SuitabookThis is not a drill
Rebecca McDowell
- Reading
- Consider reading together or checking in afterwards, particularly if hostage situations, guns or loss feel close to home. You could pause to discuss how the teens respond under pressure.
- Themes
- PTSD and responsibility: A soldier described as suffering from PTSD takes hostages and uses deadly force in a custody dispute. The plot links the soldier’s PTSD with the crisis, but the book’s judgement of that connection is unclear.
- Trust after betrayal: Emery and Jake’s recent break-up and damaged trust complicate their work together during the emergency. Rebuilding trust is part of the teens’ situation; how the story resolves or judges their relationship is unknown.
- Worth knowing
- The central situation involves a gun-wielding captor, hostages and deadly force; the story also includes PTSD, family problems and loss.