Shooter, by Walter Dean Myers

Do you like this piece of work? Why or why not?

Shooter instantly captivated me because, in true WDM style, the style of the book is unusual and attention-grabbing. The novel is structured like an FBI file; it's full of interview transcripts and is not divided by chapters -- it's divided by the different interviews. Also, the opening interview between the psychologist and Cameron is fascinating, because it appears that Cameron was involved in a school shooting with his now-dead friend, Len. Cameron is very likable so far (I'm only ten pages in), and I'm full of questions about what has happened and how Cameron is involved.

** update: I finished the novel the next time I sat down to read it. Engaging, thought-provoking, and extremely relevant for today's societal issues, Walter Dean Myers' Shooter is a book I'd definitely include in my classroom library. The final pages include some interesting "appedixes," including Len's journal (the shooter). Reading this diary was significant for me because of the sadness I feel over people who struggle through difficult, cruel childhoods while suffering from mental illness.  In an interview, Walter Dean Myers said that the shootings at Columbine were his impetus to research and then write Shooter. I remember Columbine, but I am sadly aware that for my high school students, the events of Columbine have become almost "normal" in the present-day culture of school violence. In the same interview, Myers said that he writes to offer students a chance to think about their actions and the consequences that will ensue from them.