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mdietz18's review against another edition
4.0
The way the story was told through interviews was interesting. A little bit dry until the very end, but still a worthwhile read.
andiebake's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
tarocannotread's review against another edition
Not giving this a rating yet even though I have finished it, because I haven’t decided how exactly I will rate it. I appreciate the method by which the author decided to talk about a school shooting, letting all of the people actually involved do all the talking, inserting only relevant statistics about gun manufacturing and gun violence, letting you ultimately draw your own conclusions. I also appreciate the relevancy of this book in the time is ppt was released, which saw a horrifying trend of school shootings, and I do think that it is fitting that this is marketed towards young adults, because most of the perpetrators if school shootings are young adults themselves.
aclopez6's review against another edition
3.0
When I read this book as a kid, I thought it was incredibly insightful and poignant. As an adult, this book did not have the same impact, and I am unsure if the rapid changes in perspective/brief quotes would work as effectively with today's audience.
blankville's review against another edition
3.0
It’s hard to rate this book… I’m glad I read it. It’s certainly not going to be a joy to read. I think it’s important to think about. what stands out to me is how unkind people can be to each other, especially in middle school and high school. I just think as adults we need to help people/children choose kindness. It’s why I teach books like wonder, out of her mind, Joni and more to help create compassion for people, in particular compassion for people who seem different from ourselves.
nurimoon's review against another edition
5.0
In diesem Buch geht es um einen Amoklauf an einer Schule. Der Aufbau ist folgender: Es wird aus der Perspektive unterschiedlicher Personen, die in Kontakt zu den Amokläufern standen geschrieben. Hier geht es hauptsächlich um Kommentare dieser Menschen, die Garys Stiefschwester Denise Shirley zusammengetragen hat. So berichten neben den Eltern der beiden auch Klassenkameraden, ehemalige Freunde und Lehrer über ihre Eindrücke und Gedanken in Bezug auf Gary und Brendan. Die Geschichte wird in Form von Aussagen, Zitaten, Stellungsnamen, Tagebucheinträgen, Emails und Chatprotokolle erzählt. Außerdem beinhaltet es ebenso die Abschiedsbriefe der beiden Täter.
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Die beiden Täter im Buch erinnern mich sehr stark and die Täter von der Columbine Highschool. Es sollte auch daran angelehnt sein und man merkt es auch sehr wenn man sich mit der Geschichte vom Columbine Highschool Shooting 1999 auskennt. Ich kenne die Geschichte gut & "studierte" sie quasi. Beide Characktere haben einen ähnlichen Charackter wie die Täter der CHS (Columbine Highschool). Ich fand das Buch sehr lesenswert. Ich würd es definitiv empfehlen. Es gab stellen die haben mich aufgeregt & schockiert, jedoch spiegelt dieses Buch die brutale Realität der heutigen Schulen & Jugendlichen wieder. Wenn sich nichts ändert, wirds immer mehr, immer häufiger und immer brutalere Amokläufe geben. Es ist ein Thema womit man sich einfach beschäftigen MUSS! Denn überall gibt es Leute die tickende Zeitbomben sind und wenn man ihnen kein Schutz vor der Umwelt, den Schikanen und den Gräueltaten von anderen Mitschülern gibt dann wirds weitergehen. Es wird versucht den Lesern zu sagen wie es zu solchen Taten kommen kann & das wir sie auch von anfang an abhalten können.
▪︎
Die beiden Täter im Buch erinnern mich sehr stark and die Täter von der Columbine Highschool. Es sollte auch daran angelehnt sein und man merkt es auch sehr wenn man sich mit der Geschichte vom Columbine Highschool Shooting 1999 auskennt. Ich kenne die Geschichte gut & "studierte" sie quasi. Beide Characktere haben einen ähnlichen Charackter wie die Täter der CHS (Columbine Highschool). Ich fand das Buch sehr lesenswert. Ich würd es definitiv empfehlen. Es gab stellen die haben mich aufgeregt & schockiert, jedoch spiegelt dieses Buch die brutale Realität der heutigen Schulen & Jugendlichen wieder. Wenn sich nichts ändert, wirds immer mehr, immer häufiger und immer brutalere Amokläufe geben. Es ist ein Thema womit man sich einfach beschäftigen MUSS! Denn überall gibt es Leute die tickende Zeitbomben sind und wenn man ihnen kein Schutz vor der Umwelt, den Schikanen und den Gräueltaten von anderen Mitschülern gibt dann wirds weitergehen. Es wird versucht den Lesern zu sagen wie es zu solchen Taten kommen kann & das wir sie auch von anfang an abhalten können.
lawreeann's review against another edition
5.0
Part fictional story about a school shooting and part factual information about guns, teens and violence. This book really helps the reader to connect to the pressures and general unease with yourself during your high school years. With guns as easy to access as they are right now, it is no wonder youth violence is on the rise.
elizagraceox's review against another edition
5.0
Amazing book! Everyone should read this. it should be taught in schools. such an eye opener.
atlasvitreous's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I reread this today as an adult, 18 years after I read it for the first time in my sixth grade library at age 11. I really appreciate that it exists. I don’t know who I would’ve been if I hadn’t read something that, for my mind at the time, was so visceral and confronting something real. Sure, it’s not the most engaging story and, as an adult, certainly not as traumatic and bloody as I remember it being back then. But, like - is that not the problem?
So much of this shit has happened since then that now this feels tame, right? Columbine “feels tame.” It cut me to see the list in this book of school shootings circa 2000 and know how much longer it is now. As long as the world continues to soak in violence, it’s our responsibility to educate our kids about that and try to change it. My generation that grew up with this book hasn’t done it yet. Everyone thought we would. It’s hard not to be defeatist and returning to this book was a very sad, sobering experience.
I just have to believe we’ll get it right. In the meantime, though, we have to talk about it. This book did that right.
So much of this shit has happened since then that now this feels tame, right? Columbine “feels tame.” It cut me to see the list in this book of school shootings circa 2000 and know how much longer it is now. As long as the world continues to soak in violence, it’s our responsibility to educate our kids about that and try to change it. My generation that grew up with this book hasn’t done it yet. Everyone thought we would. It’s hard not to be defeatist and returning to this book was a very sad, sobering experience.
I just have to believe we’ll get it right. In the meantime, though, we have to talk about it. This book did that right.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Gun violence, Suicide, and Mass/school shootings
Moderate: Blood and Injury/Injury detail
aporteus's review against another edition
2.0
Written in the form of excerpts from interviews and the suicide notes, Give a Boy a Gun tells the story of a school shooting and its aftermath. It could have been a compelling story, but there was no real sense of engagement with the characters. The liberal use of footnotes with many interesting and disturbing real-life facts about school shooting and gun violence distracted from the story itself - for the sake of the story they might have been better at the end, although they might not have been real as much. For a teen read on school shootings [b:Hate List|6316171|Hate List|Jennifer Brown|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1242667034s/6316171.jpg|6501420] by Jennifer Brown is far superior.