Shooter by Walter Dean Myers (Teen Book)

I will start out by saying this is a book for a high school age and older crowd. Walter Dean Myers has such a unique writing style. In this story he tells of a Columbine-type high school shooting incident. Instead of telling the story as a straight narrative, he tells it as a committee report created after the shooting. The report contains interviews with 2 friends of the shooters, the diary of the shooter, newspaper articles, a police incident report and more.

The story comes together ambiguously, especially with the interviews. How truthful are people responding? Are the right questions being asked? I kept asking myself Why, and this is before I even am sure of what actually happened.

This book paints a scary picture of violence, alienation, and race relations among teens. I give this book a big thumbs up for those readers who are mature enough to handle the material. I would also check out Myers' previous book Monster.

For more information go to: www.walterdeanmyersbooks.com