Rating: 
Summary: Just Not Enough
Review: I find it hard to recommend this book despite its obvious relevance to contemporary issues for the simple reasons that it is politically skewed, unrealistic, and improperly targeted. Strasser, in no uncertain terms, indicts gun culture in the united states for the violence we see within the novel and does everything in his power to paint a picture that leaves no room for any other factor. He differentiates their home lives, their individual characters, and the interactions they have with there friends just enough to leave us with the conclusion that our violence-crazed society is to blame for their horrible deed. Top these off with the liberally biased sources he uses for most of his facts and the author gives us the impression that Smith & Wesson is as guilty of this crime as Gary and Brendon. By the end of the book Strasser has even done his best to trivialize the attackers entire reason for their assault; the persecution they received from the jock-centric culture at their high school. Granted, nothing justifies either what they did or what they intended to do, but in their mind it was justified, and I think the author fell short in truly expressing their motivation. At the end of the book I simply felt that the two teens were painted as extremely violent and showed more than enough warning signs (especially since the setting is specifically post-Columbine and even mentions Klebold and Harris by name) to have been apprehended before their deed was done. I have to compliment the author on the way the story was told. The interviews from friends and family interspersed with text originating from the attackers did an excellent job of weaving the tail. I don't think, however that this book has the correct audience. It is marketed to juveniles when obviously the problems presented in the book can only be solved by society as a whole including parents, teachers, and other adults. The narrative style was also compromised by the lack of realism. The censorship of expletives and the minimal amount of violence leaves the story with far less impact than it could have achieved. True, the story is intended for youths and has been adjusted accordingly; but this just calls into question the entire motivation of marketing this novel toward a solely juvenile audience. Two stars. One for addressing the subject matter and one for the innovative method in which the story is told.
Rating: 
Summary: Great book
Review: Give a boy a gun by"Todd Strasser was an great book
I think all young readers should read this book.
there a great moral to the story.
This book shows the reader how bad crime and violence is.
So read give a boy a gun you will enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: School Project very good book
Review: In the book Give a Boy a Gun by Todd Strasser the story is all told by flashbacks. Friends, family and teachers are telling stories about his life and how he has been tortured. They discuss why they think that Gary and Brendan kill themselves and other students along with them.Gary and Brendan live in a small town called Middletown which are into sports and almost think that's all important in life. Gary, and Breadan, Aliison and Ryan are always talking about how the jocks pick on people like brendan in front of the teachers and the teachers dont even make any fuss or they pretend they didn't see it.In this book you don't really imagine any scenes because it's not really told that way through-out this book I only imagined a little bit. The story doesnt describe a scene like sitting on the top of a hill under a tree.Using all of the flashbacks it shows what people go through and that you should respect everyong even if there not like you or not into sports. What you do or what you wear isn't you , it's just and apperence.
Rating:
Summary: An Amazing Book
Review: "Give A Boy A Gun" is an amazing book . I read it , the night I bought it without stopping . Give a boy a gun is about two outcasts Brendon and Gary who plan revenge on the Football players at a dance at their high school . When I found out that this book was true it showed me just how familiar school shootings are becoming . This book was great and even made me cry . I hope other's out there will take some time and read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Give a Boy a Gun. by Michael Maxwell
Review: GIVE A BOY A GUN is an excellent book by TODD STRASSER.
it details two boys lifes who killed students in there school and he really makes you feel like you know the characters.
The story is told in that it all ready happened so it takes you through the students lifes before and after the tragedy happened. None of the statements are told by the main characters themselfs but by people that knew them well.
The author uses imagery and has character developement. the mood is tense and the theme is great. it is a great suspense novel and lets you see the story from different points of veiws.
The main characters are Brendon and Gary they are two kids who are outcasts in there school and one day they decided to do something about it. I would recommend this book to anyone, and thats a Big statement coming from me because i am not a big reader.
Rating: 
Summary: Facts and Fiction
Review: This book was an almost too realistic look into what goes on in high schools across our country. Todd Strasser uses the fictional characters of Brendan and Gary to demonstrate what teens in school are facing. He writes the book using little bits and pieces of information from people who knew these boys. That in itself made the book come alive. I thought that the characters were hard to keep straight at times making the book hard to follow. Because it jumps from one character to another so often and with a random bit of information it gets frustrating and hard to get into. There are facts from actual school shootings listed at the bottom of most pages, forcing the reader to realize how serious and real this type of thing is. I think that the book was well written and gives attention to a much overlooked subject. This book will bring a lot of controversy but hopefully it will accomplish the good that is was intended to do. It is hard to determine what is actually fiction among all the facts of this book.
Rating:
Summary: Unique and Refreshing
Review: I started reading and finished this book today because its the kind you can't put down because its a page turner leaving you wanting more. I thought the book was written strangely unlike any I've ever seen before but thats what makes it so refreshing, it's a change from being like every other book! The author used an interesting point of view as if he was interviewing each victim,friend,teacher, and parent. Its unlike any other book I've read and in this case it's a very good thing! A refreshing change to any bookshelf it sits upon!
Rating: 
Summary: Great book but not enough info
Review: Give a boy a gun is an excellent book but it's almost impossible to get any other info on the event its about besides what is given in the book! It never said whether or not one of the main characters died or not & i can't seem to find this out. GRRRR its so frustrating! anyways, besides that the book is pretty good except that it can be hard to keep track of all the people in it. It also didn't say as much as it couldv'e about the things that happened during the shooting...
Rating:
Summary: Something everyone everywhere should read
Review: Ok, everyone everywhere should read this. I have never thought of killing the people who make me mad and upset me, due to I don't wanna spend 100 years in jail, but I have wanted to hurt them till they couldn't stand up. No, I have no mental problems of the sort. But I can relate to how the boys in this book are feeling. If I hadn't noticed the thing on the spine reading, "Teen Fiction" I would fully believe this story. It is written the way people would talk. And that makes it more realalistic. Brenden And Gary are tormented all through their highschool days. And when Brenden is beat up, they take matters into their own hands. In fact what annoys them the most, is teachers allow the jocks to take advantage, to tease and hurt the boys. The only reason that everyone does not die, is Allison, who knows right from wrong. And would not allow her friends to go through with this.
Buy the book, read it, share it, I think the world should read this.
Thanks,
Beth, 14 yo
CC
Rating:
Summary: Gun shots
Review: ... Give a Boy a Gun by Todd Strasser wrote in a way that made the reader feel like they were listening to a detective interviewing witnesses to a crime. This made the book intriguing.
Give a Boy a Gun tells the story of a high school shooting through the voices of the students who witness the crime. Through mock-interviews and suicide notes from the shooters, we learned that the shooters were mistreated by students and teachers.
One of the boys wrote a suicide note to his mom so she wont feel bad. I think that it is really nice of him to say that is not her fault. The other boy wrote to his entire neighborhood and he told them that he hoped that they would feel guilty for treating them bad.
What I found intriguing about Give a Boy a Gun was how teachers would let some students take advantage of other students. For example a teacher told a football player to stop horsing around when he body checked Brendan who is one of the shooters. I think it is important to know the things that happend in schools. There are signs that you will notice when people start feeling depressed like these two boys did. For example the shooters started being by themselves and not talking to others.
Give a Boy a Gun by Todd Strasser does not condone violence. The two messages in this book are teachers and students. Teacher should pay more attention to their students. The other message of this book is that you should treat others how you want to be treated. This message is important to me because I also don't like to get picked on. If you have ever picked on somebody or been picked on at anytime in your life this book will change you...
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