“Columbine” is a strong book that really gets into the heads of the people who were not specifically involved in the infamous school shooting. No matter if the students involved were wounded or were in the classrooms waiting for the reprieve, anyone involved in this national tragedy was affected in a way where their lives will never be the same.

The author, Dave Cullen, told the story incredibly well. Cullen specifically went through the plot of the day and beyond, the evidence the police found, the commotion in and out of the school and so much more, which kept your attention throughout the book. What makes Cullen a great writer is that he describes the story with all five senses instead of just explaining it to you. His ability to use sensory details gives you the feeling that put you in one of the students’, teachers’ or parents’ point of view. What people saw from the inside and what people saw on the outside really brought the story full circle.

I wish there was more about the shooting and less about how the people felt about the situation. The author could have summarized how the general public felt, and not have gone into detail on what all of the students and parents felt individually. This was the only thing that became very repetitive and lengthy in the book. It became very hard to motivate myself to keep reading and to finish the book.

There are many events that can relate us to Columbine, which is very sad to say. Writing of dramatic books like this one would hopefully stop the cause of school shootings, especially with how Cullen presents the situation and how it affects everyone. Perhaps reading this book might cause awareness to others about mental instability.

If the point of the book was to inform people about the incident and how it affected the entire community then Cullen did his job and was very informative in the process. If the point was to also explain the lives of the shooters and the psychology tests that it took to get in the heads of the shooters without them physically being there, then I believe the author could have explained even further about the lives of the shooters previously before the incident, which is why I gave “Columbine” four out of five stars. I just wish there was more detail behind the shooters and their families lives.