Project X by Jim Shepard takes us back into that living hell we're all
trying to forget: grade 8. He shows us, in brutal, life-like detail, the
reality of the poor kids at the bottom of the hierarchy. And he takes this,
with a progression that isn't quite logical (it's grade 8 after all) but
that you can totally see how it happens, to a school shooting. Thankfully,
the shooting isn't shown in much great detail.

It has a first-person narration that lacks complete self-awareness, which is
very interesting, and it's painfully realistic. My only complaint is that
the author has not mastered idiomatic use of the quotative "go". He
overuses it and puts it at the end of quotations instead of the beginning
("I'm tired," he goes.). But apart from this terribly distracting habit,
it's an excellent book (and quick too - under 200 pages)