I enjoyed this book for a couple of reasons. First of all it takes place in Iowa and for some reason I always get excited when authors mention a place I know! Most of the action takes place in a made-up town, but many of the descriptions of places and people would fit many small Iowa towns. The second thing I liked is the way Gudenkauf told the story in the voice of several different characters. Jodi Picoult does that a lot too. That way I know exactly what the character is thinking! The main location in the book is the school in this small town. A gunman has walked into an elementary classroom. The whole school goes immediately on lock-down but the gunman knows exactly which classroom he wants - the third-grade classroom of Mrs. Oliver. I loved her character. She is getting ready to retire after 43 years. That day, the last before spring vacation, Mrs. Oliver does something she has never done before. She wears a denim jumper with rhinestones in the shape of a rainbow. She hated it and thought it most unprofessional. But that morning her husband had insisted that she had to wear it because one of her students had made it for her and had been expecting to see her teacher happily wearing it at the beginning of the week. Other characters include Meg, the Sheriff. She is in charge of the situation even though it hits close to home. The only reason her daughter wasn't in Mrs. Oliver's classroom that morning was because her ex had insisted on having her early for the spring break. In the classroom is a kid named P.J. . He hasn't been here long. He and older sister Augie have been staying with their grandfather after their mother was burned badly at their home in Arizona. For a small community there seemed to be a lot of names that came up as a possibility for the gunman! I must stop rambling.....I liked it!
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