Because I’m in school to study some form of criminology, I started to research the Columbine shooting about 2 months ago. Having read roughly 500 pages of the Columbine Report (which is basically an 11,000 page report containing interviews and such from the teachers and students that were present at Columbine High School on April 20th, 1999), I knew that Cassie Bernall was NOT asked the infamous “Do you believe in God?” question so when I saw the title of this book, I was a bit curious as to why Cassie’s mother would sort of “cash in” on the rumors/myths surrounding the shooting death of her daughter. I bought the book in hopes that it would answer my question. And here is what I learned.
The truth is (and believe me, I’m not trying to preach about my views on religion… I’m trying to express my views on this book by debunking the Columbine myths that make this book not credible), a girl named Valeen was asked the “Do you believe in God?” question. She at first said no, then said I don’t know, then said yes. When asked by Eric Harris why she believed in God, her response was something along the lines of “Because that was how my parents taught me”. She was shot but survived. The only thing that was said to Cassie was “peek-a-boo”. It is highly disturbing in my opinion that the ignorant public (led on by the media) including, apparently, Cassie’s mother (in the book she says “People say that nothing happens without a purpose–that perhaps Cassie was fulfilling a divine plan, or that in standing up for her beliefs, she was being used by God to further His kingdom. At a certain level, I take comfort in these thoughts. They give meaning to what others have called a “senseless” tragedy, and remind me that a life cut short need not to be a wasted life.”), attempt to make Cassie’s death more admirable than the other 12 innocent victims. If Valeen had not survived, I’m sure that people would disregard the fact that she said “no” at first. Because, apparently, being religious makes one’s death more honorable than those who are not religious.
Look, the book isn’t written badly. However, the title of the book and the deep inferences that suggest Cassie died because of her religion honestly disgust me. Those who do not know the truth behind her death will be lead to believe that she WAS asked the question, said yes, and ultimately paid the price by losing her life. This book is NOT supposed to be fiction. So to write it the way it was written make parts of the book lies.
That being said, had the book been mainly about the alleged question she was asked and her answer, I would have easily given this book 1 or 2 stars. But because Misty explains everything from the highlights AND the lowlights in Cassie’s life (including Cassie’s struggles with wanting to murder her parents) and she admits that Cassie would be upset that people are labeling her a martyr, I found myself able to get through the book rather quickly. Further, “She Said Yes” made me think about my own life and what I would want people to remember me for. For that, I chose to give this book 3 stars.
I’d recommend this book if you want to learn more about the Columbine massacre. The average person must know, however, that although Cassie might’ve said yes if she was asked the question, the fact is that she wasn’t.
