Book review: She said YES: The Unlikely Martyrdom of Cassie Bernall

Title: She said YES: The Unlikely Martyrdom of Cassie Bernall

Author: Misty Bernall

Page count: 163

Rating: 4.5 stars

Book synopsis:

She Said Yes is a story of growing up in the '90s, of peer pressure, adolescent turmoil, and the tough choices parents make. It is the story of a mother's loss - of dreams and hopes dashed by the cruel reality of death at an early age. But it is also a story of redemption more enduring than the tragedy that cut a young life short.

When 17-year-old Cassie Bernall walked into the library of her suburban high school around 11:00 on the morning of April 20, 1999, she had little more on her mind than her latest assignment for English class: another act of Macbeth. How could she know that by the end of the hour, two classmates would storm the school, guns blazing, and kill as many people as they could, including her? 

As the wounded were carried from the bloody scene, several stories of bravery emerged, but one spread faster and farther than the rest. Confronted by her killers, Cassie was asked, "Do you believe in God?" She answered, "Yes."

Praises for the book:

"One of the most gripping stories to come out of the shooting at Columbine High School" is told in the acclaimed national bestseller that illuminates the most remarkable aspect of 17-year-old Cassie Bernall's tragic death: her life.

"She Said Yes" is an "intense and fascinating memoir" *(Publishers Weekly)* of an ordinary teenager growing up in suburban Colorado, and faced -- as all teenagers are -- with difficult choices and pressures. It is only now, when the world knows Cassie Bernall as one of the Columbine High students killed by two rampaging schoolmates, that the choices she made offer a profound relevance for us all. Once a rage-filled young woman who walked a path similar to that of her killers, Cassie found a way out of her personal snares and, through her faith and a family's love, chose to embrace life with courage and conviction.

Told with unflinching honesty by her mother, Misty Bernall, Cassie's story is "a profoundly human story that should be read by every parent and every teenager" *(New York Post)*.

Book review:

So this is the book that I'm telling you from my recent book review of the book Hey Nostradamus of Douglas Coupland got its inspiration. This story of Cassie is fascinating and it changed my life. I have witnessed teens doing drugs, smoking, drinking, then suddenly change their lives once they came to knew God spiritually. This book tells about the grief of a mother who lost her only daughter and how her family was able to move on. There are pictures of Cassie with her family and friends sited in the book, proving that once, there lived a girl named Cassie and she held onto her faith by saying YES until she died.