Book Review - After by Francine Prose

School shootings like those at Columbine and Virginia Tech are terrifying, and the fictional catalyst in this captivating and often frightening book by Francine Prose. A school shooting has occurred at Pleasant Valley High. In the aftermath of the shooting, nearby Central High School hires a grief and crisis counselor, who is hellbent on preventing a similar incident at Central. Slowly, changes are made. First, no one can wear ANYTHING red to school. That includes the red AIDS awareness button that a girl named Stephanie wears to honor her dead brother. And one day Stephanie doesn't return to school. Tom and his friends are worried about the changes, which at first seem to just pose an inconvenience, but take on a more sinister tone as days go by. Daily assemblies, metal detectors, locker searches, random drug testing....every day the students' freedoms are being taken away and school is beginning to feel like a prison. Soon, students are being shipped off to boot camp, supposedly to cure them of their bad behavior before they turn into the next school shooter. But the students never return, and the parents don't seem to mind. In fact, it seems like the daily e-mails from the grief counselor are brainwashing all the parents. Tom realizes he must take action, before he is the next one shipped off.

I thought this book started off a little bit slow, but once you get into it, it is like a roller coaster ride right through the very end. Evil principals, mind control, paranoia--they all make for a great read!