Give a Boy a Gun

Rating:
Summary: Very Powerful
Review: ...I could not put the book down when I started reading it, I was hooked. The book Give A Boy A Gun is about 2 students named Gary and Brenden who are fed up with being harassed and beaten up by the "jocks" and "preps" of Middletown High. After an incident at a party involving 1 of the jocks Sam Flach Gary and Brenden decide to take matters into their own hands. What happens???? A dance at Gary and Brendens school is interrupted when the 2 boys storm in the gym where the dance is being held armed with an arsenal of weapons and bombs. After tying everyone up and booby trappin the gym doors it becomes clear that both boys have only 1 thing on their minds during the hostage situation......REVENGE ...the book was written about a very tragic incident but I can relate to what these 2 boys felt. I myself had thoughts of doing the same thing these boys did in their school. Kill all the people who almost put me over the edge. Am I mentally Ill or psychotic?? No, however like I said I can relate to what these 2 boys were feeling and what their thoughts were. It seems now in our nation if you look,act,dress,or talk different from anyone you will be harassed. I thought in the United States everyone was allowed to express themselves freely within reason and be treated equally. After reading this book and hearing of the school shootings over the last years espically Columbine that expression makes me wonder if its really true...After the shooting in the book there was a phrase written by Garys' mom that I still think about. The "bully/tormenter free school zone". Maybe if these types of signs were put up along with gun free and drug free school zones this tragic epidemic will stop.
1 last thing.. I don't want to sound mean saying this but after reading the parts involving Sam Flach and the stuff he said and did to Gary and Brenden throughout the book a smile rose upon my face when I read the part of Brenden shooting Sam in both his kneecaps. Then Sam wondered why he got shot. Duhhhh go figure why you got shot.

Rating:
Summary: Give a Boy a Gun
Review: This book was really good. Instead of having a third person narrator, this book is made up of interviews with teachers, parents, and students. This book is fiction, but the way the people said things it seemed real.

Rating:
Summary: It's awesome
Review: This book was incredibly good. It takes you inside the mind of two boys who are planning a school shooting by talking to their friends, family, and the people that made their lives a living hell. I really think schools should make this a mandatory read. Many kids are picked on by the popular crowd. Depending on who they are, it can make them tick and want to get revenge. Unfortunately, I was made fun of a lot during my middle school years, and let me tell you, it's no fun. I hope everyone learns a valuable lesson from this book: TOLERATE DIFFERENCE!! These kids were different from the "popular" crowd which made them easy targets. Some people have shorter fuses than others and above all NO ONE DESERVES TO BE BULLIED. If people could just read this book and learn that tolerance could easily prevent these shootings, it would make a world of difference. Alright before I go and get tooo mr. rogers on you....go buy the book! You won't regret it.

Rating:
Summary: Read it....its good....its short....its got action!
Review: This is an awsome book report book to read. It's fiction but at sometimes I almost cried because the plot is so real. It is a powerful book with a serious wake up call. The best book since the first Harry Potter.

Rating:
Summary: Teach the World a Lesson
Review: I am not a big reader to start with. My English teacher recommended I read this book. I was the most wonderful book. I would tell everyone to read it. I loved it so much I went on and read The Wave by Strasser. Which was great too. I think Strasser has a wonderful way for getting a tough issue across and effectively. He teaches a lesson that needs to get across. Give a boy a Gun is written in a unique way that really connects you to the book in a way I have never felt before. There are even gun facts on the bottom of each page. This is an intense book that makes you think. It should be on everyone's most read list.

Rating:
Summary: Teachers--a must read!
Review: This is a book that I will recommend to every teacher and every student in the middle school where I teach. Never before have I understood how students who are labeled "outcasts" are treated, or how they really feel. This book is a fascinating look into what pushes young people to violence. Although I don't think that athletes are the only culprits in bullying, I believe they may be a bigger factor than I ever knew. I will be much more aware in my classroom and the hallways and will adopt a "no tolerance" stance on bullying and put-downs. I also was fascinated by the statistics on gun violence that Strasser placed along the bottom of the pages lest we forget that even though this book is fiction, school violence is a very real presence. If this book doesn't open up a dialogue in classrooms across America, nothing will. Parents, students, teachers--READ THIS!

Rating:
Summary: I wish that all suburban teachers and students read this
Review: I am a teacher and just wish that I could convince enough people to read this book - parents included. I don't think that people understand (have time to care?) the damage of picking on people. At one point, one of the shooters says something about "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me" being a load of crap. He said something like "I can recover from bruises, but the name calling and tormenting will always be with me." While I don't agree with many parts of the book (from the shooters and "victims") I truly feel this is a story that needs to be heard.

Rating:
Summary: School violence
Review: Even though this book is fiction, it is a realistic portrayal of what is happening all across the country today. No longer able to ignore the constant taunting of classmates and teachers, Gary and Brendan decide to get revenge by staging a school shooting. The story gives insight into the minds of troubled teens through suicide letters written by Gary and Brendan. Right or wrong, some authors are able to make the reader feel that no punishment is too great for the antagonizers. No doubt, the boys did suffer at the hands of others, but at no time did I feel the tormentors deserved what they got. Maybe this is Strasser's point. There is no excuse for retaliating with violence, especially when innocent people are also made to suffer. Despite the realistic approach, I was not able to feel anything for the characters. In my opinion, the facts and statistics presented at the bottom of each were more interesting than the story.

Rating:
Summary: Truth Exposed
Review: This is an excellent book that makes you realize that this kind of ridiculing happens to kids every day. There was a small thing that I didn't like about it though: the author decided to censor swears. That makes the book seem childish and takes away from the seriousness. If you can handle the subject matter of this book, then you can handle some swears.

Rating:
Summary: Hits Hard
Review: This book is utterly amazing. I read it in one day. When you read it, you think, "Wow, it would suck to have that happen." But it did. This is a book that is hard to swallow at times. It explores the different feelings that everyone was feeling when whatever happened, and it lead through the pain and suffering Gary and Brendan faced. I can't describe any more how great this book is. Just read it.