The Stone Catchers: A Novel

by Morris

In a span of minutes, the lives of four members of Brickton Community College change forever when an active shooter enters the campus and opens fire. Running on adrenaline and fear, the group―a crew of students and their teacher―subdues the perpetrator in a violent frenzy that leads to the man's death. Reeling from the shock of their collective actions, the group is thrown into turmoil when they realize that the person they have killed is someone they all knew.

Narrated in alternating voices and set against the backdrop of an economically depressed Appalachian town, Laura Leigh Morris's The Stone Catchers explores the immeasurable pain and loss felt by the survivors of a school shooting. Forced to process the horror of the event, mourn, and to reconcile themselves to their newfound recognition as local heroes, the survivors grapple with the losses suffered by their community and their own actions. In the process they come face to face with the unquantifiable cost gun violence takes on not only the survivors, but the families, friends, and futures of a community fractured by tragedy.

Genres: Fiction

222 pages, Paperback

First published August 20, 2024

About the author

The Belgian author Morris (full name Maurice de Bevere) is best known for his humorous cowboy character, Lucky Luke. Morris started his career in 1945 in Le Moustique, creating various covers and illustrations. By the end of the 1940s, Morris met his colleagues Jijé, Franquin and Will. These four artists would be called "The Gang of 4", because they all worked in Jijé's studio at that time. The first episode of Lucky Luke, 'Arizona 1880', was published in L'Almanach Spirou 1947, and was later continued in Spirou. In his early 'Lucky Luke' comics, Morris was greatly inspired by animated cartoons à la Disney.
In 1949, Jijé took Morris and Franquin to the US, where Morris met Jack Davis and Harvey Kurtzman, whom he helped with their plans for Mad Magazine. He also met René Goscinny in the US. In 1955, Morris returned to Europe and collaborated with René Goscinny on 'Lucky Luke'. Goscinny wrote the scenarios of over 35 stories, which led to the great success of the series.
'Lucky Luke' is one of the best-sellers i

Reviews

[Kayla Burrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could not put this book down. The theme is darker than what I normally read, but the farther I got, the more I wanted to understand what happens to each character. Laura Leigh Morris moves beyond just the hours or days following the traumatic event, emphasizing the long-lasting consequences on the humanity of each character. Morris explores how the guilt, anger, and confusion following the event disrupts things like relationships, employment, parenthood, housing, and basic self-care-and amplifies struggles that were already present. She does so using alternating narrators, so we get multiple perspectives. The narrators aren't likable most of the time, and this is genius on the author's part. I never knew whose side I was on, and I think that's the point—they each have their own stories, even the worst of them, and as humans, they deserve the chance to grow. She made the characters so complex, well-rounded, and realistically depicted that I felt as though I knew them, like I could have been one of them. The way I found myself hating the characters at times—and simultaneously feeling my heart break for them over and over—mirrors the way the characters hate each other on and off throughout the novel, and yet are still there for each other when it counts. It is ultimately a story of community, with all its complexities and messiness, responding to a violent tragedy.

[Penny Zang · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t how to describe my reading experience except to say that I will not likely ever forget this book. Besides the clear and precise language, the characters are all dynamic and flawed in the best way possible. The story is heartbreaking and all too timely, but I am left with hope. And I am forever changed by these characters and their stories.

[Holly Waybright · Rating 5 out of 5]

I quickly became invested in the characters. The way the story explores the trauma they each experienced not only from the shooting itself but from the violence they inflicted on the shooter was thought provoking. A must read!

[Cindy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I want to start off by saying that I appreciate what the author is trying to do here. After a mass shooting, nobody hears from the survivors about how they go on with their lives. We are usually focused on the victims who were hurt or killed and their families, not the survivors. And the writing was appropriate to telling this story. But I hated every single one of the characters and I couldn’t read any more about popcorn ceilings or screaming babies. These were so over the top. And there was no external conflict to keep the story interesting. The shooting happens early on and then nothing else happens. It’s just all about how these survivors feel and cope with what they’ve done. The guilt they feel is not realistic in my opinion, and neither are some of the interactions between the various characters. This was a difficult book to get through, but again, I appreciate that someone attempted to describe how difficult it can be to be a survivor.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, full disclaimer: Laura is a dear friend of mine and and I may or may not be biased in my review (I mean, my name is in the acknowledgements, so...). But, come on. This book is so, so good. Made even better, since I know how much effort, time, and heart went into creating it.

The genius of this book is that it's not really about a school shooting (an event that takes up only a few of pages of the entire work)--it's about what comes after. We so rarely think about aftermaths--how a sudden, traumatic event can change the course of a life, or many lives, or an entire town. The characters are complex and interesting, the world is fully-realized, and the story will haunt you.

[Gary Engelhardt · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Stone Catchers is as current intriguing novel that is as current as today's headlines. Each person in the plot is dealing with PTSD issues following a tragic school event. I am a retired Clinical Social Worker who has dealt with PTSD patients and my observations are that Morris accurately details the complications that survivors deal with after a trauma. This book is a must read for school administrators, first responders to traumatic events and everyone who is concerned about teacher and student safety in our schools.

[Melissa Elston · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm still processing my thoughts and feelings after finishing. This book is powerful -- not because it "solves" the problem of gun violence in America -- but rather, because of its empathetic portrayal of trauma, decision-making under stress, and the messy process of recovery.

I found myself invested in the narrative journey of each character, even the ones I found pretty thoroughly unlikeable. (Looking at you, Miller James!)

Absolutely worth the read.

[Jamie Gregory · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the characters and their depth but wish the setting had been explored more, as well as Wayne's character (but maybe that was the point).