How do you put yourself back together when it seems like you've lost it all? May is a survivor. But she doesn't feel like one. She feels angry. And lost. And alone. Eleven months after the school shooting that killed her twin brother, May still doesn't know why she was the only one to walk out of the band room that day. No one gets what she went through--no one saw and heard what she did. No one can possibly understand how it feels to be her. Zach lost his old life when his mother decided to defend the shooter. His girlfriend dumped him, his friends bailed, and now he spends his time hanging out with his little sister...and the one faithful friend who stuck around. His best friend is needy and demanding, but he won't let Zach disappear into himself. Which is how Zach ends up at band practice that night. The same night May goes with her best friend to audition for a new band. Which is how May meets Zach. And how Zach meets May. And how both might figure out that surviving could be an option after all.

- Goodreads -

The Lucky Ones by Liz Lawson is a powerful story of the aftermath of a school shooting. We follow a girl, May, who's brother past because of the school shooting. This story is really about May and hows she's handling her life. What her grief looks like. I do have to say that I really like how Liz Lawson wrote May, she feels real; she is angry, guilty, overwelled. Her feelings felt real, not over the top, not pushy, but real. Like, if I were in her shoes, I would feel the same way she is. I was surprised by the relationship between the characters, going in I thought it was going to be more about the shooting, but it's not, it's about May's and her current relationships. It's about the people in her life now, old and new people, and her leaning to continue her life. This story is also about judging people because of their parents. We meet Zach and his mother who's defending the shooter who killed May's brother. We seem how people can judge people because of other people in their lives, and I enjoyed how Liz developed that role. I really enjoyed Zach's relationship between him and his younger sister, I always down for a good sibling plot. Overall, this is a moving story that I haven't read anything like this. It really made me stop and think that this is something we have to think about & deal with in today's world, that shatters my heart. I can't wait to read more by Liz.