Quad by Carrie Gordon Watson

From the Publisher

Everything led up to this moment—the point when the teasing, the cruelty, the pressure all became too much. And someone finally snapped.

Now six students, from six different cliques, are trapped in the student store while a shooter terrorizes their school. The shooter's identity is teased out through the students' flashbacks until the reader breathlessly reaches the final page. It's only there that he discovers the shocking answer to the question: Who is shooting out in the quad?

This gripping thriller by educator C. G. Watson is inspired by observations made in her own high school. Quad examines in heartrending detail how even the most casual cruelties can tear people apart.

Children's Literature

Moving back and forth between the date of a school shooting and the days leading up to the shooting, Watson tells the story of a number of different high school students: the Freaks, the Jocks, the Drama Queens, the Techies, the Preps, and the Choirboys. Within each group of students there is one or more who is hurting, either from pressures at home, or from slights, bullying, and not-so-funny-pranks at school. The Freaks are beat up by the Jocks and plan how they will get even; the Choirboys are also beat up and bullied by the Jocks, especially Christopher because he makes his crush on Stone too obvious; the Techies see all that is happening and carry their old snubs and hurts within them, waiting for revenge. Interspersed between these vignettes is a depiction of the tense morning on the quad when it becomes apparent that someone is shooting students. Who is it? It could be any of these students who is looking for revenge or is unhinged because of tension at home. The students who are cowering in the student store all have their friends' images flash before them. The shooter could be their friend. Watson keeps the tension high as the shooter is finally brought under control. Using omniscient viewpoint, Watson gives us a window into the thoughts of several of these students. We see why they are hurt, angry, or grieving, and we can visualize any one of these young people picking up a gun and going on a rampage. If this book were required reading in high school, would it change teens' behavior?

VOYA

What if the unthinkable happened? What if in the middle of an ordinary high school day, gunshots rang out and someone died? What if no one knew who the shooter was, but everyone had plenty of ideas of who it could be? Watson draws from her experience as an educator to create a vivid and realistic portrayal of the emotional and physical violence of the suburban high school. Flashbacks are mixed with scenes from the day on which an unknown shooter opens fire on the high school quad as a series of brutal events unfolds, making everyone wonder who it could be. Although the glimpses Watson offers into the hearts of six different cliques provide enough information to keep the reader guessing who the shooter is-because nearly every person has reason to snap-readers never get to know any one character enough to really care about what is happening to him or her. Cliques abound, from the 'roid-raging jock jerk to beautiful and bitchy cheerleader to body-obsessed, gay guy. Drugs, drinking, sex, and violence are rampant in the lives of these teens, with few responsible and aware adults around. This first novel is certainly thought provoking, especially for adults who might be shocked to learn what is happening right under their noses.

Kirkus Reviews

When gunshots ring across the quad, six students from disparate groups find themselves stuck in the school store together. While the premise holds appeal, the narrative fails to deliver much beyond stock cliches and a contrived plot. Indeed, chapters bear titles such as "Freaks" (skaters), "Jocks" (all on steroids), "Preps" (actually mean girls) and "Techies" (one of whom is actually a journalist). The characters with the most interesting stories are secondary, and the only one with real backstory is Stone, the bullying jock who is the likeliest shooter suspect. The fear never amounts to much and tension is maintained only by the inexplicable lack of cell phones once the shooting begins-even though students had been texting during class. Unlikable and inconsistent characters and the lack of resolution will frustrate readers who do persevere through these issues. For thought-provoking and sophisticated examinations of school violence from the inside, try Walter Dean Myers's Shooter (2004) or Jim Shepard's Project X (2004) instead. (Fiction. YA)

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