Three Shots

by Katy Grant

Daniel Valdez loves skateboarding with his friend, Gracie. Sometimes he even wonders if they can be more than friends. Then Gracie's mother kills her two children before turning the gun on herself. As grief counselors swoop into his high school and the whole community reels from the horrific deaths, Daniel drowns in his own pain and disbelief. What is his life without Gracie in it? As Daniel works through his grief, he'll need to find a way to move forward without leaving Gracie behind.

191 pages, Paperback

Published May 16, 2023

About the author

Katy Grant grew up in Tennessee and decided at age eight she wanted to be a writer after reading a biography of Louisa May Alcott. (But for some strange reason she never got around to reading Little Women until she was an adult.) For many years she taught composition and creative writing courses at university and community colleges. She currently lives in Arizona with her husband Eric and enjoys spending time with her two adult sons.

Reviews

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley, Rosen Publishing Group, West 44 Books, and Katy Grant for the opportunity to read Three Shots in exchange for an honest review.

Daniel loves nothing more than to hang out with his best friend, Gracie. It's no spoiler, as it is in the description and the leading aspect of the novel: Gracie's mother kills her two children and then herself.

Daniel should have known something was amiss when Gracie never answered her texts, but when the news comes at school, there is no way it can be real. After losing someone he so cares for, Daniel works his way through the stages of grief.

Counselors come to the school, but so do news reporters. People who didn't even ever talk to Gracie take their fifteen minutes of fame, which makes Daniel livid, but what can be done? His family is supportive and he soon finds the comforts that therapy offers.

This novel portrays the grief teenagers go through when they lose someone, and it accomplishes this in a brilliant way. I love novels in poetic verse because they reach their target audience in a more accessible way while maintaining the topic interest and engagement for teen readers. This is a novel I highly recommend for a young adult audience seeking a book that will make an impact and resonate with them for years to come.

[Terry]

This may be the strongest of the West 44 verse novels I've encountered. Daniel skates in suburban Phoenix with his friend Gracie; she dies suddenly. The book traces Daniel's grief, believably exploring the unthinkable from the perspective of someone enduring the worst. There were several moments of real power and I choked up at the right places. A quick read for me - 45 minutes? - might take a struggling reader a few days or perhaps a week. I'd pair this with I Heart You, You Haunt Me.

[C.H. Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

***I received a free E-arc from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review***
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This was so beautifully written and truly heartbreaking. What a stunning novel. I usually blaze through these Hi-Lo stories in a single night, but this took me a few days as I felt I had to read it in chunks to allow myself time to really process the story (and to not cry in the school carpark while waiting to pick up my own little one)
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A powerful story, of loss, grief, but also hope and recovery. This story will stick with me for a long time.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though I knew going into the story that there was a murder/suicide, it still hit me pretty hard. Within the first few pages, I fell in love with the friendship between Grace and Daniel. When that was ripped away, I felt Daniel's sadness and grief. I am happy that his character agreed to go to therapy and that he was able to help someone else, just as his therapist had helped him. A wonderful HI/LO book!

Thanks to NetGalley and Rosen Publishing Group, West 44 Books for the eARC!