Grey. Silence. Columbine.

That's what the cover reminds me of. The quiet after the storm. I can't remember the last time I had devoured a book so whole-heartedly. Columbine narrates the deadly Colorado shooting of 1999, where two boys with no obvious motive decided to open fire on their peers. The lives of the suspects, as well as the victims are relayed uncensored. The media tried to hide the most grotesque details of this tragedy, but Dave Cullen has brought the world that real story. I've never been an avid nonfiction reader. My escape always lay in fantasy novels. This documentary, however, isn't your average nonfiction book. The story begins with the two murderers and their strangely normal lives. Eric Harris was attractive, smart, witty, and outgoing, while his partner-in-crime Dylan Klebold held himself lower than Eric, always following his lead. The quiet one of the two, he had scored a date for prom while Eric stayed home. However, such a catastrophe cannot be formulated overnight. For years, the pair messed with guns, bullets, and bombs, inspired by the recently trending school shootings. They planned to top them all. Their friends and relatives oblivious, they planted their diversion in the park before setting the school aflame.

The book itself follows several different people at once, skipping from victim to suspect to witness constantly. There's different sections, beginning with "Female Down," an inside scoop on exactly how the event went down, and continuing with "Before and After," which follows the suspects and victims in depth, along with the thoughts of their families and peers. I was hooked from the first page. The language is terse, not overly "fluffy" or descriptive. Cullen puts just the right amount of descriptive language on the page to paint a picture, not flood the canvas with bright colors that will eventually just smear the masterpiece into nothing. I will admit that I'm slowing down in my reading, something I usually don't do when I'm interested. However, I find it to be a good thing. I'm not having to go back and read a million times because I've skimmed over something important. With the mystery of which of the victims survived or not looming over my head, I'm looking forward to finishing this book.