Project X: A Novel

Jim Shepard’s (2004) Project X: A Novel is a “probing and sensitive” tale of the lives of two adolescents who plan to carry out a school shooting (Metcalf, 2004, p. 9). The topic is especially relevant given that school shootings are phenomena that the United States has dealt with over recent years. Told from the perspective of a troubled teen, readers are given a sense of why two young people would have the motivation to carry out such a plan- a point of view that is not often seen. Project X brings the reader into teenage minds to give us a glimpse of what would cause anyone to design such a scheme. Readers can sympathize with the characters and realize that perhaps they can do something to help these human yet very troubled people.