Week 12 Prompt
For your prompt this week, please complete the Readers' Advisory Matrix, found on the last page of the reading title "RA Guide to Nonfiction," about a non-fiction book you have read.
Readers' Advisory Matrix on No Easy Answers: The Truth About Death at Columbine by Brooks Brown and Rob Merritt
1. Where is the book on the narrative continuum?
I would consider the book to definitely be a mix of highly narrative moments and periods of fact-based prose, with the more narrative moments written in Brooks's perspective and the fact-based moments written by Rob since he is a journalist.
2. What is the subject of the book?
The book focuses on Brooks Brown's friendships with both of the Columbine massacre perpetrators and the aftermath of the shooting. Brown also touches on his friendships with Rachel Scott and Daniel Rohrbough, who were two of the thirteen victims in the shooting.
3. What type of book is it?
The book is filed under true crime in the Dewey Decimal system (373.78882), although there are also some memoir components to it as well.
4. Articulate appeal.
No Easy Answers: The Truth About Death at Columbine is varied in pacing, as I found the first half to be paced quicker than the second. The "characters" of the book include Brooks Brown, his family including his parents and brother Aaron, and various friends including the perpetrators, Rachel Scott and Daniel Rohrbough. The book feels very intense given the content that is covered, and it draws the reader in to the story. Obviously, Brooks Brown has every intention of sharing his personal memories of his experience of the Columbine High School massacre on April 20, 1999. He focuses mainly on the background of his friendships with the Columbine perpetrators and where he stands as far as knowing that they were very obviously wrong in their actions on that day while still mourning the loss of his friends. However, the content is also focused on legal battles that take place after Columbine to clear Brooks's name from wrongdoing with the police department.
Since the content is focused on a tragedy that takes place at a high school, the setting is incredibly important and is well described. Additionally, language matters because it brings the reader into the headspace of a high schooler who is experiencing the unimaginable. There are a variety of details provided about the culture at Columbine, Brooks's friendships, and his healing process, and photos are also included to provide useful context. Finally, the book stresses moments of learning, understanding, and experience.
5. Why would a reader enjoy this book (rank appeal)?
A reader would enjoy this book because of:
- The varied pacing
- The exploration into the legal battles that took place after the tragedy
- The friendships that Brooks Brown recounts
Full points!
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