This Is Not a Drill (Hardcover)

**Book listings on our website do not always reflect the current availability of books on our store shelves. Check a book's in-store availability above the "add to cart" button. Or to be certain that a book you've found on our website is also here on our shelves, feel free to call us at 615-953-2243**

Staff Pick Badge
This Is Not a Drill By K. A. Holt Cover Image

This Is Not a Drill (Hardcover)

$17.99


On Our Shelves Now
2 on hand, as of Sep 25 10:05pm
(Children Fiction)

Staff Reviews


Things keep piling up - Ava’s parents are divorcing, she fights with her best friends, she forgot to charge her phone. What does she do? Hide in the bathroom. Then what? A lockdown drill. Only it isn’t a drill. This book explores how much can get piled on and how to face it. It is told through text messages so it moves quickly, includes funny parts, and has twists and turns.

— Ashby

The first rule of lockdown: Find a safe place to hide.

Ava is having a really bad day. Her parents are getting divorced. She just had a big argument with her two best friends. And she forgot to charge her phone… again.

To top it all off, while she is hiding out in the bathroom over lunch, the alarm goes off for a lockdown drill. Ava knows the rules. She has to get herself into a classroom, turn the ringer off on her phone, lock the door, and cover the windows. But all of the rooms have already been locked from the inside and there is no one in the halls.

Pretty soon she realizes there is an intruder in the building. This isn’t a drill.

From the author of From Me to Youand House Arrest, comes this timely book that explores both the effect of school lockdown drills and the relatable struggles of modern middle grade friendship.

K. A. Holt is the author of several middle-grade novels in verse, including House Arrest, a Bank Street Best Book of the Year 2015, and Rhyme Schemer, an Amazon Best Book for Kids and Teens, and a Bank Street Best Book of the Year. She lives in Austin, Texas.
Product Details ISBN: 9781338739589
ISBN-10: 1338739581
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Publication Date: May 17th, 2022
Pages: 192
Language: English

Praise for This Is Not A Drill:

"More a story of friendship than a tale of a school’s worst nightmare, this book does deal delicately with the issue of the intruder (but--spoiler alert--there's thankfully no school shooter). Holt’s propulsive writing style makes this a quick read...perfect for late-elementary or early-middle-school readers addicted to their phones who want an uncommon reading experience."--Booklist