That's Not What Happened by Kody Keplinger

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 384

Publisher: Hodder Children's Books 

Released: 28th of August 2018

It's been three years since the Virgil County High School Massacre. Three years since my best friend, Sarah, was killed in a bathroom stall during the mass shooting. Everyone knows Sarah's story--that she died proclaiming her faith. 

But it's not true. 

I know because I was with her when she died. I didn't say anything then, and people got hurt because of it. Now Sarah's parents are publishing a book about her, so this might be my last chance to set the record straight . . . but I'm not the only survivor with a story to tell about what did--and didn't--happen that day. 

Except Sarah's martyrdom is important to a lot of people, people who don't take kindly to what I'm trying to do. And the more I learn, the less certain I am about what's right. I don't know what will be worse: the guilt of staying silent or the consequences of speaking up . . .

What I Have to Say 

An interesting read with Keplinger exploring a whole new side of the school shooting narrative, showing the survivors three years on, all with different versions and secrets about what happened that day in their school. 

To start with, I don't think anyone has done a narrative about the survivors so long after the shooting. I found it really interesting to see how they'd got on with their lives and the coping strategies they had taken to help them get through the trauma of it all. It showed how long these things linger around, but also how the survivors have gotten on with their lives, finishing school and going to university. In a lot of stories, the narrative stops before this can really be shown, so you don't see much of the survivors going back to their lives and moving on. 

I also really liked the fact that the name of the shooter was never stated. It was a powerful move and a powerful comment about how in this sort of situation, the shooter ends up getting talked about more than anyone else. How the victims are overshadowed by people trying to explain away the motives with stories of bullying. This is a story that puts the story into the survivors hands. It's told by them and either though they each have different truths, different recollections of the events, it is clear that it's their story. 

It was a sad story in many ways, showing the trauma, the effect on the community and the grieving of the families, but it also is incredibly interesting and political, going deep into issues that I haven't ever seen addressed in fiction before. The way they've gone into the way the media can change what happens when it tells the story for various reasons and the effect that can have on the survivors who's voices have been taken away. 

This is definitely a story that will give you a lot to think about. 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Hodder for providing me with this copy for review.