Today's review is on Black Chalk by Albert Alla
Black Chalk was a very difficult book to read. It wasn't
because of poor editing or poor character development. It wasn't even because
of a bad storyline. In fact, it's because the storyline was so strong and so
amazing that made it difficult.
Instead of reading like a fictional book, Black Chalk reads
more like a Memoir. The way Alla expresses the emotional trauma that his
protagonist experiences is spot on. Like
he was the one that went through it. Being a child therapist myself, I could
hear, feel, and see what was happening, and what was to come. But even with all
of that, I still wasn't prepared for the ending. Black Chalk is just that real.
Nate Dillingham walks into his high school physics class and
a few minutes later he's the sole survivor of a school shooting. His friend
Eric Knight chains the door, stands at the front of the classroom, and begins shooting.
Everyone in the room, including Nate's best friend Jeffrey Baker, is killed.
Even Eric Knight himself.
Recouping in the hospital from his own bullet wound, Nate is
"protected" from the outside world by his mother. She keeps the media
away, she keeps the TV off, and she keeps the detectives away for as long as
she can. That's all fine with Nate. He's having a hard enough time reconciling
the events of that terrible day to deal with.
Living with the guilt of being “the one that lived” becomes
more than Nate can handle so he does what most people would do. On his 18th
birthday he leaves home, running away from the problem entirely. But time away
doesn't make what happened go away.
Eight years after heading out on his own Nate returns to
Oxford and even finds love. But when he learns that the woman he loves is
actually Jeffrey's little sister Leona, all that pain and suffering comes back
full force.
What really happened on that day? Even Nate doesn't really
know. He blocked it out all those years ago. It's only after he opens up to
Leona that he begins to see the truth. But the truth may be just too much for
her.
If you had only one book to read, make it Black Chalk. It's
an amazing ride. With this being Alla's first novel, I'm certain he is on the
road to great success.
5 of 5 stars
Available at Amazon
Book Description: via Amazon
In the Oxfordshire countryside, a student walks into a classroom and
starts shooting. Nate Dillingham, friends with shooter and victims
alike, is the sole survivor and only witness. Easily led and eager to
please, his recollections weave around others' hopes until he loses
track of what really happened that day. After eight evasive years on the
road, he comes back to Oxford, meets Leona, and plunges into a world of
candour and desire. But Nate's defences are deteriorating and Leona
shares too much of his past... An unsettling tale of passion and guilt, Black Chalk is an edgy journey into twenty-first century morality.
