A lone gunman stalks the corridors of Stonesmere, randomly killing those before him. Marty Ward is a pupil at the school and witnesses her mother being gunned down before she is able to escape the wrath of the shooter: Rowan Sullivan. There is a media frenzy, and a group of outsiders known as The Truthers, or conspiracy theorists, have the audacity to claim that the event never actually happened. In the midst of all this there is doubt as to the authenticity of Marty’s recollection of the events, and questions about the shooter and his association or not with the school and its pupils. At the heart of this book is a community in mourning, a community that must accept this dreadful happening before it can heal, and learn to live again.
What I did enjoy about “One Day” was the feeling of fear and sadness, the tension, even suspicion that permeated each chapter…who could be believed? The author explores the various accounts in an attempt to establish the truth, and to try to understand why a lone individual would choose to act in such a manner. What I did not enjoy was the fractured storytelling, the constant movement of events before, during and after the incident, and the rather abrupt conclusion. However, having said that, I applaud the directness of the language, and the use of different narrators to tell the story. Thank you to the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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