Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Give a Boy a Gun, by Todd Strasser


Brendan and Gary have always been teased. They have always been the bottom of the barrel. Always ignored, no one notices them except to punish them or hurt them. But they make that change when the come to a school dance armed and take their classmates and teachers hostage.

I am not sure what to say about this book. It opens with Gary's suicide note and a college student trying to understand why these boys would do something like this. It continues as interviews, chat logs and e-mails. It is a book that makes you extremely uncomfortable because you can almost see why these boys did this. It almost makes sense and seems reasonable.  That is a horrifying thought, because when would shooting ANYONE be reasonable? This book is hard to read, but I think reading this kind of book opens your mind and lets you see a little bit of that dark, evil spot in everyone's head. It makes you wonder and actively think about what you could do, because after seeing that darkness you can't just ignore it.

5 stars,
Emme

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