Review: That's Not What Happened

That's Not What Happened by Kody Keplinger
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I've seen other novels by Kody Keplinger; The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend, Shut Out. I've always thought they looked interesting, but I've never gotten around to reading them. I'll be changing that at my first opportunity. Kody is amazing.

It's a sadly current book, the story of a school shooting from the point of view of the survivors. As I write this, the Texas shooting is still in the news. By the time the book publishes, it'll be some other shooting.

The book is mostly from the POV of Lee, a teenager who was shot at, but not physically injured, during a shooting rampage in her school. A legend has built up around one particular victim, Lee's best friend, causing townsfolk to harass and abuse another survivor who tried to correct it. Lee knows the truth and is finally ready to come forward, but it's not going to be as simple as she thinks.

I started crying within a few chapters and never really stopped. This is an incredible book, heartfelt and real, showing a range of coping mechanisms used by the six survivors - forgetting, faith, happiness, ignoring, medication and alcohol. Each choice is treated and right for that person, although the alcohol user stops during the course of the novel, and no one is demonised for how they cope.

My only tiny problem, and it's very common across a lot of media, is that while initially a couple of the survivors were against Lee's plan, in the end they all came around and agreed it was for the best. Why couldn't they have dissenting opinions that were right for them? However, I see this a lot and it's not by any means a deal breaker.

I also loved that Lee is asexual. It's comparatively rare still, but gaining ground and it's nice to see. It's great to have books to recommend to people, especially like this when it's not a major focus, just a part of who she is.

A fantastic read. I'll definitely be trying more by this author.


Receiving an ARC did not affect my review in any way.

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