Can they escape the past together?

Told in verse, this is a super quick read. Set for release in October, I highly recommend this one. Gritty read about survival and recovery!

I have read quite a lot of this type of Hi Lo books before and truly enjoy them.These books are also quite short, so you are not committing to reading a really long, involved, meandering read. In fact if you want a short read, or a book to get you out of a “reading rut” then I highly recommend them. Hi Lo stands for High Interest, Lower reading age. I think it is great that there are books to encourage those who perhaps don’t read as much or didn’t get the love of reading whilst younger.

The cover of this book is quite dramatic and really is a snapshot from within the story. It’s literally the view through the Godey High School window, with the gun shot holes in the windows. Also looking inside into the classroom at the pupil’s desks. This cover would make me pick up the book from a bookstore shelf to learn more about it.

The main character of the book is Gabi, a high school student who is packing up her things to leave her current school as her mother has a new boyfriend, Jason, and is moving them to Maine to be with him. All the other students are in class and Gabi is reminiscing at her best friend Ava’s locker that smells of lemon lotion. Gabi is sad and knows she will truly miss Ava and some of the other high school students too. Gabi will even miss her American History teacher too, who happens to be Mrs Lin, Ava’s mother. To say Gabi is unhappy about leaving her school, friends and job teaching yoga is a bit of an understatement, but it is not her decision, it is her mothers. First Gabi’s mobile phone rings and then her mom’s but they are in the middle of nowhere without a decent mobile network signal. Then there’s an announcement over the radio about a shooting at Godey High, it’s the class Gabi would have been in had she not been moving to Maine. It’s the American History class that Mrs Lin (Ava’s mom) would be teaching. Then a familiar voice comes over the airwaves, it’s Gabi’s best friend Ava. Ava’s voice talking via her mobile phone is being broadcast on the radio.

The book goes on about who has died with names being read out on the radio, Gabi desperately listening to the radio, mentally ticking of the names of her school friends. Gabi is continually trying to reach her best friend Ava. Ava would not be in the American History as she didn’t take that class but Ava’s mother Mrs Lin is the teacher of the class and her name has not been mentioned on the radio. Gabi asks, pleads and begs her mom to turn around the car so she can go back and be with her friend. However, Gabi’s mom tells her they are on a tight schedule and they do not have time to go back. Gabi’s best friend Ava is dealing with the school shooting by shutting out Gabi, so Gabi has to concentrate on fitting in at her new school and starting her own life whilst she waits for Ava to reply to her many calls and texts.

When Gabi does start her new school, she badly misses her friends so when bad boy Lennon starts paying her attention, she soon joins him on ever increasing dangerous and outlandish escapades.

I read this book in just one session from beginning to end! It’s full of trauma, survivor’s guilt, acting out, coming-of-age, along with the confusion and pain of her parents divorcing, dealing with her mother’s new relationship, and moving……all these scenarios add up to making this an amazing story. I loved the interactions and the way Gabi & Lennon are drawn to each other and begin sharing their inner most feelings with each other, their guilt and depression about being “the one that survived” separated from the ones they need and miss the most.

This is a terrific book about a young woman who, by utter chance, the whims of her mother, isn't present at school the day her history class is targeted by a student with a gun: he kills most of her fellow students. Gabi struggles with survivor's guilt and being the new kid, and it's only when she meets another outsider student, Lennon, does she begin to deal with her trauma. But parents and teachers are wary of this friendship, not understanding their own children and students. I really enjoyed following Gabi's journey in this book--she felt very real and complex, and the approach--a blend of poetry and prose--is an ideal way to tell this story.

This one definitely gripped me right from the start. I read it in under an hour, as I needed to know how it ends. I personally struggle with many of the same issues Gabi does, and I feel they were handled well here. This book wasn't as deep as I expected it to be, though. I think the format (verse) made for a much better reading experience for this topic. I do wish it was a bit longer.

I was able to read this arc. I gave this book four stars because I felt like things were missing and that is just ended.

The main character is the only survivor from her History class, when a shooting occurs. She survives because she was moving that day. It deals with some powerful issues. I think you could have some wonderful discussions but I felt that important pieces were missing.

Surviving American History
by Max Howard
West 44 Books
Literary Fiction | Poetry | Teens & YA
Pub Date 01 Oct 2021


I am reviewing a copy of Surviving American History through West 44 Books and Netgalley:


Gabi is furious that her parents are divorcing, forcing her to have to leave her hometown her friends, and her school. But on the day she moves away, a shooter opens fire on Gabi's old school, killing her American History classmates.



Gabi knows she should have been in that classroom too. Now Gabi has to navigate a new school and new social circles, while dealing with a looming dark cloud of grief, survivor's guilt, and fear.


Soon Gabi meets impulsive troublemaker Lennon, who might just understand her dark side, or may pull her deeper into it.


I give this powerful, often heartbreaking lyrical novel five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of Surviving American History in exchange for an honest review.

Surviving American History is a hi-lo book meaning it's meant to be high interest for it's target demo (YA) while also requiring a lower reading level to enjoy. It's also written in verse which makes it a shorter-than-average read so if you're a reluctant reader, this is perfect for you.

I was so, so hesitant going into this. School Shooting books tend to either be fantastic and introspective or feel exploitative of real-world tragedies so I was pleasantly surprised at how Max Howard uses this book's tragedy to kickstart the plot without spending a lot of time trying to use it dramatically or exploitatively. I got a lot more invested in the protagonist and her personal journey than I though I would and think this was brilliantly done.

I thought the premise of this hi-lo verse novel was very interesting. On the day she moves to a new neighborhood, a shooter opens fire on Gabi's old school and kills everyone in her former American History class. Gabi is forced to deal with survivor's guilt from far away, which complicates the healing process, especially with her best friend, Ava. The shooting happens moments after Gabi says goodbye to her old school (a opportunity perhaps missed here to have her encounter the shooter, think something was off, but then walk away instead of saying something or going to the authorities) and she is stuck traveling across country while the tragedy unfolds. The author uses anadiplosis in each poem, where the last words/phrase in a poem becomes the title of the next poem. This is an interesting technique, but I felt it may have been more powerful sprinkled throughout the book rather than with every poem. The content and characters are relatable, and I'd recommend this book to struggling teen readers looking for stories about how to move forward from trauma.

This book was a prime example of how trauma can affect us, and that it affects everyone differently.

Told in verse, we follow our main character who has survivor’s guilt as she tries to navigate the aftermath of the shooting. This author does an excellent job at portraying events in a way that is realistic, and easy to follow.

Strong writing, interesting topics. It was super well fleshed out and interesting, definitely worth reading if the topic interests you