TAKING AIM

In this powerful anthology of realistic fiction by acclaimed YA authors, riveting stories reveal the timely and thought provoking issues of gun control, gun violence, and gun ownership with emotional and evocative writing.

In this collection of thought provoking fiction, sixteen celebrated authors address the impact of guns on American teens with varying perspectives. Readers are left to consider and reconsider where they place the blame.

The late Walter Dean Myers writes about a boy whose abysmally low self-esteem is impacted when a gun comes into his possession and the potential for violence ensues in a culture beyond caring. Pair this with an ironic story by Tim Wynne-Jones where a gun comes almost magically into the hands of a boy who has been brutally bullied and as a result, however briefly, the perpetrator becomes the victim. Hunting is an integral part of gun culture and it is the target of stories by Greg Galloway and Ron Koertge.

Also, the tragedy of school shootings has become emblematic of our time and is examined by Francesca Lia Block and Jennifer Hubbard. Francesca’s is narrated by a caring teacher whose classroom has been invaded, while in Jennifer’s story it is a student who is the narrator, recalling a senseless tragedy that befell a favorite teacher. Edward Averett’s moodily evocative story reveals the inner workings of a disturbed boy’s mind and its impact on his strong-willed grandmother, while Peter Johnson and Joyce Carol Oates thoughtfully address, in their individual ways, the juxtaposition of guns and unintended consequences.

Former director of the Beverly Hills Public Library and a past president of the Young Adult Library Services Association, Michael Cart is a writer, lecturer, and consultant. His column “Carte Blanche” appears monthly in Booklist magazine and his author interview television program “In Print” is broadcast nationally on the Dish Satellite Network.