Andy is the janitor's son, an outcast, a nobody. Then the rumor starts-that Blake has a gun in his locker. In a moment of misguided hopefulness, Andy steals the keys from his dad and opens up Blake's locker, hoping that finding the gun will change his own status. But the gun isn't there and Andy remains an outcast. When an unlikely friendship develops between the two loners, Blake shares most of his secrets with Andy, including the gun. But there's one secret that worries Andy more than anything-the date circled on Blake's calendar. Does Blake have something planned? Something that Andy can prevent? In a fascinating look at how teens deal with the now constant threat of school violence, debut author Ryan G. Van Cleave provides a unique, emotional perspective on how it feels to be the one who can prevent a tragedy.
Unlocked is a very quick, but powerful read. Told in free verse, Unlocked follows Andy as he befriends Blake, who may or may not be keeping a gun at school. Andy is the son of the school's janitor and is relentlessly bullied for this fact. Blake is also an outcast, but he's mostly ignored by his classmates until the gun rumor starts up. Andy becomes a bit obsessed with the idea of becoming popular if he can prove that there really is a gun hidden in Blake's locker, so he steals his fathers keys, only to find...nothing. Then these two outcasts form a kind of friendship, and Blake reveals that he does carry a gun. Instead of being afraid, Andy is excited by this and the power he feels by being able to shoot it. It isn't until Andy notices a date blacked out on his new friend's calendar that he realizes something might actually be wrong.
Everyone wants to believe that their school/work place/etc is safe, and nobody wants to believe that their closest friend would be the one to threaten that safety. This is something that Andy struggles with as that ominous date draws closer. Is Blake really planning to start shooting at school? Should be turn him in just in case? It's hard to be sure what was going to happen, and I just kept flipping pages and holding my breath until the end. Unlocked doesn't end how I was expecting, and it was definitely interesting seeing Andy's feelings on the aftermath, since they are so different than what I'd expected. Overall, this is certainly a worthy read about how friendship may blind you to a more serious issue and how school shootings can be handled.
