This Is Not A Drill by Beck McDowell

This Is Not A Drill by Beck McDowell
Release Date: October 25, 2012
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 224

Summary: When high school seniors—and former couple—Emery and Jake find themselves held hostage in a first grade classroom, they must do all they can to protect the kids. Brian Stutts, a U.S. soldier suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after serving in Iraq, pulls out his gun to convince the teacher to hand over the son he’s not allowed to check out because of a custody battle. The situation turns deadly when a security guard appears at the door and Stutts impulsively opens fire. When the teacher is carried from the room, the children's fate is in the hands of Emery and Jake. While Jake searches for a way to communicate with the policemen surrounding the building, Emery, fighting her shyness, fear, and POTS symptoms, tries to reach out to the soldier. She gains a new understanding of what he faced in Iraq, and discovers remarkable strength in his small son.

My Thoughts: This Is Not A Drill was a pretty intense novel. It deals with a very serious subject and is very emotional.

We are introduced to Emery and Jake who had a rough breakup. Jake made some mistakes and Emery hasn’t forgiven him, and she plans on not forgiving him.

They are paired together to teach students at a elementary school. Just had to be karma that they get put together and have to work together as partners.

One day while at the elementary school, one of the children’s dad Brian comes in demanding to take his son out. The teacher encourages him to sit down and talk this out, but he refuses to listen. Brian has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from serving in Iraq and he is always on high alert to his surroundings. He takes the kids hostage and won’t let anyone go. Brian has gotten himself in quite the ordeal and he doesn’t know how to stop it or change things.

Gosh, this book was pretty frustrating for me. I liked it, but I felt like I was reliving the story over and over again because we are basically just getting to know him and what he went through. It was hard to stay focused because I just wanted him to let everyone go.

I get it, I do. He just wanted to take his child home and be able too. His wife had been having problems with him and was wanting a divorce. Brian is going through a lot after coming back. But I can understand why he can't take poor Patrick with him.

I loved seeing things from Jake and Emery’s point of view. This Is Not A Drill switched back and forth so we could see things from each side. We could get into the characters heads and know what they were thinking. I also liked seeing all the different sides of the children. Each one was so unique.

The ending, ouch. Can’t help but want things to end differently.

I liked this novel, I did. I just didn’t like it as much as I had hoped.

Overall: Probably more of a 3.5 cupcake novel for me. I did like it a bit more than a 3 but not quite as much as a 4. It’s always hard to rate these kind of books. This Is Not A Drill is an interesting look at how this could all go down. And I was so proud of both Emery and Jake for being so brave.

Cover: Like it. Think it fits perfectly, even the school desk. Very nice cover.

What I'd Give It: