| Title | : | Give a Boy a Gun |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0689848935 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780689848933 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 208 |
| Publication | : | First published September 1, 2000 |
| Awards | : | Charlotte Award (2002), Rhode Island Teen Book Award (2001) |
Give a Boy a Gun Reviews
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Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com
Every person in the world should read this book. That being said, I'll admit right off that I hate guns. Absolutely abhor them. I'm the mother who refuses to let her children play with toy guns, even water pistols. Why? Why, indeed. Why let your children shoot things at each other--whether it be water, rubber darts, BBs, or paint balls--if you don't want them to shoot bullets at each other? After all, that's what guns are for. To shoot bullets. Bullets that are designed to do one thing, and one thing only--kill. Or, if you prefer, injure, maim, dismember, or wound.
So what is GIVE A BOY A GUN about? In a few words, human nature, the cruelty of children, and how those factors don't really mix well with guns. Oh sure, gun activists say that "guns don't kill people, people kill people." And, if you get technical about it, they're right. But when someone gives you a guitar, what's it for? It produces musical sounds. Yes, it needs an actual human to aide it along, but a guitar does what it's made to do--make music. Just like a gun, with the aide of a human, does what it's supposed to do--kill.
In Todd Strasser's GIVE A BOY A GUN, we learn about Brendan and Gary, two boys who live each day of school in their own personal hell. They're not athletic, so the jocks pick on them. They're not particularly brainy, so they don't fit in with the nerds. They don't come from extremelely wealthy families, so they're not immediately deemed popular. In fact, Brendan and Gary are like 95% of every teenager you meet--normal kids living normal lives, trying their best to just get through the day. I remember all too well the horror and terror of high-school; not physical, at least in my case, but the sheer emotional bullying that I received from kids who deemed me not up to par. And the teachers who turn a blind eye, either because the tormentors were too valuable to the school as athletes, or too much trouble to deal with.
But for Brendan and and Gary, enough turns out to be enough. Really, how much torment can one person take? When teachers and administration and counselors turn the other way, when budget restraints prevent teachers from the ability to really get to know their students, when athleticism takes precedent over brain power, when will school bullying come to an end? Why, really, should it shock us as a nation when things like Columbine happen? Has it really been so long ago that you were in school that you can't remember what it was like to be the object of someone's daily put-downs, or the sneers and snide comments from the "popular" kids?
Gary and Brendan, along with a few others like them, were "outcasts" in their school. When their fascination with revenge on those who've tormented them leads to guns, it really shouldn't surprise anyone. GIVE A BOY A GUN is interspersed with tragic facts--school shootings over the last several decades, quotes from newspaper articles, statistics from gun companies--that prove that teens and guns is a growing problem. But really, when you think about it, why should it shock us? We always see signs that proclaim a school a "drug-free zone", but when will we ever see one that proclaims it a "bully-free zone", or a "tolerance for everyone" zone?
Think about why kids are so cruel, why they can't get noticed by those who could possibly help them, and why they can so easily get a gun to make their problems go away.
Just as every person in the world (adult and teen) should watch the movie Requiem for a Dream, everyone in the world needs to read Todd Strasser's utterly though-provoking GIVE A BOY A GUN. And then we'll talk about how "guns don't kill people." -
Give a boy a gun is prolly one of my favorite books now. I loved the way it was written. Different quotes and thoughts from ppl who actually knew Gary and Brendan. Idk but during the whole book i was sitten there thinking to myself, "what do they do? how does it end?" i could not put the book down. I even cried a few times. Its horrible that they had gotten to that all time low in their life, where they felt that they had no other choice but to do what they did in order to solve everything. i mean serioulsy, they way kids all over America are treated everyday, with the bullying and teasing and just cruel things they have to go thru, its no wonder, things like this happen all the time. Im not saying what they did was right in any way at all, but at the end, when Brendan gets the shit beat outa him, i was pissed. He didnt kill anyone. he shot some kid who was an ass to him in the knee caps. oh big deal. but what did all the guys do when they got freed and all? they went and beat the shit outa brendan. They beat him so bad, he had permanent brain damage, so he was as good as dead anyway. what those kids did to him was uncalled fer. yeah what he did was wrong in more then many ways, but still, they shouldnt have done what they did to him either. so all in all i think this book realy changed my views on guns and bullying and all that. ive never been a fan of guns anyway but i always thought those school shootings you hear about were just sick ppl who werent right in the mind. but now i realize that in order fer someone to do sumin like that, thye have to have been pushed to do that. Gery and Brendan didnt do it outa pure enjoyment. They did it becuz of the shit they had to put up with, and now i see that and understand it and have a different view on what kids who go thru that think.
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از همون صفحهی اولِ داستان میدونیم که با چه اتفاقی سر و کار داریم. دانشآموزهای خشمگینی که قراره دخل همکلاسیهاشون رو بیارن. این رو حتی از روی اسمِ نه چندان جذاب و جلد کتاب هم میشه فهمید. پس حالا مهارت نویسنده در قصهگویی اهمیت دو چندانی پیدا میکنه. چون حداقل عنصر غافلگیری و کشش داستانی برای فهمیدن پایان داستان وجود نخواهد داشت
فُرمی که نویسنده استفاده کرده، از نظر ایده جذاب، اما در اجرا بسیار ضعیفه. ما کل داستان رو تکه تکه و با روایتهای ریز و درشتِ آدمهایی که درگیر ماجرا بودن میشنویم. اما این آدمها تقریباً هیچکدوم شخصیت ندارن! کافیه اسم هرکدوم از راویها رو از ته روایتشون حذف کنیم تا ببینیم هیچ فرقی بین تمام افراد درگیر ماجرا نیست. جزئیات ریزی در یک یا دو شخصیتی که اهمیت بیشتری دارن به چشم میاد اما بقیه کااااملاً هیچ فرقی باهم ندارن. این همه آدم توی داستانن و هیچ آدمی توی داستان نیست. و منظورم از اینهمه، واقعاً ایــــــــــنهمهست!
نکتهی دوم اینه که نویسنده نام افراد رو در پایان روایتشون آورده. و فقط یکبار و در اولین باری که اسم رو آورده به سِمت یا جایگاه اون افراد اشاره شده. یعنی ما روایتی رو میخونیم که نمیدونیم کی داره تعریف میکنه و تازه وقتی تموم میشه میفهمیم که اااِ! فلانی این حرفها رو زده. و از اون جایی که شخصیتپردازی خاصی در کار وجود نداره، موقع خوندن هم نمیتونیم حدس بزنیم کی این حرفها رو میزنه. و اینکه ما باید نام و شغل و شرح شخصیت این افراد و شخصیتهای زیاد و صد البته بی اهمیت رو به یاد بسپاریم. (واقعاً چرا؟) یعنی بدونیم فلانی معلمه، اون یکی مادر فلان بچهست، اون یکی دوستشونه و ... در حالی که در نهایت هیچکدومشون نقش آنچنانی در ماجرا ندارن و شخصیت پررنگی هم ندارن و هیچ دلیلی وجود نداره که شخصیتها رو به یاد بسپاریم و البته چیزی هم برای این کار کمکمون نمیکنه.
نکتهی سوم اینکه راوی بودن این آدمها، نشون میده که همهشون جون سالم بهدر بردن. پس اندک هیجان احتمالی کار هم گرفته میشه.
در نهایت اینکه یه جاهایی، خصوصاً در اواخر کتاب، کار به سمت شعار دادن میره که کاملاً توی ذوق منِ خواننده میزنه. اگه میخواستی شعار بدی خب چرا اینهمه قصه گفتی؟ همون شعارها رو مینوشتی دیگه!
در کل، با اینکه کتاب بد نبود، اما سخت تمومش کردم. مِیلی به پیش رفتن نداشتم و ضعف نویسنده و توانا نبودنش بسیار آزاردهنده بود.
در مورد ترجمه هم میتونم بگم خوب بود. فقط یکسری نکات عجیب ویرایشی داشت (مثلاً «رو» که حال محاورهی «را»ست به کلمهی قبلش چسبیدهبود و کارهای غیر قابل درکِ دِیمی از این دست) اما چیزی که بسیاااااااااار روی اعصاب من رژه میرفت «رگبی» بود! رگبی آخه؟ از کجا استخراجش کردین؟
مترجم عزیز! بازی «راگبی» از پیش از هخامنشیان در ایران با نام راگبی شناخته میشه. و البته در انگلیسی هم «راگبی» تلفظ درست کلمهست (البته ممکنه در فلان دهات اسکاتلند یا جنوب منچستر یه قبیلهای پیدا شن که بهش بگن رگبی.). یعنی در انگلیسی تلفظش راگبیه، و مهمتر اینکه در ایران به این نام جا افتاده و به همین نام شناخته میشه و حتی میشه راگبی رو یک کلمهی فارسی دونست. پس چی میشه که به سرت میزنه ناگهان راگبی رو به رگبی تبدیل کنی و مخاطب رو هرچند خط یکبار با یک کلمهی جدید روبرو کنی و در تمام طول داستان مرتب یه خطی به اعصاب و روان خواننده بندازی؟ خصوصاً اینکه راگبی مرتب تکرار میشد و منِ مخاطب چنان دچار «رگبی هراسی» شدهبودم که همهش میترسیدم نکنه الان یه «رگبی» بیاد وسط جمله.
ترجمهی نسبتاً خوب کتاب یک طرف، به شخصه بهخاطر این «رگبی» از مترجم نمیگذرم و حلالش نمیکنم. -
I wanted to give this book less than 3 stars. For me, 3 is kind of the cut-off between pretty good and not great. In the end, I felt the content was important enough to warrant three stars.
This book addresses school violence, particularly involving guns. The book is published in 2000 and was perhaps written out of reaction to the Columbine shootings. Still, since school violence--and particularly bullying, as the book discusses--is still prevalent, I don't think it is dated. The story is told from multiple perspectives of about 10-15 characters, two of them the shooters (only through segments of their suicide letters and I.M. conversations) and the rest students, teachers, or neighbors. The perspectives are short--a page and a half is probably the longest. It covers from seventh grade until the day of the shooting. The structure of the story was interesting to me. Was it difficult to follow all the characters? Yes, but it was somehow still effective. I wish the author had let his story and characters do the talking, but he didn't.
On the bottom of nearly every page are quotes and statistics, all about guns and school violence. I am not saying that these statistics were incorrect, but many of them did not even have a reference. Not only was it distracting to be in the middle of a character's voice and be interrupted by the statistic, but I was further distracted when trying to figure out the validity of the statistic. Honestly, the statistics turned the book into propaganda which made the overall story/message less affecting. Of course, I hate propaganda; it cheapens ideas.
Two other small things that disappointed me. I didn't feel like the characters' descent into the psychological place that allowed them to want to kill was explained well enough for me. Lastly, it seemed cliche to have the football team be full of tough jerks who wanted to constantly beat others and put others down. Does this happen sometimes? Yes. Does it still seem stereotypical for this novel? Definitely yes. Perhaps Strasser has more information on this than I am privy to, or perhaps leading the bully into a stereotype was his point, but I just had a very small problem with it. (Not every football player was portrayed as a bully, of course.) -
LESEMUSS !
Zitat:
,,Es gibt ein Sprichwort: Worte sind nur halb so verletzend wie Schläge.Völliger Blödsinn -
Der Schmerz der Schläge verschwindet mit der Zeit , doch Worte bleiben für immer im Gedächtnis und verletzen immer und immer wieder."
[S.45]
So bewegend und packend - WoW.
Emotionaler als John Green und " Sieben Minuten nach Mitternacht".
Das Buch spricht mir aus der Seele und hat mich extrem gefesselt.
Es ist ein grandioser Mix aus Gesellschaftskritik und Spannung.
Eines der besten Bücher überhaupt ! -
Another surprising read for me this month! I really thought this book was important and had some really nice quotes! I connected with the characters because this all felt like things I went through in high school. You can tell the author did their research.
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Richtig gutes Buch für eine Englischlektüre und auch so recht empfehlenswert. Man kann verstehen warum die anderen Mitglieder der Schule den Hauptcharakteren so auf den Sack gehen und dadurch wirkt die letztendliche Entscheidung von Gary und dem anderen (keine Ahnung mehr wie der heißt) zusammen mit dem wiederkehrenden Setup zur Gewalt authentisch. Das Buch hat außerdem den Charakter eines "cautionary tale" (deutsch?) und deswegen wirkt das reale Problem der Schoolshooter tatsächlich sehr präsent am Ende.
Im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes ein Banger -
I WILL NEVER STOP REREADING THIS ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS IVE EVER READ OK THATS IT THANK YOU FOR COMING TO MY TED TALK
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This book was originally published in 2000, and the author has an updated version in which he wrote a powerful "Author's Note." In it, Strasser talks about how when he first wrote this book he was an advocate for gun control. He expresses his dismay at how Congress permitted the federal ban on assault rifles back in 2004. Of course, that type of gun is almost a household word now with all of the mass school shootings we've had in this country. I never in my wildest dreams thought I would live to see the day that we'd have school shootings as we've had. And as much as I hate to say this, I fear what might happen in our country and our schools and to our innocents as we've seen so many murders recently across our country. Strasser had no idea when he wrote this in 2004 how it would speak to people in our times.
The book is about two boys in particular, Gary and Brendan, who are bullied. The football team is in particular their major source of being bullied. Sadly what the book says is all too true. Schools, teachers, administrators all have pressure on them to make sure sport athletes pass their classes. This occurs even in high school at the freshman level.
In this book these two boys suffer at the hands of many people and their pain is illustrated by letters, articles in various magazines and journals, notes written by teachers, parents, classmates, and others, so it's not told in a format that we'd typically read in a novel. I think the way Strasser unfolds the tragedy that occurred is very effective. It didn't particularly make me love or hate anyone, but it did keep me very focused on just how horribly bullied these kids were. And there is a very sad, deep understanding of how even though I hate what they did and what some real life students have done and will do, I understand how it gets so bad that they don't want to live anymore and they want revenge.
I think Gary and Brendan's story is super effective in warning others about bullying and I think this could be used in a school setting to open discussion about the effects of bullying in very real and deeply destructive ways. It isn't just the bullied who are destroyed. -
A word of warning…the book is disturbing on so many different levels. The reader has a hard time thinking of it as fiction since the scene has been repeated so many times in so many different cities and schools with the same tragic and heartbreaking results. To tell the story of two alienated and disaffected teenagers who become obsessed with guns and bombs and ultimately vow to exact revenge on all the students…faculty members…and administrators at their school…the author employees many voices to reflect the incomplete narrative that inevitably emerges from tragedies such as these. Parts of the narrative go into “preachy” homilies about bullying and tolerance vs. intolerance, but it’s hard to object when there are no easy solutions available. An unexpected and ironic development at the end of the violence highlights the complexity of the issue, and no one escapes a part of the blame. The author rightly acknowledges that we are all culpable to some extant…as we sometimes come across as a culture that values violence over empathy.
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There was one thing about this book that irritated me from the beginning: it's a stereotypical school shooting story. The main characters are bullied by jocks, they spend a lot of time on their computers, they come from broken families, and (easily the biggest thing to irk me) they played a lot of video games. Yeah, a lot of these characteristics are common in school shooters, but that doesn't mean they're the triggering facts. Listening to Marilyn Manson (don't get me started on that one) or playing video games does not, in my opinion, make someone want to kill everyone in their school. I think it might sometimes trigger it, but to me that means the person initially has a mental deficiency and cannot separate reality from fantasy. Maybe it's because this book was written shortly after and based on the events of Columbine, but I found it very stereotypical/entirely unoriginal.
One of the other biggest things was how the story was written. The book is filled of testimonies of people who grew up with/knew the shooters or where in the room when everything happened. You never really get close to any of the characters because there are too many to remember.
And even though there is a character who dated one of the boys and she tells what it's like to be mistreated and bullied in high school, it's still very stereotypical. In a sense, I felt that the author personally looked down on students who were bullied and were the cause of these types of massacres, and because of that, he wasn't interested in learning what it was like for them. So he wrote about them getting called "faggot" and skipping school and doing drugs, because to him, that was what all of these types of kids did. He carried no interest in learning about their home lives or psychological disorders most have been diagnosed with.
Instead, he turned this into a story about the jocks (because of course, the only type of bullying to exist is that between jocks and nerds). He showed how they were treated like kings in high school, and I think that's where he tried a little bit to show what it was like for the underdogs, but he did a terrible job with it. Also, I wasn't happy to read about some fictional characters bragging about how it wasn't their fault they were so good at football. But that's what 99% of this book focused on.
I was hesitant going into this book, because while I find documentaries about true life crime interesting (hellooo fascination with serial killers), I know that when most authors try to show both sides of a story, it never winds up pretty. In fact, this book was rather ugly. -
This was a good, quick, albeit depressing read. A fictionalized account of a school shooting in middle American, the book is told through anecdotes from a wide variety of characters, including the shooters friends, enemies, and various classmates, teachers, parents, etc. Interspersed throughout the book are statistics about gun violence. The author has definate ideas, but no firm solutions, about the problem of school shootings. It is a provocative look at a disturbing and pertinent subject. I'm not sure if I should encourage my students to read it, or worry that it will give them ideas.
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مدتهای مدید بود که این کتاب توی لیستto read ام بود و دیگه حتا یادم نمیاد کی بهم پیشنهادش کرده و کجا تعریفشو شنیدم.
منو یاد سریال 13 reasons why انداخت. یه سری روایت مستند طور داره که هر پاراگراف رو آدم های متفاوتی میگن و این به خاطر سپردن اسم ها یکی از بدترین قسمتای کتابه!
کلا ایده خوب بود اما طرز روایت داستان رو دوست نداشتم. -
It’s been a long time since I’ve finished this one but it was good. Interesting and got me speechless. Recommended ✅
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i really recommend that if you choose to read this book then please read the 20th anniversary edition like i did. It gives stats on gun violence since this book was written in 2000.
I live in australia and the last mass shooting we had was in 1996 and it wasn't on our mainland but in tasmania. After that our government banned guns, bought our guns off us and then destroyed them all. Australians now live normal lives without fearing being shot down in normal places such as school, work, leisure time. Yes we still do have gun violence and knife crimes but it's extremely rare. The gun violence we do have here rarely turn out fatal and it's always a personal matter, rarely someone shooting up strangers.
This book was set in the US and most of the stats the book gave were about US violence. It's crazy that now days the US has a mass shooting every day of the year. Kids are killed getting an education all because their government refuses to ban guns.
There is absolutely no reason for most guns to exist. I actually agree with households keeping guns to protect their homes and themselves (unpopular opinion) but there is no reason a person should be able to buy a weapon that is designed for mass destruction. Most assault rifles are bad for hunting as it causes too much damage to the animal and you can't salvage any meat or fur/skin and they are mostly used for wars and army training. They are made to kill humans and here are some governments letting average citizens buy them! it's unbelievable. Saw a post on instagram the other day of an average man in america who owns a bazooka. He lives in a little flat, has a criminal backround!!! but has a bazooka.
As i said before, i do personally think households should be able to keep a pistol to defend their homes (if they are permitted to, backround checks and training will have to be a must) but there is no reason for an average citizen to own a gun that causes severe damage.
This book heavily focuses on bullying and i feel like if you were never bullied then you'll never understand how mentally taxing it is to even step foot into school.
I can only speak from the Australian high school experience. Most Australian high schools have a huge popularity issue, popular kids feel superior and put unpopular kids down. Most schools here don't have in school sport or cheerleaders, all that stuff is outside school activity so our popularity isnt based on those two sports but rather looks or how much of a dickhead you can be. It's harsh here but students usually unite no matter their popularity. -
Ausnahmsweise mal eine gute Lektüre in der Schule, Perspektivwechsel sind ungewöhnlich, aber durchaus interessant.
Leider sind einzelne Anmerkungen/Informationen falsch. -
I read it in 24h.
"Nothing-and everythin-about it is real" says the author.
As an European, this seems like fiction but although it was written in 1999, it's sadly, far too present and real. It could be Sandy Hook or any other school shooting. It is Columbine, it is Springfield...
A 10/10 for how distressing it is but at the same time so addicting because of the different way it is written.
Be kind to your fellow humans and ban guns from the world. -
A true story of what happened at Middleton school. NOT fiction.
Two boys 3 years of high-school together they are haunted, laughed at, tormented and bullied to the point where they both SNAP. In this book it's not because they are gay, they aren't. Because they are to those bullies: lower life forms on the food chain.
The book contains the following contents:
- Final letters of both boys prior to their vengeful mission to make them all pay. The bullies on the football team and the school teachers who stood by and allowed it. Turning a blind eye to when went on with their students.
- Bits of messenger convoy between Brandon and Gary along with a couple other of their friends in discussion prior to what leads up to the final day.
- The story alters from person to various persons who or knew these boys, interacted with them in some way and acquainted with one or both and they tell you from their POV from the time both Brendon and Gary met mid 8th grade to that Friday night while in 10th grade where a school dance was their perfect chance to plot said revenge and to their plans to the extreme level that they'd been plotting for weeks, months, maybe longer. All chaos and hell breaks loose as their 'mission' is executed, yet not all goes as planned.
So much more I wish to tell you about this short book that I own, but why spoil and spill it for those of you who haven't read this one yet.
Brendan is the one of the two who is outspoken and not a pushover. Gary is quiet, reserved and a complete introvert. My heart bled for both Brendan and Gary. These boys were a ticking time bomb which eventually combusted and ignites when their lives collide.
Do not confuse this with being a gay novel because I read it. It is not so.
I read
I see
I understand it, but...
The signs were there. It could have been prevented with stricter no tolerance school rules on bullying.
Final note:
It's sad, rather pathetic that the teachers although they claim in the book that they are there to teach the children and not raise them, are still a part of these teenagers every day lives. They are the figures of our piers that most look up to and hope for guidance to be respectable citizens when school ends and they have a whole life ahead of them in that grown up world which awaits them. Not at this school. The kids are let down unless... you're a jock.
After having read this my view is I hold the bullies responsible and the adults, the teachers, the piers that are there to guide and nurture the students who FAILED accountable.
I hope in the stand they took at the risk of their own lives that Brendan and Gary made a difference -
I LOVED THIS BOOK! It was really interesting. It was about a group of friends that always got bullied. Two of them (Gary and Brendan) get really fed up with it and make a revenge plan. In the town that the book takes place in the football players are worshiped in the town. If your not on the football team or the cheer leading squad your an outcast. If you dress differently from everyone or you don't cheer for the team your also an outcast. Gary and Brendan both hate there life and school. They're best friends and they thought about committing suicide but decided why not bring some of the people that made our lives miserable with us? I strongly recommend this book to readers that love suspense and social issue books. The book is written in letters. Friends, family, teachers, peers, and enemies write about how they knew Brendan and Gary. They write about the night they trapped a bunch of people in the gym at a school dance. They're instant messages and emails to each other and friends are in the book too. I really enjoyed this book and I think a lot of other people will too.
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As an educator...it is so hard for me to read novels like this. I know these things happen, but it is just so sad. What drives a person to take a someone else life? What drives a person to outcast the one that doesn't fit "societal norms"? How much have we ignored as adults? This is scary. The author did a wonderful job at capturing and invoking a wide range of emotions from the writing to the reader. It was good story, heavy, but nicely done. I wish there was an easy answer to the bullying, tormenting and feeling of worthlessness that so many of our students face. If we can teach "civility...where differences between people are embraced, not ridiculed." My heart was beating so hard while reading this story, I was so sad for Gary and Brendan, but also sad for the students that had to go through that terrifying moment, but also angry for the people that partook in the harassment and upset that this is what it came to. So many emotions. Gosh, I hate hate...
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The layout of the storytelling is very interesting and the climax of the story quite intense, but I just felt there could have been so much more done with this story. Maybe since I've read other school shooting books before such as Nineteen Minutes I thought there would be more to it. Horribly tragic, with a small twist in the last paragraph that I didn't see coming and would have liked to have known more about prior to the end. I wish I could have seen more narrative from certain characters and not others as the story unfolded, like Allison.
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Written 22 years ago and still so relevent. Bullying. Students being treated as "less than" by classmates, teachers, administrators, and community. Not enough counselors in the school. Teachers expected to take on parts of personal development that historically have been parent, family, or religious community responsibilities. And access to weapons. Sobering.
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The subject is obviously important and still relevant. Maybe there have just been too many shootings since the publication for this to be thought provoking. I liked the inclusion of statistics and quotes throughout the fictional accounts of events.
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I am really surprised I liked this book because usually I don't like books that have just all letter writing. However, I feel very strongly about gun control (that it has to happen) so that spurred me on in reading this. The two lead characters in the book Brendan and Gary are reminders of the duo that shot students at Columbine which really started the whole school shooting tragedies. Except they keep the kids hostage in the gymnasium during a dance ---- there are all kinds of comments from their fellow students, teachers, a therapist, the principal, some very conservative parents and community members and some liberal ones. But the major theme is that something has to be done about this situation and NOW! It is very topical and written very simply so that YA students will get into the book, as well. They will recognize their friends and maybe themselves in these characters, and that's what needs to happen. Empathy needs to move mountains on this issue and fast. I recommend the book to those who want to empathize with the situation more because you really go into the thoughts and minds of people involved. And their comments are general enough so that they become terribly universal and therefore useful to us who have to make decisions on what to do.
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((I am Autistic, please be patient with the spelling errors ))))
I'll never forget my high school years, and God was it just like Gary and Brendan. Every day was a living hell and I hated everyone. It didnt help that I was a foster kid straight from a Netflix-worthy horror life. Covered in scars, emaciated, oily hair, donated second-hand clothes. Didnt talk right growled, and couldn't walk as a normal girl should due to the result of abuse both physical and sexual. Still, my classmates were pros at making me feel worse than I already did. I won't lie, there are many fire drills where I hoped it was the real deal. Or our tornado warning would become a destructive reality. The one time we had an active shooter threat with the killer in our school, I remember watching these macho jocks turn into sniveling babies. Preppy girls that would rip your shirt off and spit in your face started to cry. I thought it was pathetic. I prayed for that bullet to hit me so I could be rid of the world. I didn't need it and it didn't need me. I wasnt sure why the cliques that had it all were all suddenly cowering under their desks. Me and the other 'emos' just watched and refused to join them. I can remember thinking much like Gary and Brendan, at how satisfying it was to see at least my daily bullies were human. They could feel fear, yet they constantly made others' lives a living hell. Wasnt that just ironic?
Per my psychologist and trauma team, I am a number. A statistic based on where I came from and what I've been through. If you know and relate, then this book speaks volumes.
Everything this story teaches is valid. If parents dont wake up, if schools dont step up, then what do any of you expect? The statements of favoritism towards the athletic department are beyond accurate. Im pretty sure a jock in my school could murder another student and the coach would cover it up for the sake of nationals. (((Movie inspiration maybe? Or perhaps another novel delving into the dangerous favoritism that happens in schools and where that can lead too))). Other departments like art and music were sacrificed to feed the football department. If you weren't into sports, you were a loser. Our teachers often doubled as coaches too, which created an unhealthy mentality in class. Jocks could do no wrong because their coach wouldn't fail or write them up. Our math teacher went so far as to sneak them AIMS answers on the whiteboard and text them answers for the standardized test. He said he would pass all of us if we didnt tell. The football team had a hot streak and he wouldn't sacrifice it for some stupid state test. (His exact words).
I applaud this author for making this book so relatable and showing a cruel dark reality that happens at the majority of campuses. It's a grim reminder that there should be stricter standards in school. Athletes should be held to the same standard as any student. No one is above the Golden Rule. Faculty that are aware of bullying should put an immediate stop to it! Not encourage it on the grounds of, 'it makes them stronger! No, what it does is it breaks down an individual, drives them to the brink, and possibly over the edge. There needs to be more tact with schools and the aggressive parties involved, instead of the retaliation that comes from reporting the bullying!
Recently a bully went too far with a 12- year old. He was suspended by the school for two days, and on the third day, the same victim went home. His bully had returned. Not seeing a way out he hung himself with his hoodie from his bed. He was driven to believe that he couldn't get away. He took all the right steps, and his parents did too and in the end, the bully was allowed back to hurt the child so severely, he ended his life. ((I believe the bully is awaiting trial)).
In this book, there are a lot of animal references when it comes to instinct and hierarchy justifying this disgusting behavior, so I'll give my own as a K9 behaviorist.
When a submissive, beaten dog is backed into a corner, all its stress signals and whimpers ignored, what becomes of it? With a larger threat ready for round two, the poor trembling lesser is left with one option- fight. A thin line snaps in its mind and feelings like pain and fear are forgotten. Instead, its psyche becomes numb, with its body acting upon reflex. Even if it was to die, that beaten dog would still lash out and fight in a state of red. It won't stop now, not for anything, the reflex of flight is long gone. Pushed over its limits, that beaten dog will fight until its last breath, backed into a corner, and driven to an insane mental state.
Which dog would you blame?
The attacker because they may have been instigated? Perhaps the other dog walked by them wrong?
Would you blame the victim dog and say they deserved it for being weak or looking at the other dog wrong? Did they not submit properly? Should he have urinated himself, would that have been enough?
Would you simply stand and watch because of some farfetched outdated excuse such as, 'well they will learn, thats how it is. That bigger dog will teach them a lesson and they won't do it again.' Or would you argue, 'it's normal, dogs fight, and they will sort it out'.
This book sits on my shelf, one of the original copies I stole from a book fair in high school. ((I was broke, judge all you like but I stole a book, not drugs)).
When I read the story, I felt compelled, I felt like there was a message in each chapter and I understood it loud and clear. I felt the pain, the heartache. Much like Gary and Brendon, I would wish death upon those who bullied me, including members of my foster family. However, I never wanted it by my own hands, more like a natural disaster. Even then, I just went numb and stopped caring. I vowed to be better than that and this book was one of those reads that got me thinking. As far as influence went, I had nothing given my god-awful life, but I was observant and I survived this way. This book helped me see a lot and I even used a bit of Brendan's ferocity to stand up to a bully who went too far on another kid.
I hope others who are struggling know you arent alone. I know it may seem like smoke up your ass (again), but you're not. Ive been there, emo, fat, and self-harm in many forms. Ive been down that dark road where the demon whispers and you contemplate offing yourself. Trust me it's the worst damn feeling and no one can say they are in your shoes. But hear me out, those who are hurting you arent worth your thoughts and time. You're gonna get out of there and someday everyone in that class is going to be going through it. Bills, divorce, death, responsibilities, mental illness, self-discovery, all of it. Not to mention that their current attitude won't get them far, there are bigger worse people around every corner and karma is a bitch. The world is not tolerant of bullies and with awareness, that tolerance has become paper thin. So listen to your metal, drown them out, wear what you want, be who you want and dont let them get you. Listen to the last part, as someone who had to survive in a constantly hostile environment, dont let them see it hurts. Be the stronger one always. You're better than them, you are. You know why? Because you have demons that they couldn't possibly win against. Like me, you wake up and you face another day of hell when others would have surrendered and submitted to that overwhelmingly crushing feeling. You are stronger than them. You are better. You're not weird, you're not ugly, you're not white trash, you're not ghetto, you're not lesser, you are you. They can't compare YOU to jack shit, because there is only ONE YOU. You are unique for a reason, trust me on that. And hey if you ever feel you need a fellow emo, wolf fanatic, non- judgemental Christian (I have friends who are worship Satan, witches, and atheists), someone who's been there done that, a fat chubby girl with scars and missing teeth, a suicide attempt survivor, then you can reply any time. Trust me, you won't bother me or tell me anything I haven't heard. All you'll get from me is an ear and a shoulder if you need it.
Im proud of you whoever you are. I am, if no one said you are a fucking rockstar today, then allow me. -
⭐️ ⭐️
Personal Score: B-
Critical Score: D
Once the plot gets somewhere, I was riveted in a sickening way that even horror rarely makes me feel. I guess it’s because of the reality of school gun violence that this story feels so deeply nightmarish and wrong to write about as entertainment. Not that this is entertainment alone. Strasser adds some effective elements to make this book more of an educational project for student readers, like the lists at the end and all the stats, and how most of this content is conversation-starters, not decided fiction.
I love fucked up stuff, but somehow this book felt wrong. That’s just because I’m a 2000s young adult in the US. Thanks, ‘Merica.
Not well written. Not really ethical (see Stephen King removing his school shooting book from stores). Very dated. A relic, in a way. Maybe that’s where the questionable decision to publish this came from. By the end, it has made its case for publication. 20 years ago, I’d be more on board. Today, we would need severe revisions.
One of the most (moderate liberal) boomer books I’ve ever read. It’s got all the anti video games and pro adult supervision arguments you could ask for.
Felt uncomfortable by the frequent use of “fag.”
The incorporation of stats throughout was a good concept but poorly executed, as it disrupted the reading flow every other page.
Also didn’t approve of listing the speaker names *after* the quote, as it made for a clunky and confused reading experience.
Strasser is not skilled at writing teen voices. Especially in text/direct messaging...oof.
The craft of a magazine article rather than a novel. It doesn’t operate in a fully artistic and inspired space. It’s much more driven by a creative journalism. And I can work with that. But it’s still a very weak book in terms of craft.
