Give a Boy a Gun Mass Market Paperback – April 1, 2002

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, Todd Strasser uses a quilt of voices to reflect the incomplete narrative that inevitably emerges from tragedies such as these.None of the characters in this chronicle is developed in any conventional sense—and the underdevelopment of the characters, along with the hazy sense of plot, unconventional structure, and overall sense of detachment—are probably calculated and strategic risks to reflect the theme of incomprehensibility and senseless loss that accompanies the events in this novel (if this book may even be classified as a novel).Brief portions of the narrative lapse into preachy homilies about bullying and tolerance, but it’s tough to object when there are no easy solutions. An unexpected and ironic development at the climax of the violence highlights the complexity of the issue, and no one escapes blame. Strasser acknowledges that we are all culpable—to some extant—for a culture that values violence over empathy.

It’s a interesting book about Delving into the minds of two mass shooters. It is fiction but addresses real problems like bullying in school and easy access to weapons. It was a easy read and would recommend it

Loved this book as a kid. Very powerful

I bought this book interested in the fictional stories produced around school shootings. Granted, I understand that some may use this story as a tool to understand the Columbine shootings, but for being a work of fiction, I was quite disappointed in its lack of creativity. Even the two main characters directly reflected Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold down to their specific preference in video games and music. It would be a good book for very young readers and I can appreciate how it was laid out and told, however I was personally not impressed with its lack of originality for fiction writing because it just felt to me as if the author got away with publishing a book of changed names of real people/events.

Great Read! I’m thinking I may use it as a Book Club read with some of our student leaders

It was age appropriate for a 14 year old. My daughter enjoyed the small captions which gave real statistics about guns and the dangers of allowing young men and ladies (middle to high school ) to possess them. Please, be aware!

This book was a very eye-opening expereince. I think it would be great to teach in a classroom, maybe with a unit on bullying.The book is written in a very different style that some students may love but others may hate.I personally was not fond of how it was written but I can still see the merit of it.

It's an ok book. It's entertaining, but the story is slow in the beginning

I think that you should inform about this book being a childrensbook!

Die Lieferung verlief schnell und super.Die fiktive Geschichte selbst behandelt ein sehr wichtiges Thema, welches unbedingt mehr thematisiert werden sollte, daher hat es sich definitiv gelohnt es zu lesen. Allerdings hat mich die Erzählweise nicht sehr angesprochen. Man hat nicht aus der Perspektive der Protagonisten erzählt, sondern über sie durch viele einzelne Kommentare von Personen aus ihrem Umfeld. Das hat meiner Meinung nach den Lesefluss stark beeinflusst. Trotzdem ein sehr gutes Buch mit vielen recherchierten Fakten über Amokläufe bzw. Unfälle mit Waffen zur damaligen Zeit.

After the event everybody seemed to have known for long that there had been something unusual and strange about the two boys somewhere in the USA.But no one had reacted to the odd behaviour until one boy shot dead himself.This depressing story points out the insidious development of two miserable boys on their way to becoming persons running amuck.The statements of the relatives, friends and acquaintances during the investigation of the amuck impressively show the way the two boy`s live have been getting worse until the final worst case scenario.And the reader fells guilty for also knowing miserable boys in his own environment.The shocking story is accompanied by a lot of nearly unbelievable facts about America`s attitude towards guns.Not acting seems to be a grave betrayal of the kids we love.Doris Vollmer

Lieferung und Zustand Topp, Buch schön gemacht und angenehm in der Hand.Ist beliebte Literatur bei Englischlehrern in Mittel-und Oberstufe und dafür sicher auch sehr gut geeignet.Ich bin allerdings eine erwachsene Frau, die Englisch auf Muttersprachlerniveau spricht, weswegen es für mich eher eine rasche Pflichtlektüre als große Spannung oder sprachliche Bereicherung darstellt. Trotzdem 5 Sterne, weil sicher eigentlich eine wirklich gute Lektüre für Teens.

Ich fand das Buch wirklich sehr gut.Es zeigt die Gründe der Täter, und lässt verstehen warum jemand so etwas tut. Der Leser fühlt gleichzeitig mit Täter und Opfer mit.Das Buch kritisiert aber teilweise auch, die "Situation" in Amerika wo jeder, auch junge Leute an eine Waffe kommen können. Und zu welchem Ende dies vielleicht führen kann.Ich empfehle das Buch jedem weiter, da es beide Seiten verstehen lässt und gleichzeitig auch kritisiert!