Genre
Teen / Young Adult Fiction
Setting and Context
Madison High School, Present Day (2014-17 time frame) in the immediate aftermath of a school shooting
Narrator and Point of View
Each of the characters tells gives an account of what had happened from a unique point of view
Tone and Mood
Foreboding and frightening, tragic and sad, angry and calling for retribution
Protagonist and Antagonist
Leonard Gray is both protagonist and antagonist
Major Conflict
Conflict between every student and faculty member at the school and Leonard who is determined to cause as much carnage as possible
Climax
The climax of the novel is actually at the beginning when Leonard shoots randomly and kills one student, injuring nine others.
Foreshadowing
Leonard's drug abuse, list of enemies, and fascination with gums foreshadow his intention to be a school shooter
Understatement
Faculty members call Leonard "troubled" which is an understatement as he is mentally and emotionally unraveling
Allusions
There is allusion to the Columbine shooting which inspired the author to pen this novel
Imagery
There is little room for imagery in a novel that is detailed and precise and almost fractured into individual reports
Paradox
Leonard is both the victim, in that he has been badly bullied and has slipped through the cracks, and also the murderer causing grief and fear
Parallelism
There is a parallel between the way that bullying made Leonard feel and the way it made Cam feel. Both feel isolated and forgotten
Metonymy and Synecdoche
The school is used as the term to represent the students and faculty
Personification
No examples of personification in the novel
