" This book was painful in the same way that Dave Cullen's Columbine was. The subject matter is heartbreaking and infuriating. However, Columbine was also very well written and myth-shattering. This one was neither of those things. I don't blame Judy Shepard for not being a good writer, as I doubt she ever planned to be one, but I wish she had written this with a someone else who could have helped her tell her family's story a little better. Mostly, I already knew the story. There were a couple of inaccuracies in the media's reporting, but nothing earth-shaking. The early chapters that talked about Matthew's life before the attack were the best, as they served to make him more real and three dimensional than the martyr he has become. Unfortunately, the rest was just another rehashing of the information that everyone interested in this story already knew. I also got the impression that Shepard is trying very hard to educate people about hate crimes and gay rights through this book. I felt I was definitely being "taught." The problem is, the kind of people who need her message wouldn't come near this book, so those who do pick it up looking for some new insight on Matthew's story end up feeling unnecessarily preached to. "
— Anna, 2/2/2014