Shooter by Walter Dean Myers

What causes Leonard Gray to go on a rampage before the start of school on April 22nd? In Shooter, Myers chooses an interview format to give the reader an inside view of the incident that occurred on April 22 at Madison High School in Harrison County. The interviews are conducted with Cameron Porter, a 17 year old African-American youth from a financially stable, two parent household, and Carla Evans, now 18, Caucasian, a young woman with a somewhat tumultuous past and a history of difficulties. Both Cameron and Carla have survived the incident and are reported to be closest to Leonard Gray.  In an effort to add a bit of authenticity, Myers includes copies of newspaper reports of the incident, the police report and medical examiner’s report, the Miranda statements of the interviewees and the diary of Leonard Gray that was found in his home after the incident that provides insight to his state of mind in the days and weeks leading up to the shooting. Those interested in crime and drama will likely be attracted to Shooter. In classroom discussions it can surely be a possible springboard to a variety of topics from bullying to drug use and beyond. - Bernardine E. Lowery-Crute

Myers, Walter Dean. Shooter. Harper Collins Children’s Books: New York, 2004. Print.