October 26, 2012

Review: This is Not a Drill

This is Not a Drill By Beck McDowell
Available now from Nancy Paulsen Books (Penguin)
Review copy

Beck McDowell doesn't shy away from big subjects in her debut.  In THIS IS NOT A DRILL, an armed veteran comes to an elementary classroom looking to take his kid out of school early.  The completely awesome teacher tells him he needs to follow procedure and refuses to just let Brian Sutton take his son away - leading to Sutton taking the class hostage.

THIS IS NOT A DRILL is told through the alternating points of view of Emery and Jake, high school seniors who tutor the class part time.  They've very clearly got a past - Emery dislikes working with Jake and is mad at him for some reason.  The exact details unfold as the two work together to protect the kids.  Jake, I would say, has a more dynamic character arc than Emery, but both are fairly stock characters.  But THIS IS NOT A DRILL isn't about their character growth, so it doesn't matter that they're pretty thinly drawn.  It's a thriller with a decent-sized helping of political commentary.

McDowell puts little kids in danger, which both ups and lessens the tension.  It's scarier because no one wants little kids to get hurt and the kids are terrible at behaving and not angering the upset gunman.  They need to go to the bathroom, they can't sit for too long, they get into fights.  They're kids.  But it's less scary because I never felt that McDowell would actually transgress convention and kill one of the kids.  Only the older characters felt like they were in danger.  (McDowell also gives the death count at the beginning, which definitely makes it seem like the kids will be fine.)

As for Sutton, he's suffering from PTSD and clearly didn't integrate well into civilian life after his tour and Iraq.  His wife definitely has grounds to divorce him and go for full custody, and he definitely overreacts, but McDowell still makes a decent point.  Soldiers not getting the psychological support they need after spending time fighting a war is a real problem.  At the same time, the message of THIS IS NOT A DRILL is delivered in such a ham-fisted manner that I literally cringed while reading.

THIS IS NOT A DRILL is a surprisingly quick and easy read, given that it's about a school shooting.  There are some really clever moments, as the teacher, Emery, and Jake try to get help without Sutton noticing and hurting someone.  And I did hope than none of them would be included in the final body count, no matter how unlikely that seemed.  But what could have been a taut thriller went off the rails every time it started to harp on PTSD and the government's responsibility to soldiers.  It's even a point I agree with, but it just kept killing momentum instead of being folded into the action.  THIS IS NOT A DRILL is an okay read, but ends up being more forgettable than hard hitting.

6 comments:

  1. This sounds interesting, especially the aspect of exploring PTSD. I couldn't agree more that the lack of appropriate psychological care given to veterans is a huge problem. I'm disappointed to read that this message is delivered in such a heavy handed way, though. That really bothers me in fiction. Excellent review!

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    1. I don't think anyone likes heavy-handed messages. But the trouble is that it's hard to deliver one without being preachy. I do appreciate that McDowell tried.

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  2. Too bad about the heavy 'message' - that will keep me away from the book (well, that and if I know a book is going to be traumatic I tend to procrastinate to the nth degree). It sounds like you gave it a very fair reading, though - thanks for sharing your thoughts!

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    1. I wouldn't say it was traumatic, in the end. Hopefully McDowell will improve in future books - this is her first novel.

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  3. Finally I know what this book is about!! Interesting.. um, now I am not sure if it is my thing or not lol :P But it does sound interesting and good and I love when there are psychological traumas and diseases in books :) I love to see how the author describe them :P I think it's a psychologist thing :P :P Great review Liviania! :) :)

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    1. If you're into psychology in books you'd probably enjoy this one.

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