Red Heart Tattoo

Red Heart Tattoo by Lurlene McDaniel
Delacorte for Young Readers – July 24, 2012
224 pages
http://www.lurlenemcdaniel.net/

Facebook: Yes
Twitter: @LurleneMcdaniel
Source: Publisher via Netgalley
Rating: This was an okay read for me. I am disappointed that it did not live up to its potential.
I received a copy of this book, free, in exchange for my honest review.


The lives of Edison High School students are changed dramatically and permanently after a bomb is set off inside the atrium. Morgan, the student council president and Trent the football star are the cutest couple. Mark, another football stara dn Kelli, the tumbler for the cheerleading squad are best friends with Morgan and Trent. All are part of the popular crowd. Roth is the local bad boy, an image protected as a shield to cover childhood pain. Liza, best friends with Roth and carries a long-hidden crush and another dangerous secret. Executioner and Apocalypse are students that exist on the fringes of the high school world.
I have to admit that I was really looking forward to Red Heart Tattoo. I was excited that someone had decided to fictionally tackle the violence and terror of school bombings. Unfortunately, it fell flat in way too many ways for me to say that I enjoyed this story. I remember the Paducah, Kentucky School shooting of 1997. I remember the Columbine School shooting that followed two years later. I remember the icy fingers of terror that stretched across the entire United States and the extreme reactions that followed. There were the desperate attempts to protect all the students but also to understand how people could reach this point or terror, violence and deeply-rooted hurt.
I won’t remember Red Heart Tattoo. I don’t want to because it did nothing, it didn’t put me in the mind of the bomber(s) or the victims. While, I don’t think the bombing should be glorified, there should be enough to feel something- anything. Instead, it was treated as if the school shut down for renovations. The bombing barely touched the community surrounding Edison High School, so it’s not surprising that no one else cared about what happened. Even the ending upset me. Out 224 pages, the ending sounds more of a wrap –up summary than a conclusion. I don’t agree with the reason that was given by the bombers and the diagnosis given to the lead bomber. (“Because I can” and sociopath). I think that just shows how little effort the author did to understand the mind of those who perpetuate school violence. While narcissistic sociopaths may exist in high school, they tend to do things more complicated than bombings (tend to be more like a serial killer than a mass murderer). I’m not sure if the reactions of the victims were believable.
Besides not getting into the story, I feel a little offended that this wasn’t handled better. Maybe I feel this way because I remember, I’m not sure.

Recommendation: I would not recommend this book to anyone.
What’s Next? Her website has not been updated with any news of upcoming books.

Always Shine,
Starr K

I remember devouring Lurlene McDaniel books when i was in junior high but hadn't read anything of hers in years. Red Heart Tattoo makes me want to go read all the books of hers i haven't read. Centering around a tragic explosion at a high school we see the before and after of these characters, how they are changed and how they coped and dealt with the situation. As always McDaniel does a great job of telling stories of love and trauma and loss. ( )

Before the bomb explodes the day before Thanksgiving break, the students of Edison High School are already on edge. During a school pep rally, a prankster set off a box of fireworks on the football field, scaring the student body to death. Morgan, the student body president is determined to find out who did it. Roth, the trouble-making loner can't take his eyes off Morgan and may have set off the fireworks to get her attention. Morgan is too busy to pay Roth any sort of attention. She's a popular girl, dating Trent another popular kid. She's also worried about her friend Kellie's distance, and her rocky relationship with longtime boyfriend Mark. After the bomb explodes, Morgan's life, as well as the lives of her friends are completely torn apart. Cliques are broken, and lines are tested as the students do their best to work past this horrible tragedy.

Red Heart Tattoo is a well-written, emotional look at grief, loss and moving on. Ms. McDaniel is a very skilled writer, and has written a book that is both traumatic and hopeful. Told from multiple third-person points of view, the reader has the chance to experience the before, during and after effects of this tragedy. What makes it even more interesting is that the reader even gets a view from the bombers perspective which gives the book even more depth.

While the book was a good read, and I did enjoy it, it wasn't one that I couldn't wait to get back to when I set it down. One small thing that bothered me is that it didn't feel as if it were told through an authentic teen voice. Some of the dialogue felt a little dated and non-typical of today's teens. The book is also a short read, and while Ms. McDaniel effectively handles several points with great emotion, I did feel like there were some things that could have used a little more development. Still, if you are a fan of this type of story, or a fan of this author, this one is a must-read. ( )

As soon as I read the back cover, I wanted to dive into this story. I was curious how the author would treat the "after the bomb blast" ... I must confess that this novel has fulfilled all these promises. I eagerly turned the pages, and I was even somewhat surprised by the end.

Of course, the reader in me is excited by the prospect of a sequel to come because I liked the writting style of Lurlene McDaniel.
She managed to link the reader to its main characters before the explosion of the bomb by sharing pieces of their dayly life. Thereby she allows a link to form. Suddenly, I was touched by the death or the injuries of fictional characters as if they were my friends. The author had me involved and so I was more sensitive and steeped in the story.

If the drama has some similarities with the shooting of Columbine High School, the author does not stay focused on the bloody side. No sordid details only subtlety.
The author focuses on the characters. The unexpected behavior that turn out. The people's ability to rebuild their ways into life after traumatic events.

One such stressful and bloody event disrupts the attitudes, behaviors and has serious repercussions for the rest of life. Dreams break for some, others emerge and transcend the fighters.
A tragedy is always a way to mature and question the options and choices left to the future. The survival's instincts get the upper hand too. For as Jane says: "But life goes on. You can't grieve forever." And it is this ability to continue that differs among individuals.
Thus for some, the pain strengthens the bonds, unites people and motivates them to live their lives by not lowering theirs arms and always keep fighting. For others, they are locked in a spiral governs by fear.
Various reactions are studied through the characters to show the diversity and complexity facing the loss, suffering or simply adversity...

I loved this novel for the atmosphere, the characters and the positive message it sends. Be happy to live your lives fully, trying to do your best, nobody knows when it may end ...
To make the story more exciting, there is also some romance and love triangles to complicate things and make them more realistic too.

A very positive reading. A writer captivated by the human reactions. In short, a novel that makes you want to turn the pages ...

Lucie
http://newbooksonmyselves.blogspot.fr/2012/07/red-heart-tattoo-by-lurlene-mcdani... ( )

Lurlene McDaniel books always find a way to my heart and my eyes are never dry.

What I loved about this book is the moving plot. So intense from the very first page, the reader is captured. There has been many real devastating events like this to see as if I were the characters it amazing. The suffering they go through, the pain, it just heart wrenching.

I really loved the love interest in the book. No, it's not quite a happy ending, but they are left with a connection. After all that they have been through, they can connect on a different level then anyone else. The emotions flowing through the book makes the reader feel shocker, angry, hurt, then healing.

I can;t explain much of the book for fear that I would give too much away but know this, this book is good. I read this kinds of stories in the news everyday and to feel it as if I were there I can say that I somewhat understand. I don;t know completely cause I have not actually been through it but I can know at least what they are going through.

Red Heart Tattoo makes the biggest accomplishment in writing a story, letting the reader be in the story. And Red Heart Tattoo does just that. The fear of the explosions, students screaming, crying and death all around the reader, it's nothing like I ever experienced. A book that delivers more that just a story, Red Heart Tattoo is amazing! ( )