This Is Not a Drill

When high schoolers Emery Austin and Jake Willoughby become hostages, along with the first graders in the class they're tutoring, they must learn to work together—a task made more difficult by the messy breakup they've been through. Because Brian Stutts, an Iraq veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome, is denied custody of his son due to an impending cutody battle, he holds the class hostage. The children's fate is in the hands of the two teens, who must find a way to trust each other again. Told through Emery and Jake's viewpoints as they try to calm to terrified children and the dangerous gunman, the novel portrays the volatile situation with sensitivity and balance. Teens will identify with the main characters who are thrown into an impossible situation— and with the antagonist, who is also a victim of the hidden damages of war. (Ages 12 and up.)