Counting to 17

One evening in March 2018, Aliya, a 7th grader in Maryland, returned home from a student walkout at her school and began to write poems about the death of 17 in Florida. In Stoneman Douglas High School Blood still runs down the window panes Screams still ring through the halls And the echoes of the past Live on In the voices of the future

Counting to 17, finished 8 months later, is as fine a tribute to the 17 dead, 14 wounded, and Stoneman Douglas High School student body as any adult could write. Aliya’s desire to write about the Parkland shootings was propelled forward by Mahatma Gandhi’s admonition to:

Be the change that you wish to see in the world.

She hopes Counting to 17 will create a greater push for keeping children safe in schools. Therefore, the proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to Americans for Children’s Lives and School Safety: www.americansforclass.org.

Change really does start with every single one of us. - Aliya