#VelshiBannedBookClub: Todd Strasser talks ‘Give a Boy a Gun’ 

This week’s meeting of the #VelshiBannedBookClub features “Give a Boy a Gun” by prolific Young Adult author Todd Strasser. “Give a Boy a Gun” was initially published in 2000 – just one year after the Columbine High School massacre. It is the first work of fiction to grapple with the new reality that followed after Columbine: a world where students can die in their classrooms. It is also one of the few books on this topic written for a young adult audience. This is the second weekend in a row that we have discussed the tragic realities of school shootings and the place fiction books can play in working through very serious feelings, generating useful conversation, and -- to whatever extent it is possible -- aiding in understanding.June 11, 2022