Book Review: "The Reunion" by Jeff Bennington

“Have you ever wondered what becomes of the students who have been traumatized by a school shooting? Or have you puzzled over what might cause a child to intentionally and callously murder his or her peers? Have you questioned what the long-term effects might be on the victims?” (5)

These questions from the author’s note immediately grabbed my attention and I started to think back to Columbine. As is the case when tragedy strikes, I remember where I was when I received the news about the school shooting in Littleton. I was a senior in high school, just a couple months away from graduation.

The Reunion (April 2011) begins one week before graduation when a senior named David Ray opens fire, killing and injuring classmates and faculty. The details leading up to this event, as seen through David's eyes, are both disturbing and heartbreaking. Within only three chapters, the reader meets the troubled teenager and witnesses the twelve minute massacre that ends with David taking his own life. From there, the story jumps forward twenty years and begins following the lives of some of the survivors who are organizing a twenty year reunion for the last graduating class of Crescent Falls High. Despite their misgivings, they decide to host the reunion inside the abandoned school. Murder, mayhem, and malevolent spirits follow.

This supernatural thriller started strong, but in the end I was disappointed. Once the book flashed forward to the reunion, the story line about the villain David Ray fell to the wayside and the focus shifted onto the paranormal activity at the high school. The author's attempt to unite the thriller aspects of the plot with the supernatural was unsuccessful and unsatisfying. For example, it is mentioned somewhere later in the book that when David was just a boy his soul was sacrificed in some kind of demon ritual. I wanted to know more about this, but it isn’t explained. Instead the author takes a turn and starts mixing in messages about God, religion, and faith. By the end, this book was less of a supernatural thriller and more of an inspirational drama.

The Reunion had so much potential for greatness, but it fell short for me. Although I wouldn't highly recommend it, I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge the fact that this book has received many favorable reviews. If you enjoy books with supernatural elements and don't mind inspirational undertones, then give The Reunion a try.