The Journals Of Rachel Scott A Journey Of Faith At Columbine High - Hardcover

Beth Nimmo is the mother of Rachel Scott, the first victim killed at Columbine High School. Beth is the co-author of Rachel's Tears and author of The Journals of Rachel Scott.

Gr 7 Up-This biography of the first student killed at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999, was adapted by her mother and Klingsporn from the teen's writing and diaries. Scott emphasizes her relationship with God and her commitment to Christian living, and the book provides spaces for readers to do their own journaling, prompted by questions and headed "Just Between God and Me." The text is illustrated with facsimiles of the young woman's journals, poems, songs, and drawings. Chapter 11 offers her unedited writings, to provide an ending more upbeat than Chapter 10, which is her chilling journal entries for the morning of April 20, followed by her mother's essay on her own journey toward forgiveness. It is clear that the teen had some talent for writing and sketching. She was serious about her faith and her search for God. The problem with the book lies in the adaptation and fictionalizing of her journals. When she talks about Anne Frank or how she believes that she'll never marry, one must wonder if this is actually what Rachel wrote, or if it has been elaborated on by the editors to increase the effect of foreshadowing. The first-person narrative makes it more readable, but also begs the question-is this Rachel as she was, or as her mother remembers her? Probably a little of each. Buy where student writing, Christian witnessing, and Misty Bernall's She Said Yes: The Unlikely Martyrdom of Cassie Bernall (Plough, 1999) are popular, or for a comprehensive collection on the events at Columbine.

Amy A. Healey, Loyola Academy Resource Center, Wilmette, IL

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.