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.

Clean

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.

Give a Boy a Gun, with its powerful message should be in every classroom library. The structure of the text is one that will prove invaluable when encouraging reluctant readers. I will be adding this title to my classroom in September.

It was good but what didn't sell it for me was the way it was written. I would have much preferred a straight beginning to end story instead of letters and, I guess you could call them, interviews of those involved. I found it was kind of choppy. It got better towards the end.

Musste dieses Buch für die Schule lesen. Ziemlich tragisch, doch trotzdem spannend.

One of the defining books of my childhood. Read it for an 8th grade projects and it’s stuck with me ever since.