"The book is useful as an in-depth journalistic account of the tragedy and its aftermath..."--P. Kivisto, Choice
“ . . . Watson has also told a riveting and quintessentially American tale of intrigue and mythmaking, tragedy and exploitation.”--Randall Balmer, Barnard College, Columbia University
“This is a fascinating exploration of the lives and posthumous careers of two of the teenagers killed at Columbine High School in 1999. After their deaths, Cassie Bernall and, to a lesser extent, Rachel Scott became at once role models for America's evangelical subculture and rhetorical weapons in the country's ongoing culture wars. By showing us who the girls were and how the story of their supposed martyrdom was created, disseminated, and interpreted, Justin Watson has provided invaluable insight into the ways American culture transforms local tragedies into political morality tales for the nation as a whole.”--Mark Silk, Director, The Leonard E. Greenberg Center for the Study of Religion in Public Life, Trinity College, Hartford, CT
". . . meticulously documents this enduring use of martyrdom for political purposes...with a fair but skeptical eye."--Salon.com