“Columbine” by Dave Cullen is a novel describing the horrific events that took place on April 20th, 1999. The author gives viewers the opportunity to see both sides of the story. He allows you to basically get inside the heads of the murderers by showing the audience their journals and their drawings. He takes you back to where it all began. What caused Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold to commit such genocide in a school that was a home to over one thousand students? There is no real answer to that question. Eric was a popular guy, charming girls with his smile. Dylan was a brain, honored for his mathematical schools his entire life. While Eric was known to be relatively calm, Dylan often had fits of rage. So why was Eric leading this horrific crime? Why did it all circle back to him? These teenagers took their hatred for the world out on innocent people. What was supposed to kill over one thousand people only killed fifteen. That doesn’t make the fourteen students and one teacher killed insignificant. Their deaths took toll on the entire nation. They weren’t the only ones affected, though. For example, Patrick Ireland was shot. He was barely able to talk by the time it was all said and done, losing particular functions in his brain. When he started learning again, it was from a kindergarten level. He recovered, but would he ever really be able to recover from the events? Cullen worked hard to find a valid explanation as to why the boys committed such heinous crimes. He dug through their journals for years and still, he couldn’t find an excuse. That may be because there was no excuse. Cullen works his way into the lives of families to show the damage that is caused. He doesn’t leave anybody’s story behind. If I had to rate this novel on a 10-point scale, I’d give it a 10.5. Must read.