Review

Give a Boy a Gun

Common Sense Media says

Intense school-shooting book will trigger heated discussion.
Age
13
Quality
 

  • The author includes, at the foot of many of the pages, factoids about
    real school shootings, guns, efforts at gun control, and statistics
    about death and violence in our society. He concludes with a list of
    related events that took place while he was writing the book, a partial
    list of school shootings, and a bibliography. This book -- and this information -- could be useful to
    high school teachers and administrators looking to raise gun control
    awareness among students.
  • This intense story will make readers think about both the impact of bullying -- and America's gun culture. Parents can use the questions in our "Families Can Talk About" section to help their teens think more deeply about these topics.
  • The author is trying to make a connection between bullying and violence, but most of the main characters exhibit some of the worst behavior possible. The protagonists suffer through relentless bullying to the point that some readers may actually find themselves rooting for the shooters to succeed.
  • Shootings and beatings. Effects described in detail. Two teens capture students and teachers, shoot some, and mean to kill them all. From start to finish, humiliation, rage, and fear predominate.

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that kids will probably find this book about a school shooting hard to put down -- and even harder to forget. The subject matter is intense: the main characters are harassed, and later they plan an elaborate school shooting involving kidnapping, murders, guns, and bombs. That said, this is a book that will inspire a lot of discussion and introspection. The author helps kids think more deeply about both bullying and our gun culture, and provides facts about
real school shootings as well as statistics about guns and gun control and more. Common Sense Media's article "Talking to Kids About School Shootings" can help parents who think that their kids might be overwhelmed by these facts, or this story.


This review of Give a Boy a Gun was written by
Age
14

Most useful reviews by all members

Teen, 17 years old
April 24, 2009
 
I LOVED THIS BOOK
OMG i had to read this book my freshman year in high school. and Now that im a jr in high school i get to read it again. and i LOVE IT. It just Means so much and the sad thing is.. I can see this happening at my school!

Teen, 15 years old
April 14, 2009
 
I loved this book!!!
This book completely changed my overall perspective of how real it is when kids are pushed to the point of popping. I know how it feels to be pushed, but I never would think of attempting to kill my classmates. Strasser really took time to show his readers how people in our own world can treat kids, and teachers not do anything about it, when they see it and let it happen.

Kid, 11 years old
September 13, 2009
 
This book is ok for kids 13+ even though I am only 11
This book is beast. Everything is so vivid, so distressing, it makes you feel like you are in the story. There is merely a thing gap between this and reality. THe messages are positive and negative. It teaches kids that revenge is nessecary, but some kids might like to see the peril and blood.

Parent of 15 year old
October 22, 2010
 
i lovee this book

Kid, 12 years old
April 26, 2009
 
They should have succeeded!
I read this book and I'm disappointed that they didn't succeed. They deserved good revenge for all those years of torture. But overall it was a great book and you should read it if you haven't already.

Teen, 13 years old
January 14, 2011
 
Great book.
Epic book. I cried when I finished it <3 What alot of parents won't get is, the authors purpose in writing the book was to prevent future school shootings. I mean, it was pretty obvious to me. I almost couldn't get my mom to buy the book for me because of the subject. The book had a lot of information and facts promoting further gun control and anti-bullying programs in schools at the bottom of each page. It is a tough subject to talk about, but ignoring it never helps.

Parent
December 20, 2010
 
Intense
This book contains the true opinions of the people involved in a school shooting, and it comes on really strong. This tells the realities of school bullying, and it's important that some kids learn about these things. I feel very safe at my high school, so I don't believe I really needed to read this, esp. with the language and drug/alcohol content. I think it depends more on a teens' or tweens' backgrounds, for whether they should read this book. But I definitely think that no one under fifteen should be reading this silently or by themselves. Grab a parents, grab a teacher, grab a friend. Read it out loud. For someone already heading that direction, this book could seem to glamorize the shooting scene. I still don't know if I should have given this book a one or a five.

Teen, 14 years old
December 20, 2010
 
Intense
This book contains the true opinions of the people involved in a school shooting, and it comes on really strong. This tells the realities of school bullying, and it's important that some kids learn about these things. I feel very safe at my high school, so I don't believe I really needed to read this, esp. with the language and drug/alcohol content. I think it depends more on a teens' or tweens' backgrounds, for whether they should read this book. But I definitely think that no one under fifteen should be reading this silently or by themselves. Grab a parents, grab a teacher, grab a friend. Read it out loud. For someone already heading that direction, this book could seem to glamorize the shooting scene. I still don't know if I should have given this book a one or a five.

Teen, 15 years old
November 9, 2010
 
i love this book beacuse it shows hom many kids get pick on in school to the ponit they kill them selves :(

Teen, 17 years old
April 9, 2008
 
Not as bad as it sounds,
I totally LOVED this book. It's about these boys that are toal outcasts. They get made fun of constantly and are finally sick of it. One of them owns a gun and decides to take action. They are very frustrated, as you get to be also by reading on. I reccommend this for kids over the age of 12.

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