Told in text messages, middle-schooler Ava is having a really bad day: her parents are getting divorced, she has had a big argument with her best friends, and the charge on her cellphone is getting low; but things are about to get a lot worse because thelockdown alarm has just gone off, and there is an intruder in the school building. - (Baker & Taylor)

When the alarm goes off for a lockdown drill while she is in the bathroom, Ava finds her bad day getting worse as she, alone in the halls, realizes there is an intruder in the building – and this isn’t a drill. Simultaneous eBook. - (Baker & Taylor)

The first rule of lockdown: Find a safe place to hide.

Ava is having a really bad day. Her parents are getting divorced. She just had a big argument with her two best friends. And she forgot to charge her phone... again.

To top it all off, while she is hiding out in the bathroom over lunch, the alarm goes off for a lockdown drill. Ava knows the rules. She has to get herself into a classroom, turn the ringer off on her phone, lock the door, and cover the windows. But all of the rooms have already been locked from the inside and there is no one in the halls.

Pretty soon she realizes there is an intruder in the building. This isn’t a drill.

From the author of From Me to Youand House Arrest, comes this timely book that explores both the effect of school lockdown drills and the relatable struggles of modern middle grade friendship.

K. A. Holt is the author of several middle-grade novels in verse, including House Arrest, a Bank Street Best Book of the Year 2015, and Rhyme Schemer, an Amazon Best Book for Kids and Teens, and a Bank Street Best Book of the Year. She lives in Austin, Texas. - (Scholastic)

Booklist Reviews

Holt returns to all-text tales of publishing past in this fast-paced, friendship-filled account of one day in the life of Ava, who regularly forgets to fully charge her phone, as her middle school goes into lockdown for an unknown intruder. Told in texts between Ava and friends and her divorcing parents, as well as updates from the school's app, this walks the fine line between humorous—especially jokey tone of middle-school texts between friends and the inevitable miscommunication—and harrowing, as readers don't know what is happening outside the locked doors. More a story of friendship than a tale of a school's worst nightmare, this book does deal delicately with the issue of the intruder (but—spoiler alert—there's thankfully no long-lasting impact, as it is an intruder, not a school shooter). Holt's propulsive writing style makes this a quick read, though the ending lacks the satisfaction a school-intruder story demands. This book is perfect for late-elementary or early-middle-school readers who communicate primarily through texts and want an uncommon reading experience. Grades 4-6. Copyright 2022 Booklist Reviews.