Endgame

Title: Endgame
Author: Nancy Garden
Published: April 2006
ISBN: 9780152054168
Price: 17.00
Pages: 304
Genre: fiction, realistic fiction
Reading Level: 6th grade
Interest Level: 8th-12th grade
Summary: Gray Wilton has a history of violence. His family moved to Greenfield High School after Gray got in trouble for bringing a knife to school. But Gray is convinced that things will be different at his new school, but they aren't. Gray soon becomes the victim of merciless bullying by the jocks at school. The bullying brings out Gray's violent streak and he start to imagine killing his bullies and even jokes about it to his friend. Gray become even  more incensed when his dog is killed and Gray reaches his breaking point. Armed with his dad's gun he shows up to school and fires at his classmates. Now Gray is on trial for murder.
Review: Nancy Garden's school shooting story is told from the point of view of the shooter an unstable 15 year old boy with a history of violence. Gray's unstable mental state is no match for they bullying he endures at school. While Garden does not excuse Gray's behavior she does show how the bullying contributed to Gray's mental breakdown. The teachers at the school also failed to act at all. They instead turned a blind and eye and just thought it was normal high school boy behavior. The story is disturbing in that Gray is obviously unstable and there many signs that could have prevented the shooting had someone intervened or perhaps got Gray some mental health care.
Reader's Annotation: Gray is trying to have a fresh start at his new school but when he gets bullied Gray's violent side returns and Gray brings his dad's gun to school.
Main themes: violence, school shootings, bullying
Bibliotheraputic Usefulness: The story shows how when you look at some one's behaviors collectively it can point to an unstable individual who might then commit a senseless act of violence. It might help people understand why sometimes school shootings happen. The story doesn't condone Gray's actions or not put the blame on him but it does show that an unstable individual who is not receiving proper care can be very dangerous and deadly.
Issues: The story contains come very upsetting violence, bullying and scene in which bullies try to get Gray and his friend to perform oral sex on each other. All the bullying is overlooked by teachers who don't seem to care or take much issues with Gray being bullied.
Book Talk Ideas: The story could very easily be a real life situation. You could perhaps read off some of the things that Gray went through to show while horrible most people would not think this is reason to kill people. That Gray had far bigger issues than just being bullied.
Author Website: http://www.nancygarden.com/
Read Alikes: Shooter by Walter Dean Meyers
Professional Reviews: Publisher's Weekly
Kirkus Reviews
Why chose this book? Nancy's book touches on some very current and tough issues like mental health, violence, school shootings, and bullying.