Shooting Monarchs

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing, but still OK
Review: Although Shooting Monarchs takes a different approach to making teens think about what they read (on capital punishment and the judicial system), I would prefer a book with some nice closure.

I found it difficult to care about Macy, the main character, when all I had was contempt for him. The other characters were almost likeable, but it felt like something was missing.

The sentence structure of this book seemed simplistic and undeveloped. I wouldn't recommend it to people looking for a fun or exciting read.

Rating:
Summary: shooting monarchs
Review: I though this book was terrible. The reason why is because of the charcters and the writing combined. The characters were very cliche. There was a handsome jock who isn't very smart who has a girlfriend. She's beautiful and the nicest girl in the town. Also there is Danny who is a loner. I find these charcters very typical. They didn't seem very real to me. Also I didn't like the third person narative and the way the author wrote the story.

Rating:
Summary: No easy answers
Review: Just like real life, there are no easy answers found in "Shooting Monarchs". While one or two characters may seem cliche, the message of the book is that people are a complex blend of their environment and their determination. It is an excellent book for sparking debate on the death penalty. Should someone who has committed murder be forgiven if he is the victim of horrific abuse that has rendered him insane? Again, there are no easy answers.

Rating:
Summary: Teenage serial killer
Review: The lives of six teens converge one Sunday morning on hill in Shiloh. One is shot dead. This is the gripping tale of the events leading up to that disastrous day.

Macy is 18 -- and a serial killer. But he wasn't born to kill. The reader is introduced to an innocent toddler, raised by an abusive mother who left him alone outside in the rain for hours, tied by the ankle to an old swing set. Then she came home drunk. By the end of middle school, he was sent to juvie for stealing. When he got out, he stole a car and was sent back. For Macy, the food, accommodations, and attention at juvie were more than he ever got at home. As a rebellious teen, he bought a gun and killed store clerk, Mohammed Aziz. And got away with it. That's how the killing started. After spending a year in prison for attempted robbery, he steals a car, buys a gun and heads off on a killing spree that winds up in Shiloh.

Danny is a disabled 16 year-old who lives with his grandmother. He loves monarch butterflies and Leah, the most beautiful girl in Shiloh. He works at The Store with her younger sister, Sally. Leah's boyfriend, Chad is the star athlete and he hates Danny. The Saturday afternoon Macy drives into town, he sees Leah jogging. He chooses her for his next victim and abducts her. In the search for her, the six teens end up on the hill that Sunday morning. One is a killer, one is a victim, and everyone's life changes forever.

Told in a third-person, easy-to-read, almost journalistic style, the narrative flits -- like a monarch -- in and out of the lives of the people who cross paths with Macy, those he victimizes and those who victimize him. "Shooting Monarchs" is an excellent teaching aid for any class or discussion about justice or social issues. In the end the reader must decide Macy's fate. Does he deserve the death penalty?

Rating:
Summary: Page-turner, yet empty
Review: This book keeps you reading at warp speed to see how Macy turns out and what other trouble he can possibly get into. However, the writing was simple, lacking description, at times unconnected, and choppy. Often times, there should have been detail added and more reason given for putting something into the plot (i.e. many of the "gold nuggets" sections). It felt like there were parts missing. This is not a great piece of literature, but it is a can't-put-down story. It would be good for reluctant readers.

Rating:
Summary: A Powerful Novel for Young Adults
Review: This is a wonderful read for middle-schoolers. It allows teenagers to think about their own views on crime, justice, and many moral issues that face us everyday. I recommend it to anyone looking for one of the greatest books for teenagers ever written.