Warning-This review contains spoilers.



Michael Hassan's Crash and Burn is an intriguing story. In his debut novel, Hassan paints the picture of how Steven-Crash to his friends- Crashinksy managed to outwit with David "Burn" Burnett and save more than a thousand people from being blown to bits with high power explosives or assault weapons. This book is amazing and very thought-provoking, containing some mature content that may be a little disturbing to some who can not handle it. I have a strong connection to this novel because of the events that happened on April 16th, 2007. I have read a few other books about school shootings, some even written by people who live in Blacksburg. This is far novel is far superior, mostly for the fact that no one was killed, though Burns came very close. Even though these stories are, well, stories, it is still hard for me to think about.
The main character, Crash is ADD riddled, brash, and at times more sensitive than one would expect. His father has always been brutally hard on him, but, eventually his father moves in with a much younger secretary from Europe, thanks to Burns, which causes life at the Crashinsky household to become much more peaceful and manageable. Burn's is bipolar, depressed and suffers from anxiety disorder. His father was killed in 9/11, his mother died roughly ten years later from breast cancer, and finally his sister a year after his mother's death from suicide. Burns only cared about three people, his sister Roxanne, Crash, and oddly enough Crash's younger sister Jamie, who was trapped by Burn's in the school during the seize, and used as bait to get Crash into the building.
The last couple of chapters of this 544 monster of a young-adult book were thrilling and rapid fire, but saddening. I'll be thinking about this one for a while, how I connected with this book because of April 16th. It made me wonder, Did Michael Hassan know anyone involved in April 16th? In the book, the attempted seize took place on April 21st, 2008, six days and a year after April 16th. The perpetrator of April 16th Seung-Hui Cho, also suffered from depression, and a severe anxiety disorder. Both he and Burns had an interest in videogames, but so did the perpetrators of the Columbine High School massacre. The massacre at Tech ended at 9:51, the siege in the book at 1:11. It almost makes me wonder if I have a connection to the author too.
Hassan stated that he wanted to write a book that a teenager with ADD could read, even though it is so long, it grips the reader in every page turn, making it incredibly hard to put down. It Is safe to say he succeeded.
Crash's romance with Burn's sister is also a focal point in the novel. Burns is protective of her even though she's older and forbids him to see her less he shoot someone. Roxanne then commits suicide and Burns, who finds her when she is still alive and can probably be saved, lets her die, crushing Crash. The novel being told from the point of a teenage boy is intriguing - Making it an even better YA novel. At times it had some vulgar sections relating to Crash and Roxanne, which did not upset me, but could upset other readers.
Crash and I are very different people, but I feel I can still relate to him, the novel, and the author. I suppose it was an upmost relief when I read on the book jacket that Crash saved people and did not let anyone die. I must be subconsciously relating to him by the relief I feel. I've dreamed before about saving the students at Tech or my classmates from a shooting, I don't know why but I just do. This novel is the perfect companion to this recurring thought. I’m very lucky to have found this novel, it came out a little over a month ago(First edition baby!) As previously stated, Crash and Burn will stay with me for a long time, with all the feelings and emotions with it, this novel is truly a modern masterpiece indeed.