How We Ricochet

Gr 9 Up–Although her single mom couldn’t afford to send her to college with her affluent peers, newly graduated Betty Lavelle is finding her way in her hometown of Berkeley, CA. Life changes suddenly when Betty’s mom and sister Joy survive a mass shooting at their local shopping mall. As the title indicates, the novel highlights the different ways in which people respond to and recover from tragedy. Betty’s mom becomes an activist working to dismantle the Second Amendment, while Joy retreats inward, struggling with agoraphobia and substance abuse issues as she attempts to self-medicate. Betty, who was at the mall but not present for the shooting, struggles with the lingering guilt and a desire for concrete answers and solutions. She befriends Michael, the perpetrator’s brother, intending only to use him for information. However, as she and Michael grow closer, they find a connection that runs deep despite the secrets both are keeping. Although told from Betty’s perspective, the book offers insights into many characters’ struggles and growth throughout. Betty is a capable, believable narrator, and YA and new adult readers will relate to the big questions she poses about the state of the world and her own future within it. The main character and her family are cued as white. There is pansexual and nonbinary representation. The book includes many possible triggers, such as violence, substance abuse, depression, and suicide.