Subversives

by Ellie Sharrow

So who’s the shooter? Several likely candidates are revealed while the school steels itself for a threat that seems inevitable. Surely it cannot happen here. Who are the subversives?

120 pages, Paperback

Published October 19, 2018

Reviews

[David Finger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author Ellie Sharrow, a former high school teacher from Michigan, does a masterful job in this, her debut novel. Subversives tells the story of a group of students and teachers in a high school as the school year comes to a close. The students are bound by one connection: their creative writing class. Outside of their skills and passion for writing, most share little in common. John, the sullen and moody kid with a passion for firearms. Daric, the African American student from Baltimore who plans to leave town as soon as his final class is done. Linda, the pretty but oblivious to this fact girl with a crush on Daric. Joey, the sad young man with a mom who can’t be bothered to be a parent who soon befriends John as the two share a passion in firearms, and Sam…the angry emo girl who is hiding a dark secret that she can no longer hold inside of her. You get the sense that this story is heading to a Columbine like tragedy and that tension is an underlying feature of this short book. Each page brings you closer to the coming nightmare…or so you assume. Linda’s “crush” on Daric seems so nonsensical and unimportant when you think that both might be shot in a chapter or two. Sam’s moment of courage may be for naught if, as expected, she becomes a victim of a school shooting. And although John and Joey appear to be prime suspects early on, you soon see them the way the lifelong educator Sharrow saw many of her students: and young children with numerous problems and issues in their lives but who nonetheless possess the ability to do many great and kind things. They, as almost every child does, had tremendous potential.

In the end the shooting never takes place, but in many ways that was what made the book so powerful. There was a deep and simmering tension that was ever present as these kids went about their lives. Something that, tragically, we Americans have told our youth to somehow just accept. And the characters in Subversives did just that. They went about their lives and overcame despite this simmering pot that was always just a page or two away from boiling over. To create this sort of Hitchcockian sense of dread, this uncomfortable tension that just slowly rises with each chapter, well, that is not an easy task for any writer and I feel Sharrow did it and did it masterfully. Subversives is a powerful book and one you should certainly consider checking out.

[Loren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written by a high school creative writing teacher, Subversives explores the inner life of high school students through a mosaic of scenes from their points of view and also their writings as submitted to Ms. Miller, filled out with scenes from the viewpoints of Ms. Miller and her colleagues. Set in a small town high school, where kids grow up around guns, Ms. Miller struggles to keep her kids safe after an active shooter drill encourages a threat called in to the school.

The author does a marvelous job of individualizing all her characters, then bringing them to life. I found myself reading faster and faster, desperate to make sure that they would all be okay in the end.

The book definitely didn't go in the direction I expected.

Now I hope to see a series of mysteries solved by a small-town high school creative writing teacher.

[Friscomama · Rating 3 out of 5]

While it is not listed as young adult, it might be of interest as it takes place in a high school. The point of view of school staff is featured, with concern about school shootings, and which students might have problems in their life that parents and school staff have not seen. The reader gets a view of various students who have situations they don't want to share.

The book is 109 pages. The plot moves along nicely.
There is not a lot of complexity; it does not need explanation; I don't think there are any similes or metaphors.
The paperback looks like an adult book, with a nice cover photo.
All that leads me to think of it as a good choice for Adult Learners, or Young Adults without strong reading skills, to get something easy to read with a clear story and build confidence between more challenging books.