Customer Reviews

Shooter

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ever since Columbine, perhaps before, the public has been aware of the potential for violence in youths. In Shooter, we get a glimpse of the aftermath of a similiar incident. In what is termed a cult shooting, two boys are killed, one of them as a result of suicide, one murder. Six other students are injured. Police and psychologists are left with the task of reconstructing what was going on in the minds of those involved. Their assessments focus on two students, a young black boy who was the best friend of the suicide victim, and the girlfriend of the suicide victim. Both are a mix of anger, confusion, and hurt that cries out for love. Both are too old to be so young.

***** Readers sit in on the interviews with these two and are given a peak into police records, news articles, and reports. It is a harsh, grim, bleak read; but very insightful and telling. Although billed as a teen book, parents should exercise caution due to the darkness of the subject matter. However, adults might benefit from reading it, so as to get an insight into the world that their children are exposed to and may be part of if they are not careful. *****

Reviewed by Amanda Killgore.

Walter Dean Myers, author of the Michael L. Printz Award-winning MONSTER and many other acclaimed children's books, has done it again. Told from multiple perspectives in the aftermath of a high school shooting, Myers's latest effort SHOOTER tells the haunting story of three misfit teens.

Through a series of interviews, newspaper clippings and the diary of a troubled teen, the story unfolds. The reader learns about the shooter, Leonard, through in-depth interviews with his best friend Cameron and his ex-girlfriend Carla. Conducted by a school psychologist, an FBI agent, a threat analysis specialist and the town sheriff, the meetings demonstrate the different voices of the characters and reveal the teens' angst and desire to belong to a group.

Leonard assumes the role of leader with his friends. He introduces them to guns and brings them to the Patriots' target shooting club. Cameron and Carla are so needy for companionship that they don't see how disturbed Leonard truly is. They don't know the extent of his inner demons until it is too late. Leonard shows up at school one day with his guns and goes on a shooting spree, killing Brad, a jock and source of constant torment, and then himself.

SHOOTER is a haunting story that uncovers the pain of several high school students. It explores the tragedies of school violence and how the result of bullying can go to the most dramatic extreme. Myers has a gift for expressing the voices of his characters. Through every word, pause and breath in these interviews, we gather understanding. The excerpt from Leonard's diary, or as he calls it, "die-ary," reveals the twisted mind of the force behind the event. Parts of the diary are almost poetic, a technique common in Myers's writing. SHOOTER is not a light read, but it will leave you reeling.

(...)

This book by Walter Dean Myers was deffinately one of the best books I have read so far! The detail with which he describes the story, almost makes you believe what you are reading to be an actual event that has, at some point, taken place in the real world. I also loved the emotional side of this story, and I could really sympathize with what the characters were going through. It really makes you think about life and what it means to you. And it also brings to light just how easy it is to drive someone to "the point of no return". This book shows that if you keep pushing and pushing someone, eventually they will fall. I really enjoyed reading Shooter, and I strongly recoment it to anyone who has a strong interest in people and emotions.

"Shooter" is the story of a school shooting told from the perspective of the two friends of the perpetrator, in interview format after the tragedy has occurred. Cameron Gray is the shooter's friend, and Carla is their mutual friend. Both teens have problems in the form of indifferent or abusive parents, bullying by peers, and in the girl's case, sexual abuse.
However, neither is as troubled as Leonard, who plots to blow up the school and eventually makes an attempt.

The book's strength comes from the fact that both Carla and Cameron are entirely believable teens. They don't speak in pop culture soundbites, they aren't endlessly snarky, and they don't have insight into their situation more appropriate for an adult of the author's age. I appreciated the fact that none of the young characters sounded as if they were on a primetime teen TV drama. The reader is given enough clues to piece together what happened and figure out why, without it being overly obvious or "message-y".

So why the semi-low rating? When it comes to the shooter, Leonard, himself, the author makes it impossible to figure out what is making this guy tick. Is he mentally ill? His diary entry has the language usage of someone suffering from perhaps either schizophrenia or manic depression. At times, I found it nearly unreadable, though that could have also been the font. While I felt sorry for the teen, I was unable to glean any insight into his behavior. While this is an interesting direction to take with a character, it removes a lot of responsibility for his actions, and makes the issue of bullying, bad parenting, etc., secondary. At least if you believe these conditions are caused by nature, not nuture.

"Give A Boy a Gun" by Todd Strasser uses a similiar format as "Shooter," only expanded to include interviews with the shooter's classmates and teachers. I think that might have helped provide more insight into the Leonard character.

This book was an exceptional book. Although it was very disturbing it had lots of good writing in it. It seemed to be based on Columbine with many of the themes the same. The way the book was set up was interesting, through many interviews with the people involved with the incident. It is about a boy named Len, who has numerous mental problems. He abuses prescription drugs, is bullied at school hates, and his parents. He has been arrested and suspended from school. His only friends are Cameron and Carla. Carla is his ex girlfriend and she hates him too after he reveals some information about her to the whole school. Cameron stays with him until the end but there he stops. Overall I highly recommend this book to people but probably ages 12 and over.
Jeremiah

I am waiting for Walter Dean Myers to wring a play or screenplay. I am an actor and a playwright and when I read "Shooter" just like "Monster" he crafts dialogue so effectively that it carries the story even without the narrative. Each character has a specific and active voice. Even the psychologists and reporters who merely record or probe information. But it's the diary of the Shooter at the end where you will be blown away by how Myers is able to get inside the mind of a disturbed, misunderstood and lonely teenager. This book is so incredible that whenever I lend it to one of my students, I don't get it back.

This book is about a shooting that occurs in Madison COunty High school. It starts out in an interview, and through the course of 3 interviews, police reports, and a diary, you will explore the lives of Cameron and Len, what life was like when they didn't fit in, having abusive parents, and getting pushed to the edge by bullies.
The book "Shooter" was a a very interesting and overall a very good book. One reason I liked it so much was because of the unique way in which it was written, as a compilation of interviews, police reports, and a diary. I thought it was really neat how he gave the perspectives of the three main characters, Len, Carla, and Cameron. Parts of it were disturbing and scary, especially the "turtle" incident. It was also strange with they way Cameron and Len thought about things, as you will find out in Len's Diary. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for an intriguing book about people and the lives of troubled teenagers.

This book is written in the from of interviews, newspaper articles, a diary entry and police reports. It is about a Carla Evans, Cameron Porter and Leonard Gray. The interviews were with Cameron and with Carla, and the reason why they were both interviewed is because they were friends with Len who committed a school shooting where he killed a student, wounded several others and killed himself as well. Throughout the book, you find out about each of the characters, what happened to them leading up to the "incident", as they call it, and then you learn vaguely about the "incident" itself. Nearer to the end you find out exactly what happened that day in the school. The above-mentioned diary was written by Len, from Christmas until the morning of the school shooting. This book is really interesting and exciting. It was written really uniquely and the plot is really good.

The story is about violence and the characters are disturbing, but this book has an interesting way of reaching its audience and getting the message across. _Shooter_ is about a school shooting. The set up is unique. It reads like an investigation with statements, interviews, a diary, and written conclusions. The story is both depressing and compelling. It's the kind of book teens will pass on to each other and hopefully share with their parents.

The actors of the audio version are Chad Coleman, Bernie McInerney, and Michelle Santopietro. They do a superb job of bringing the troubled teens and the investigation to life.

If I had to choose one world to describe the book "Shooter" by Walter Dean Myers, I would use, prediction. What I liked was exciting at first then it started to get serious. I also liked it the way all the lines were writing. What I didn't like was parts were disturbing like when they started to shoot at the turtles, the other part when they did the graffiti in the church. All in all, I (liked it a lot) .I liked the book cause most of the stuff happened in the high school in the Bay Area of Oakland.
I liked the book shooter by Walter Dean Myers for several reasons. The first was exciting because everything was cool then a became worst. This is true because in other high schools happened lost of things like drugs, sex, violence and putting things on fire also selling drugs. The second is I liked in the way the characters had they lines writing. This is true because we have the same things like that in the news and the newspaper. These are the reasons why I like the book Shooter.
I didn't like the book shooter by Walter Dean Myers for several reasons. The first was they put some turtles hanging down of a tree and they started to shoot them when they were at life. This is true because people don't really think what they doing they just do it cause they on drugs so they don't care. The second is they did graffiti on the church is like disrespecting the god. This is true because I have same things like that if you get caught you have to pay or get a penalty be on jail for months or years. These are the reasons why I didn't like the book shooter.
I will recommend to the shooter by Walter Dean Myers to my friend. The reason for this are you see what is going on in high schools drugs, sex, shooting and things like that they are other things you know. When you read the book you see what is going on in the high schools in the Bay Area of Oakland it make you think about it before you do it is not easy you get caught you all be in jail for the rest of your life or you don't know what my happened read the book shooter to see how things happened and it is good book to read cause you all learn about the thing that happened. Out of five stars, I would give it 5 stars cause is a good book.