Twelve Shots: Outstanding Short Stories about Guns

Harry Mazer, editor, Twelve Shots: Outstanding Short Stories about Guns, Bantam Doubleday Dell Books for Young Readers, 1998.

Reviewed by Drew Meyers

This collection of short stories addresses many issues involving youth gun violence. In one story, a New York City teenager takes revenge on several peers who beat him up by shooting at them with a gun he happened to find, accidentally shooting a young girl in the process. In another story, a confused and distraught high school student, caught in the middle of his parents' bitter divorce, looks to his father's gun for answers.

Editor Harry Mazer writes, [When I was a child], "when you were hit you were 'dead.' In our games the 'dead' always jumped up…But something has changed in our country. Real guns are coming into the schools, and real kids are being shot by other real kids." The stories, by Walter Dean Myers, Chris Lynch, Rita Williams-Garcia, Nancy Springer, and Richard Peck illustrate how the combination of guns and young people can quickly, tragically, and often accidentally, lead to disaster.

Books & Articles for Educators

The Pledge

The Student Pledge Against Gun Violence is a national program that honors the role that young people, through their own decisions, can play in reducing gun violence. This campaign against youth gun violence culminates each year on a Day of National Concern about Young People and Gun Violence. The program provides a means for beginning the conversation with young people about gun violence. It refers teachers, counselors, and community leaders to valuable resources, includes curriculum suggestions that can be integrated with existing academic programs, and contains information about how your school can participate.