Twelve Shots : Outstanding Short Stories About Guns

by Harry Mazer (Editor)

Guns. They are an undeniable part of contemporary life. Stories about their use--and misuse--spice the nightly news, the papers, and our favorite TV shows. Guns shape the course of history. They make us wild with excitement or red with anger, sick to our stomachs or convinced that we're safe. Guns provoke extreme emotions in all of us.
In this riveting collection of short fiction, twelve authors explore the emotion-driven world of guns. Dealing with everything from a city kid's desperation to a country boy's first glimpse of manhood, from a girl's struggle against helplessness to a teenage trio's horrifying battle of wills, these original stories are as varied and exceptional as the authors themselves. Sometimes shocking, occasionally funny, and often intensely sad, these stories are all thought-provoking and addictively readable. A superb anthology, passionate and hard-hitting, Twelve Shots helps us understand our world and solidify our own beliefs.Today's most popular young adult writers, including Walter Dean Myers, Rita Williams-Garcia, Richard Peck, and Chris Lynch, explore the complex and heated gun debate in 12 riveting short stories.
This will be a valuable addition to Young Adult collections: it's not only timely and thought-provoking, but also an excellent springboard for discussion.
--Booklist, *starred

Genres: Short Stories, Young Adult

Library Binding

First published August 10, 1997

About the author

Harry Mazer is an American author of books for children and young adults, acclaimed for his 'realistic' novels. He has written twenty-two novels, including The Solid Gold Kid, The Island Keeper, Heroes Don't Run, and Snow Bound, which was adapted as an NBC After school special, as well as one work of poetry and a few short stories.

Reviews

[Carson]

Student Name: Beyersdorf Carson Date Submitted: April 1st
Book Title: Twelve Shots Lexile: 780


Personal Response: I personally liked this book. It was another multi-story book. It showed twelve stories that included guns. Some stories were about murders, and some were about hunting. It has a wide range of stories.

Book Summary: The book’s main purpose is to show that kids with guns are bad. It depicts multiple stories of kids with guns. One showed a kid who took a 1911 and pointed it at cops who were practicing drills in an empty courtyard. Another shows a kid whose parents are going through a divorce claim and attempts suicide. Then another shows a black person going to shoot a guy with a briefcase because his thoughts got to him.

Recommendation: I would recommend this book to high schoolers. It has gore in it for the boys but also has heart-wrenching stories for the girls. Overall it was a good read.

[Alivia Hammond · Rating 3 out of 5]

Twelve Shots is a informing book that brings different perspective about guns to the surface. It approaches many topics about America's gun-driven society with 12 fictional short stories. Personally, I don't enjoy information-packed books. The stories were a bit jumbled and some did not have clear theses. Although it was very interesting learning about how guns can affect people. For example, someone can see a gun as a safety weapon and another person could recognize it as the thing that took their mother's life. On either parts of the spectrum, this book covers it all.

[Amilia Kiesman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book is a fabulous representation of the vast differing experiences of gun ownership amongst different people. It’s worth a read! I left my copy in a free little library so others can enjoy and learn about the experiences of others.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really great collection of YA short stories that don't fall into the pitfalls that can happen with some YA stories. My favorite is "War Game" but there are several good bits to pick from. It sounds like a weirdly morbid or incessantly street-lit-cool kind of topic to string an anthology together with, but these "stories about guns" are broadly defined and infused more with the real violence of life than the dramatic violence of shooting and killing. If that makes any sense . . .

[Shawntrice Williams]

This book deals with Violence, Money, and Age. Violence= A guy name Pookie shot at 2 boys-hit a little girl and got arrested.
Money=Pookie took money from the 2 boys cousin.
Age=A guy in a suit always took the train with the bike meesanger and tried to bully him by telling him to turn his radio off and everytime he see's him he just stare's at him.

[Salsabrarian]

Short stories written by established children’s authors that look at guns and their effects, places, and influences in kids’ lives, from a boy who’s suicidal, to kids playing a game inspired by a neighbor’s murder, to squirt-gun war games.

[Js]

i really like this book it is filled with alot of short stories.

[Marianne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Having trouble getting into this one. Think I"ll send it back to the library unread.