This Is Not a Drill

October 1, 2012
When high school seniors Emery and Jake sign up to help teach French to a class of first-graders, they have no idea that an ordinary November morning will turn into a hostage situation. Opening at the hospital in the aftermath (“We started class this morning with our lesson on French words for animals,” Emery tells readers. “And by the afternoon, three people were dead”), McDowell’s debut alternates between Emery and Jake’s present-tense narration of the events in the besieged classroom and their memories of their bitter romantic past. The gunman’s instability makes for tense and unpredictable reading, but the long sections that revisit Emery and Jake’s backstories somewhat diminish the escalating tension. And while certain elements of the story are believable, such as the need to set up a bathroom option for the children and the helplessness Jake and Emery feel, others (like Jake’s use of a classroom computer going unnoticed) are harder to buy. Nonetheless, with authentic and distinct narrative voices and a talent for unspooling suspense, McDowell establishes herself as a writer to watch. Ages 12–up. Agent: Jill Corcoran, the Herman Agency.

September 15, 2012
In this fast-paced, suspenseful thriller, two high-school seniors and a classroom full of first-graders are held hostage at gunpoint by a distraught, emotionally disturbed parent. Classmates and former couple Emery and Jake have signed up to teach French to Mrs. Campbell's first-grade class three mornings a week. One day, their lesson is interrupted when Brian Stutts, an Iraq War veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder, barges into the room and demands his son, Patrick. Stutts is having a custody dispute with his estranged wife. When the teacher refuses to let Stutts take his son, he draws a gun. A security guard appears at the door, and the startled Stutts shoots him dead. When Mrs. Campbell lapses into a diabetic seizure, Emery and Jake are left to comfort the children and placate Stutts. Despite their own fears and self-doubts, revealed in alternating present-tense chapters, the teens are remarkably composed outwardly. Their history together and personal back stories--Jake has been adrift since his mother died; Emery has a nervous condition that brings on panic attacks--help keep readers involved as the pages turn. The hours-long standoff comes to a dramatic and violent climax, but the loose ends of the story are tied up too easily. Nevertheless, a vividly depicted and gripping tragedy. (Thriller. 12 & up)

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November 1, 2012

Gr 7 Up-High school students Jake and Emery have been paired up to teach French three mornings a week to Mrs. Campbell's first-grade class. They're in the middle of a lesson when a student's father bursts through the classroom door to get his son. Mrs. Campbell cannot release the boy until she is given permission from the office, and she stands her ground even after the man pulls a gun, but when the diabetic teacher goes into insulin shock, Jake and Emery are left alone to deal with the children and the gunman. The story is told from the alternating perspectives of the two teens. It shifts between what's taking place in the classroom and memories of events in their lives, including their own failed relationship. What makes this story stand out are the discussions between Emery and the gunman, who is suffering from PTSD. He tells her about his experiences in Iraq and how they have affected his life back home. He talks about how his frequent violent nightmares have led to his pending divorce and the loss of custody of his son. Despite the fact that he is holding a classroom of first graders hostage at gunpoint, readers clearly see that he is as much a victim as the school security guard he just shot. McDowell balances the gunman's plight against his son's shame, fear, and divided loyalties. Written in a format that will appeal to reluctant readers, this first novel is an excellent choice for sparking classroom discussion.Cary Frostick, Mary Riley Styles Public Library, Falls Church, VA

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2012
Grades 6-9 It's already rough going when exes Emery and Jake are paired together to teach French to a class of first-graders. But then Brian Stutts, an Iraq War vet suffering from PTSD, charges into the class to take his kid. The teacher resists and out comes a gun, and from that moment everyone in the room is held hostage. Cops, ambulances, and SWAT teams gather, angling for a way to reason with Stutts. In alternating chapters, we discover how both Emery and Jake are processing the situation as well as their past relationship. The fact that there's a gun being waved around sometimes makes these tangents feel too leisurely, and it's also unclear how the two are able to hold private conversations inside the same room as the gunman. That said, the setup is irresistible, and McDowell's authentic handling of the confusion and fright of the class of first-graders lends the story a constant undertone of tension. Purposeful in parts, but fans of Todd Strasser and Paul Volponi will relish it.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)