Title: Washington
Author: Thomas J Gebhardt III
Publisher: Publisher GhotiÂ
Genre:Â Romance Thriller, Young Adult
First Publication:Â 2023
Language:Â English
Book Summary: Washington by Thomas J Gebhardt III
With the sound of gunshots, the crowd erupts in crying and screams. Some of them wonder what to do, some worry, all wanting to make it out alive. Evan finds he doesn’t think of himself at all but about Judith. Where could she be? Is she safe?
Before that dreaded day, Evan is a new transfer to Washington High School, where he’s reunited with his best friends from childhood. He’s a typical slacker who would rather sketch and daydream than pay attention in class, waiting for the bell to ring so he can go to the arcade and comic book shop after school. When he meets Judith, who aims for perfection and top honors, they slowly grow closer and closer. Evan is unsure how he feels, if he fits in or what he wants out of life. And before he can think things through, he finds out a new member of his group of friends is being bullied…
Now, Evan runs through the hallways, building to building. Where is Judith? Can he find her in time? And why does something about the shooter seem so familiar?
Book Review: Washington by Thomas J Gebhardt III
Washington by Thomas J. Gebhardt III tells a heart-wrenching story about the aftermath of a school shooting through multiple perspectives. The story is dark yet poignant, masterfully exploring complex themes of trauma, love, and growth in the face of tragedy. While the subject matter is difficult, Gebhardt handles it with care, empathy, and nuance. Through vivid characterization and gripping storytelling, he crafts an impactful narrative that will no doubt spark important conversations.
Washington by Thomas J Gebhardt III is split between a flashback storyline set prior to the shooting, and the traumatic day of the shooting itself. The flashback chapters introduce the main characters – Evan, a new transfer student at Washington High School, and Judith, a dedicated honor student who helps Evan adjust to his new school. A key relationship that develops is between Evan and Judith. Their chemistry lab partnership introduces two opposites – Evan the chill slacker and Judith the driven overachiever. Yet their differences add spice to their developing bond, as evidenced through their subtle glances and thoughtful discussions. While the budding romance between Evan and Judith provides an endearing plotline, Gebhardt wisely avoids clichés. He portrays their attraction as more complex – two individuals connecting despite pressures to conform to stereotypes. Their blossoming relationship acts as a through line that raises compelling questions about defining oneself within high school hierarchies.
Evan, in particular, feels authentic in his ambivalence about school and wanderlust nature. As an outsider thrust into a new social environment, his reluctance to engage is understandable. Yet there is also a quiet kindness to him that emerges through small acts of empathy. Judith, meanwhile, comes across as principled and striving, yet with hidden layers of vulnerability beneath her polished exterior. The romantic spark between them, slow to ignite, feels genuine in its pacing. Their storyline injects empathy and humanity into an otherwise distressing situation.
The shooting itself is recounted through Evan’s perspective as he desperately searches the school for Judith. Gebhardt spares no details in depicting the raw terror and chaos of an active shooter situation. Each gunshot sends shockwaves through the panicked crowd. Descriptions of trampled bodies and screams still ring loudly in my mind after finishing the book. It is a harrowing sequence that lays bare the true horror of such violence.
Yet Gebhardt also finds moments of light in the darkest of places. Acts of courage, compassion, and self-sacrifice emerge from unexpected places. Classmates band together to barricade doors and treat injuries. Teachers shield students with their own bodies. First responders rush into the line of fire to rescue the wounded. These small rays of hope prevent the story from being an overwhelmingly bleak portrayal of human nature. They remind us of our capacity for good even in the face of unspeakable evil.
After the immediate danger passes, the story transitions again to follow various character’s processes of grieving, recovery and reckoning in the aftermath. Here Gebhardt observes trauma’s long tail with nuance, avoiding reductive conclusions. Some characters lash out in anger, others retreat inward, as everyone struggles in their own ways to find meaning after losing so much. Support networks both strengthen and fray under the strain. Gebhardt resists simplifying these complex aftermath dynamics into easy resolutions.
The characters who experienced the shooting firsthand will no doubt stay with me for a long time. Their pain felt viscerally real, largely due to Gebhardt’s skill at intimate characterization from the start. Even minor characters who appear only briefly, like a heroic teacher or friend in the wrong place at the wrong time, haunt the reader with their humanity. We feel keenly the injustice of so many lives cut short and so much promise destroyed.
Structuring the story across flashbacks and aftermath also effectively underscores how in an instant, terror can shattered childhood innocence and tip entire communities off their axis. It drives home how profoundly a single hate-filled act can ripple outward to change countless lives forever. In the space of a few hours, characters are forced to rapidly age beyond their years. Perspectives are altered in ways that can never be repaired.
On a technical level, Gebhardt’s prose is crisp yet lush, drawing readers in immediately with evocative description. His auditory and visual storytelling transport scenes directly into the mind’s eye. Dynamics shift seamlessly between moody introspection and pulse-pounding action due to Gebhardt’s pitch-perfect pacing. Character development feels organic rather than forced. While nonlinear in structure, Gebhardt ties plot threads together cohesively thanks to strategic foreshadowing and clues seeded from the outset.
While the subject matter is undeniably bleak, Gebhardt manages to end on a note of cautious optimism. His characters, scarred but not broken, take small steps towards rebuilding meaning out of anguish. Communities strengthen in solidarity where once they were divided. And importantly, he notes that for all the darkness that man can unleash, light, compassion, and resilience will persist in human nature against even the longest of odds. It is a hopeful sentiment, if a sobering one.
The issues Gebhardt grapples with in Washington—gun violence, trauma, healing from collective losses—take on renewed gravity given recent world events. His story felt disturbingly prescient, like a premonition of conflicts still to come. In that sense, perhaps the book serves as an artifact not just of its time but of ours as well. Generations from now, readers may look to books like this one to understand the anguished reality of living through constant fear of mass shootings as the new normal.
Washington by Thomas J Gebhardt III is a novel that has surely earned its description as a “page-turner.” In weaving together a propulsive thriller and a quiet character study, Gebhardt has created something wholly unique and important. This book promises an emotionally charged, unforgettable reading experience. “Washington” is sure to appeal to fans of both contemporary YA fiction and dark psychological dramas. Gebhardt’s mastery of storytelling kept me enthralled from beginning to end, in spite of the heaviness of its subject matter. His bold effort to grapple with critical social issues through fiction is deeply admirable. While the scenes of violence may rattle some, for most readers, the rewards of wrestling with such urgent themes will likely outweigh any discomforts. This book illuminates dark realities but does not leave readers in darkness. It demands we bear witness to suffering—and inspires us with humanity’s capacity for resilience, even in our darkest hours. For that reason alone, it deserves wide readership and discussion.
