The extraordinary true story of a family, a brutal shooting,
and the year that would change their lives forever.
When Cylin Busby was nine years old, she was obsessed with
Izod clothing, the Muppets, and her pet box turtle. Then, in the space of a
night, everything changed. Her police officer father, John, was driving to work
when someone leveled a shotgun at his window. The blasts that followed left John’s
jaw on the passenger seat of his car—literally. Overnight, the Busbys went from
being the "family next door" to one under 24-hour armed guard, with
police escorts to school, and no contact with friends. Worse, the shooter was
still on the loose, and it seemed only a matter of time before he’d come after
John—or someone else in the family—again. With their lives unraveling around
them, and few choices remaining for a future that could ever be secure, the
Busby family left everything and everyone they had ever known…and simply
disappeared.
As told by both father and daughter, this is a harrowing,
and at times heartbreaking account of a shooting and its aftermath, even as it
shows a young girl trying to make sense of the unthinkable, and the triumph of
a family’s bravery in the face of crisis.
Student Response:
I liked the book, but it was saddening. I would not
recommend this book to people who like adventure. It was about a father who was
a police officer, and he got shot in the face. He survived. Now the family has
to hide in the shadow, away from the rest of the world.
