Give a Boy a Gun

Rating:
Summary: Absolute Must Read
Review: A fictionalized account of a school shooting, the story is told through pieces of comments from witnesses, family, people who knew the boys that is mixed with exerpts of the boys' suicide notes and their chat room conversations with friends. This is an intensely powerful book! The story resonates with the terrible reality of it. The voices of the kids, gunmen and victims alike, quietly demand to be heard, making it difficult to put the book down, no matter how hard the subject becomes to confront. This is a definate must read for teens and adults alike!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Realistic Book
Review: I read this book over the summer and couldn't put it down until I finished it. It is a very realistic book and really makes you think about the issue of school shootings. It gives you a look into the mind of the kids that did this. Awesome book!

Rating:
Summary: It's about time
Review: What an excellent book. Mr. Strasser takes you into the minds and lives of the realistic characters in his book. Not only does he do this, but he cites real information, quotes, and stats throughout the book. At the end of the book, he gives a timeline of a history of school shootings (like in the book) as well as a bibliography of other material to read on this subject matter. PLUS-a portion of the profits from the book are being donated to organizations dedicated to the struggle for gun control. Need I say more? Thank you for an excellent book that will get it's readers thinking.

Rating:
Summary: Oh, my goodness!
Review: Good fiction encourages the reader to think hard about theissues that affect our lives. The very best fiction does that andmore - it encourages us to act on those issues. In this powerful,honest, and disturbing novel about guns and school violence, ToddStrasser gives voice to the victims, classmates, neighbors, parents,and students who held the guns - both fictional and real - and asksthe reader what he can do to make a difference. Strasser goes beyondjust the issue of gun control by presenting a compelling look at theintolerance that pervades our schools. He implores our educators andchildren to celebrate the differences that make us human, to valueaccomplishments beyond those on the athletic fields, and to recognizethat marching to a different drummer is not cause for ridicule. Iapplaud Strasser, a fiction author, who uses his craft and his gift toencourage readers to be part of the solution to violence that isunnecessarily costing young lives.

Rating:
Summary: Oh, my goodness!
Review: Good fiction encourages the reader to think hard about the issues that affect our lives. The very best fiction does that and more - it encourages us to act on those issues. In this powerful, honest, and disturbing novel about guns and school violence, Todd Strasser gives voice to the victims, classmates, neighbors, parents, and students who held the guns - both fictional and real - and asks the reader what he can do to make a difference. Strasser goes beyond just the issue of gun control by presenting a compelling look at the intolerance that pervades our schools. He implores our educators and children to celebrate the differences that make us human, to value accomplishments beyond those on the athletic fields, and to recognize that marching to a different drummer is not cause for ridicule. I applaud Strasser, a fiction author, who uses his craft and his gift to encourage readers to be part of the solution to violence that is unnecessarily costing young lives.

Rating:
Summary: Give a boy a gun
Review: Taking today's headlines and combining them with fictional faces and more than enough quotes and statistics to terrify his readers, Todd Strasser presents his newest YA novel, Give A Boy A Gun (2000). The novel is a combination of statements given by witnesses to a well thought out gun attack by 2 teens against their peers and teachers at a school dance. The book is similar to Making up Megaboy (Virginia Walter, 1998) in that the story is presented from multiple perspectives versus narrative form. But unlike Megaboy, this book takes you inside the lives of its killers and gives their rationale for their actions as well as their intimate suicide letters. This is an incredibly well researched and thought out book. It will definitely raise the eyebrows of many parents because of its violence level and subject matter. It was written for YA's and will make them think long and hard about gun control, but I feel that librarians and teachers alike would be remiss if they did not read it for themselves. Includes further sources for information. Partial proceeds from the book will go to gun control charities. Highly recommended for older teens and adults. Not for the weak of stomach. A definite best book candidate. Controversy will follow this book wherever it goes.

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...

Rating:
Summary: Give a Boy a Gun
Review: Recommendation
I would only recommend this book to children 11 and up because of the graphic violence in the book, I would only recommend it to people that will take it seriously. After Brendan fired off many rounds from his gun, "It got quiet, and I heard those clicking sounds and realized Brendan was reloading."Also this book deals with teenage drinking and smoking. By tenth grade we were smashed every Friday night. In conclusion, if you are interested in Give a Boy a Gun, read this book.

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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: GIVE A BOY A GUN
Review: Give a boy a gun is a great story about two kids who get picke d on in high school and then get so fed up they go crazy and hold the school up and threaten them. The way the book is written is really unique, it is written with like different passages from people who knew the kids. The characters were very unique as well; The characters are Brendan and Gary.
The story starts off when they were in 7th grade and words its way up to there high school years. Throughout the story you can see how they get more and more angry and crazy. Until that one day when they finally snap and hold the school hostage in the gym and start shooting everything.
The book is written in this weird style that tells a story though a series of passages by a bunch of different people that knew the boys. One was from his teacher one even from a football player who beat them up. There is a name for the type of style that this book is written in but I'm not sure what it is called.
The characters are what make this book. There are two main characters and there names are Brendan and Gary. Brendan is a boy who was popular at one time but then once he moved he became and outcast. Gary was always an outcast but never new how to deal with it until he met Brendan. Thought the book you can see how school makes these two boys miserable.
This is a great book, for anyone who is going through this situation. This book has one of the best plots ever. It also has some great characters to pull the story together, the way this book is written is so weird but works for this story.