Customer Reviews

Shooting Monarchs

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The lives of six teens converge one Sunday morning on hill in Shiloh. One is shot dead. This is the gripping tale of the events leading up to that disastrous day.

Macy is 18 -- and a serial killer. But he wasn't born to kill. The reader is introduced to an innocent toddler, raised by an abusive mother who left him alone outside in the rain for hours, tied by the ankle to an old swing set. Then she came home drunk. By the end of middle school, he was sent to juvie for stealing. When he got out, he stole a car and was sent back. For Macy, the food, accommodations, and attention at juvie were more than he ever got at home. As a rebellious teen, he bought a gun and killed store clerk, Mohammed Aziz. And got away with it. That's how the killing started. After spending a year in prison for attempted robbery, he steals a car, buys a gun and heads off on a killing spree that winds up in Shiloh.

Danny is a disabled 16 year-old who lives with his grandmother. He loves monarch butterflies and Leah, the most beautiful girl in Shiloh. He works at The Store with her younger sister, Sally. Leah's boyfriend, Chad is the star athlete and he hates Danny. The Saturday afternoon Macy drives into town, he sees Leah jogging. He chooses her for his next victim and abducts her. In the search for her, the six teens end up on the hill that Sunday morning. One is a killer, one is a victim, and everyone's life changes forever.

Told in a third-person, easy-to-read, almost journalistic style, the narrative flits -- like a monarch -- in and out of the lives of the people who cross paths with Macy, those he victimizes and those who victimize him. "Shooting Monarchs" is an excellent teaching aid for any class or discussion about justice or social issues. In the end the reader must decide Macy's fate. Does he deserve the death penalty?

One day when Macy was three his mother and a new boyfriend went swimming in the river. She left Macy home. Since it looked like a nice day, she decided to leave him in the backyard...Then to make sure he didn't follow her or wander off, she took the loose end of an old rope that was wrapped around the swing and tied it tightly to his ankle."

"The big day has come
The bell is sounding
I run my hands through my hair one last time
Outside the prison walls the town is gathering
People are trading crime for crime..." --Ani Difranco

"The sky above the yard had become dark with clouds. A drop landed in Macy's eye and another drop hit his cheek. Then the rain became steady. Macy hadn't had anything to drink for hours, so he closed his eyes, turned his face toward the sky, opened his mouth wide, and caught the drops until his thirst was satisfied.

"But the rain didn't stop...His clothes were soaked and he was cold. He crawled under the seat of the swing for protection as the rain became a downpour. Then, when night came, he curled up in the mud and shivered. He never cried."

"...Everyone needs to see the prisoner
They need to make it even easier
They see me as a symbol, and not a human being
That way they can kill me
Say it's not murder, it's a metaphor
We are killing off our own failure and starting clean..."

"Macy's teachers were concerned about his poor academic and social skills, but when they called to schedule meetings with his mother, she said she was too busy. All the years Macy was in school, she never met with even one of his teachers. By the end of middle school Macy had stopped going. What should have been Macy's first year of high school was spent in a state juvenile correctional facility, where he had been sent for shoplifting at a liquor store."

"...I think guilt and innocence they are a matter of degree
What might be justice to you might not be justice to me
I went too far, I'm sorry
I guess now I'm going home
So let any amongst you cast the first stone..."

"The store clerk, Mohammad Aziz, should have been off that night, but he was filling in for his boss. Mohammad had recently immigrated to the United States with his wife and four children, and he welcomed the opportunity to earn extra money. This one night of work would pay for next week's celebration of his son's tenth birthday...

"Mohammad was uneasy when he saw Macy. There was nothing extraordinary about Macy's size or clothing, but his face revealed a history of violence. There were several fresh scars, his nose was knocked off center like it had been hit by a truck, and his front teeth were broken. His head was completely shaven to conform to the popular style at juvie. Macy liked the bald look because it was easy to maintain without the help of barbers. The confinement of barber chairs and being touched by people with scissors always made Macy feel uncomfortable."

"...You might be the wrong color
You might be too poor
Justice isn't something just anyone can afford
You might not pull the trigger
You might be out in the car
And you might get a lethal injection
'Cause we take a metaphor that far..."

"On the day of his release Macy went straight to the city and stole an old car. It was a massive gray wreck, at least twenty-five years old, with a rusted hood and a wire clothes hanger where the antenna used to be. The car was so worthless, the owner had left the key in the ignition, hoping someone would take it. The owner never bothered to report it missing.

"After that Macy went to the pawnshop, bought a gun, and drove away. He had no destination in mind. He just drove.

"Then he met Maria Hernandez..."

This book asks readers, "What would YOU do with Macy after he is finally caught?"

SHOOTING MONARCHS is an absolutely brilliant, sometimes bittersweet, appalling, and terrifying read from cover to cover.

I was surprised that this book was so bad since it was on the eighth grade AP English reading list. It has a soulless monster created by his environment; a beautiful, rich, and nice girl; the dumb, mean high school jock; hardworking Hispanic parents whose lives are centered around their beautiful and smart daughter who is (of course) murdered; and the poor,ugly, handicapped but very sensitive guy as main characters. I'm sure you can figure out the plot just based on the characters since it is as obvious as they are. The ending tried to start a discussion about the death penalty but with these cardboard caricatures, I don't see how anyone could get involved in the issue. I don't recommend this book for anyone - reading is supposed to be interesting.

This book keeps you reading at warp speed to see how Macy turns out and what other trouble he can possibly get into. However, the writing was simple, lacking description, at times unconnected, and choppy. Often times, there should have been detail added and more reason given for putting something into the plot (i.e. many of the "gold nuggets" sections). It felt like there were parts missing. This is not a great piece of literature, but it is a can't-put-down story. It would be good for reluctant readers.

Just like real life, there are no easy answers found in "Shooting Monarchs". While one or two characters may seem cliche, the message of the book is that people are a complex blend of their environment and their determination. It is an excellent book for sparking debate on the death penalty. Should someone who has committed murder be forgiven if he is the victim of horrific abuse that has rendered him insane? Again, there are no easy answers.

Although Shooting Monarchs takes a different approach to making teens think about what they read (on capital punishment and the judicial system), I would prefer a book with some nice closure.

I found it difficult to care about Macy, the main character, when all I had was contempt for him. The other characters were almost likeable, but it felt like something was missing.

The sentence structure of this book seemed simplistic and undeveloped. I wouldn't recommend it to people looking for a fun or exciting read.

This is a wonderful read for middle-schoolers. It allows teenagers to think about their own views on crime, justice, and many moral issues that face us everyday. I recommend it to anyone looking for one of the greatest books for teenagers ever written.

I though this book was terrible. The reason why is because of the charcters and the writing combined. The characters were very cliche. There was a handsome jock who isn't very smart who has a girlfriend. She's beautiful and the nicest girl in the town. Also there is Danny who is a loner. I find these charcters very typical. They didn't seem very real to me. Also I didn't like the third person narative and the way the author wrote the story.