I thought this book was a very good one, I read it once when I was 13. Then again at 16. Although it shown alot of violence and anger it made me think about how I treat people around me. It is unlikley that there is a kid who will bring a gun to school and shoot people up. But it isn't impossible. It's happened before, and that's why I believe this book is pretty good one... it shows that people are affected by the way they are treated. It made me reflect and realize every one is going through different things and some go through different measures to "fix it". I recommend this book for teens who are mature enough to understand it.
Give a Boy a Gun
(2000, Fiction - Coming of Age, Written by Todd Strasser)
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Is it age appropriate?
About our ratings -
Is it any good?
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Common Sense says
This is one very disturbing book.
Themes in this book include: loss, physical abuse, revenge
updated 01.22.10
Why We Rated This 
for Ages 13–18
What to watch out for
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Role models:
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Violence:
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Sex:
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Language:
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Consumerism:
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Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
What Parents Need to Know
This review of Give a Boy a Gun was written by Matt Berman
Parents need to know that kids will probably find this book hard to put down -- and even harder to forget. The story will also inspire a lot of discussion and introspection. That said, most of the major characters exhibit the worst possible behavior. And although the point of the book argues against these attitudes, no alternative behaviors are shown. The plot also doles out lots of information about the gun culture.
Families Can Talk About
Talk to your kids about the media in their life. We have more tools and tips that can help
- Families can talk about how the fictional events described in this book mirror real-life school shootings that you've read about in the news or seen on television.
- Does this story have clear-cut heroes and villains?
- Which characters do you most identify with?
- If you were in Gary and Brendan's shoes, would you have acted any differently?
- Do you see any ways in which the tragedy could have been prevented? And is someone ever justified in resorting to extreme violence?
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More on Give a Boy a Gun
Book Summary
High school students Gary Searle and Brendan Lawlor enter a Friday-night school dance heavily armed with automatic weapons, having chained the doors shut and booby-trapped the exits with homemade bombs. They intend a carefully-planned payback against their schoolmates, mostly members of the football team, who have persecuted and tormented them for years.
In documentary format, using transcripts and interviews with survivors, this fictional story torn from the headlines chronicles events leading up to, during, and following the shootings.
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. Part of the book's proceeds are donated to gun-control organizations.
Is It Any Good?
Author Todd Strasser does a frighteningly effective job of making his readers think -- about others and about themselves -- and the result is one very disturbing book. Some of the ways it is disturbing are clearly intentional; others are less clear. But in the process of making his point, Strasser might have gone too far for some readers.Still, this provocative and compelling novel is certain to trigger much heated discussion, and will be useful to high school teachers and administrators looking to raise gun control awareness among students.
Publisher’s Details
Publisher: Simon and Schuster BFYR, Publication date: 1/1/2000
Number of pages: 146, Price: $5.99 (paperback)
Read Alone: 13+
Number of pages: 146, Price: $5.99 (paperback)
Read Alone: 13+
Our Members Say
See all 19 member reviews
Most Recent Reviews
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I rate this title on for age 13 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- My highlights are:
- Educational
Thoughts on it from a 17 year old.
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I rate this title iffy for age 13 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- My highlights are:
- Educational
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.
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I rate this title pause for age 10 and give it
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.
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I rate this title on for age 13 and give it
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!
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I rate this title on for age 13 and give it
still reading it
okay, i'm rading this book in my english class and so far so god. i love this book! but i have a couple questions. when they are talking about killings, that have happened in the past, at the bottom of each page, they frequently talk about this massacre where 2 boys shoot up their school and then they committed suicide and this massacre is what brought the book "give a boy a gun" as my teacher says. but i want to know what the massacre was called because i want to read about it.
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