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Another Day in the Death of America
Another Day in the Death of America: A Chronicle of Ten Short Lives | Gary Younge
On an average day in America, seven young people aged nineteen or under will be shot dead. In Another Day in the Death of America, award-winning Guardian journalist Gary Younge tells the stories of the lives lost during the course of a single day in the United States. It could have been any day, but Younge has chosen November 23, 2013. From Jaiden Dixon (9), shot point-blank by his mothers ex-boyfriend on his doorstep in Ohio, to Pedro Dado Cortez (16), shot by an enemy gang on a street corner in California, the narrative crisscrosses the country over a period of twenty-four hours to reveal the powerful human stories behind the statistics. Far from a dry account of gun policy in the United States or a polemic about the dangers of gun violence, the book is a gripping chronicle of an ordinary but deadly day in American life, and a series of character portraits of young people taken from us far too soon and those they left behind. Whether its a fathers unspeakable grief over his son who was at the wrong place at the wrong time, a mentor who tries to channel his rage by organizing, or a friend and neighbor who finds strength in faith, the lives lost on that day and the lives left behind become, in Younges hands, impossible to ignore, or to forget. What emerges in these pages is a searing portrait of youth, family, and the way that lives can be shattered in an instant on any day in America. At a time when it has become indisputable that Americans need to rethink their position on guns, this moving narrative work puts a human facea childs faceon the "collateral damage" of gun deaths across the country. In his journalism, Younge is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and looking twice where others might look away. There are some things, he argues, that we have come to see as normal, even when they are unacceptable. And gun violence is one of them. A clear-eyed and iconoclastic approach to this contentious issue, this book helps answer the questions so many of us are grappling with, and makes it even harder to just look away.
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JenReadsAlot
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Pickpick

Very well done. Sadly nothing has changed with gun violence since this was written. My #bookspin for November @TheAromaofBooks

Trashcanman 🥰 2y
Leftcoastzen This one stuck with me . 2y
TheAromaofBooks Great progress!! 2y
33 likes1 stack add3 comments
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JenReadsAlot
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My picks for November! @TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! Enjoy!! 2y
19 likes1 comment
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MallenNC
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I read this book in 2016, and it is sadly, horrifyingly more relevant today. The book‘s premise is that seven children die from guns on average every day in the United States. I imagine our average is even higher now. I wish books could give us all the answers to finally solve this crisis that is unique to America.

Tamra 💔 2y
24 likes1 comment
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SKlich
Pickpick

This book about gun violence in America. Written by a British journalist, it is not a book about the gun debate. Rather, it is a look at the impact and causes of gun violence.

Leftcoastzen I thought this was a very powerful book. 5y
2 likes1 comment
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Amiable
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Day 12 of #adventrecommends

23 November 2013: That‘s the day journalist Gary Younge randomly selected for this book, after which he spent 18 months unearthing the stories that lay behind the victims and their premature deaths.
Ten young lives: 10 deaths from guns. This is not a book about gun control: it‘s a book about what has happened in a country where there is no gun control.

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megnews
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Mehso-so

“To defend this reality by way of the Second Amendment...is to effectively abdicate your responsibility to understand the present by offloading it onto those who are now dead. It denies not only the possibility of new interpretations and solutions but the necessity for them.”
Ch 9 packed a punch with statistics. Author chose 1 24 hr period, found 10 children killed by guns, & analyzes each. Little slow in the middle but important read.

Book 127

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Verity
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Pickpick

Heart breaking and gut wrenching but important. This is not a book about gun control but a look at the human cost of guns in America by looking at the 10 young people (all men) who died on one day in November 2016. Through their stories you see how each death - whatever the circumstances- leaves a hole in a family and how the ripples spread out around it. Devastating.

24 likes1 stack add
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Verity
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Serious reading for a Friday night. I think this may be important though.

WanderingBookaneer This is such a powerful book. 6y
Verity @WanderingBookaneer I‘m only two people in and it‘s already affecting me. 6y
WanderingBookaneer Yes, me too. That little boy who opened the door broke my heart. 6y
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Reviewsbylola I‘ve got this on my TBR. 💔 6y
Nebklvr I listened to this on audio book and wept through most of it 6y
Verity @Nebklvr I don‘t think I could cope with the audio. Wouldn‘t be able to maintain any level of composure 6y
Verity @Reviewsbylola it‘s been on my tbr a while. I should have got to it sooner 6y
29 likes4 stack adds8 comments
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sadiejean
Pickpick

Eye opening, powerful, very readable. Highly recommend.

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cathysaid
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Pickpick

Between a pick/so-so for me. Learning about these stories was heartbreaking yet engrossing. Where it fell short (for me) was including a bit more about the investigation after the crime. I needed a bit more resolution in these cases. But then again, maybe that's the point? So much violence, so many cases, yet such little progress in prevention or justice. #nonfiction #socialissues #currentevents

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MicheleinPhilly
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SUPER SALE ALERT!

Ashley_Nicoletto Have you read this? Is it good? 7y
MicheleinPhilly @Ashley_Nicoletto I just bought it this morning but it‘s been on my list since it was released. I‘ve heard wonderful things about it. 7y
BarbaraTheBibliophage Oh! Yes! Thank you!! 7y
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Ashley_Nicoletto I got in and read the description and it sounds so good. One clicked. 😂 7y
Hooked_on_books @Ashley_Nicoletto I‘ve read it and it‘s fantastic. @MicheleinPhilly I‘m glad you posted this! 7y
64 likes6 comments
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WanderingBookaneer
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#KindleDailyDeal This book is so good!

Tamra Thank you for sharing! 7y
74 likes1 stack add2 comments
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MissAimz_55
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Just some powerful quotes I pulled out while reading this book. It took me a month to read this book because of how sad it is I could only read one story at a time. Too many people, especially young men, are dying daily due to gun violence. This book does a great job of evaluating some of these tragic deaths and also gives facts and studies that show why we need more gun laws. #quotsymarch18 #consequence #struggle #strictergunlaws #marchforlife

TK-421 All excellent quotes, with an important and timely message 💔 I don't want to be *that* person, but it looks like you have a typo (fun instead of gun) 😳 7y
MissAimz_55 Thank you @TK-421 I'll fix that right now 7y
26 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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Wannabe_Quijote
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Reading at 33,000 feet! #lmpbc

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Wannabe_Quijote
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Finishing this one up to send off! #lmpbc #booksandcoffee #sundayreads

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Wannabe_Quijote
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Deviled eggs, a Moscow mule, and a book. I‘m happy.

BookishTrish That sounds absolutely amazing. Love the pic. 7y
15 likes1 comment
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MissAimz_55
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This is a slow read bc I have to take a break in between each chapter since it's so intense. My slow food and break was enjoying a nice long dinner at a cute tapas place near my place #happinessisresistance #slowread #slowfood #intenseread

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MissAimz_55
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Horrible and scary facts I'm learning while reading this book but I'm educating myself from all angles as this is something I have a strong passion for doing something about.

Karkar Omg that is very scary 😱 7y
14 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Wannabe_Quijote
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17 likes1 stack add
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TeeCee
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So I‘m staring at this book, know it‘s important & scared out of my mind to read it. Premise is: author picked a random day in 2013 & reported on the kids killed by firearms on that day in the US. It‘s gotta be heartbreaking. Quote above starts off the book.

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BrownGirlReading
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#readsoullit Photo Challenge Day 4 Sign of the Times (nonfiction)

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MallenNC
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This book is relevant to gun violence, which is a #trending topic far too often, sad to say. #readingresolutions @Jess7

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andrew61
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#tobeyounggiftedandblack #fiercefeb
I looked through my 'read' list of books and found so many brilliant books by black writers both male and female that i have loved in the last few years from America, Africa and Britain and further afield that i realised how much talent doesn't reach its potential - thus this 5* read that had me despairing at the loss of life and opportunity - 'there but for... '

Leftcoastzen This was one of my top reads last year, it was so intense and maddening, all these young lives lost ! 7y
batsy 😔 7y
23 likes2 comments
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SaraBeagle
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Pickpick

Younge randomly chose a day and wrote about the 10 children and teens who died by gun violence in the US that day. He gives a face to these kids, combined with supporting research that helps to give context on the deaths- gangs, domestic violence, accidents. It is a thoroughly well researched book, which makes it both brutally frightening and interesting.

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SaraBeagle
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Great illustration of how far apart stereotypes and reality can be.
This book is so well researched and I do love a well researched piece of non-fic 🧐

21 likes1 stack add
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Kathrin
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Pickpick

What makes this book so good is that the author chose to cover the lost lives on a random day instead of going for well documented incidents. He chronicles the short lives of these children and teens, but supplements the narratives with gun violence statistics and the latest and greatest of the gun lobby.

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Zoe_reads_books
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Nonfiction November TBR! I know there‘s no way I‘m going on to get through all of these, but I like to give myself options #nonfictionnovember

ChasingOm Oh, I like this idea! (edited) 7y
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Itchyfeetreader
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Pickpick

Finished!! An incredibly moving commentary of some the causes, consequences and casualties of gun crime in America. It is by no means an academic study and the journalist author has some very personal feelings that shine through. A tough but important, eloquent read

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Itchyfeetreader
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Only read the intro and authors note and am already hooked. There are some powerful words and statistics in there. One to read slowly I think ....

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Clare_Riley
Pickpick

Wow. This is a sobering read, but written so well that I read it faster than I usually read non-fiction. It's a shame that the people who need to read this probably never will. It all just seems so pointless, and as a Brit, I struggle to understand why guns should be so readily available. But when they are so firmly entrenched in a society it's also easy to see why they probably always will be.

Libby1 I'm an American living in the UK and I don't get it, either. 😢 7y
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BritanyA
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Mehso-so

⭐⭐⭐: great attempt at a hard subject matter but got a little bored halfway through. Maybe just not my cup of tea. #NonFiction #GunsInAmerica

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Clare_Riley
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This is the second of two free books I received last week from Mumsnet (a website here in the U.K. for, unsurprisingly, Mums!). I don't know how I feel about the prospect of reading this one, to be honest.

Reviewsbylola I love that cover. 7y
9 likes1 comment
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Sumi
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Difficult subject - well-written. Probably not for everyone but I think it's good to learn a bit about the people who make up the statistics.

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WanderingBookaneer
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Reviewsbylola I've got this on my TBR. 7y
MallenNC I read this and it was well done. But it made me really mad that nothing is done about this issue. 7y
Reagan It's a good book, really well written. Keep the Kleenex nearby. 7y
BooksAtNight I read this alongside Ghettoside; made me sad and mad for days afterwards. 7y
WanderingBookaneer @BooksAtNight : I just finished The Hate U Give and before that I read 7y
80 likes1 stack add5 comments
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andrew61
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Pickpick

I've taken an image of a comment in the conclusion of the book which echoes how i felt. This is an incredible read but it's conclusion offers little hope for black and /or poor young people in America. The pictures of 10 children/adolescents whose lives are cut short in one single day by guns is tragic, it emphasises how vulnerable they are by their age and maturity esp boys & is just incredibly sad. Makes me want to wrap mine in cotton wool

saresmoore It's just heartbreaking, isn't it? 7y
andrew61 @saresmoore it's really sad and not very hopeful! Im glad i read it however. I'll have to read something more positive next. 7y
Lindy @andrew61 I scrolled through your Litsy TBR , looking for something more positive to suggest. You've gotta lotta dark in that list! Anyway, you might like to read Tove Jansson's Fair Play, or Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk next. 7y
See All 9 Comments
andrew61 @Lindy actually my wife's reading group did 'the summer book' and i downloaded it on to the kindle for her so maybe i will try thst soon. Maybe reading too many scandi crime novels with grumpy detectives is affecting me! 7y
Lindy @andrew61 there will be a group read of The Summer Book starting in July with @shawnmooney and others, if you want to wait and join us then. 7y
shawnmooney @Lindy @andrew61 Yes, please join us! I've heard enough about this book that I feel like I don't need to read it. But Lindy, your wonderful review summons up for me the specter of how the current American president might eulogize the next batch of gunned-down mass shooting victims. 7y
andrew61 @shawnmooney @Lindy that sounds good, I'll look forward to the readalong. 7y
shawnmooney @andrew61 Wonderful! If you don't mind, please make a comment under that title about my post so that I remember to tag you in the realalong discussions OK? Thank you! 7y
Lindy @shawnmooney I gently point out that Andrew is the one who wrote this wonderful review. 7y
8 likes9 comments
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andrew61
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I started this last night and felt overwhelmed by the first story. I think I will have to go slowly, maybe one story a night as the personalisation of something so horrendous that on one day so many young lives would be lost by gun crime is incredible to comprehend. This image is the song one of the school friends of Jaiden, the 9 year old first victim composes for him.

Bambolina_81 This sounds harrowing, I can't say I blame you for taking it slowly. 8y
ReadingEnvy Yes this is a slow read for sure. The conclusion is very good too. 8y
13 likes2 comments
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ObsoleteBookseller
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So much non-fiction lately. I'm playing the read fast because the library wants this back soon game.

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Christine
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Pickpick

This was heartbreaking and brilliant. By telling the stories of ten boys from all over the US killed by gunshots on the same day, Younge has created a document as valuable to the discussion of guns in American culture as any I have ever read. As crushing as gun violence statistics are, no statistic can convey the human cost as well as personal stories can. I so appreciate Younge's work to present these stories to the world.

TheBookStacker I really want to read this but not quite sure I'm emotionally prepared. 8y
Christine @TheBookStacker Yeah, it's a really hard one, but well worth the effort if/when you are ready. 8y
Hooked_on_books Agreed. This is so well put together and we need to not look away from what's happening. 8y
44 likes1 stack add4 comments
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Vikz
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Pickpick

An important, well written, book. The stories utilised are; engrossing, Heartbreaking and enlightening. However, I suggest you take your time reading this. Leave a gap between each story. At least give yourself a few minutes to Digest each one. Maybe, you could even read one a day. If you binge, as I did, then they loose their impact and leave you feeling depressed.

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Vikz
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Nebklvr
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Pickpick

A very depressing look at the cost of gun culture in the US. So many families and friends left mourning... it is like slow motion genocide.

SaraBeagle Going to pick this one up. Thanks for posting! 8y
Nebklvr @SaraBeagle Definitely eye-opening. 8y
CouronneDhiver I've been meaning to get my hands on a copy of this book... looks great! 8y
36 likes3 comments
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Nebklvr
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And I can't take any more tonight. Have mercy on all of these poor families. Jen Campbell does a youtube video on Two Very Important Books--this is one. She says it much better than I can.

24 likes1 stack add
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Nebklvr
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This is painful. This much pain can not be contained in one book.

29 likes1 stack add
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bookingaround
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Pickpick

This book broke my heart. It doesn't try to give solutions - just shows that we are short-changing the next generation without really asking questions about gun crime

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Nonaroo
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Pickpick

This book made me angry and it made me cry. I felt that Gary Younge did a fantastic job looking deeper into the reasons behind gun violence. He is a journalist for The Guardian and tells the stories of 10 young men killed in a single day in 2013 across the US. It's a heartbreaking book but a must read.

26 likes2 stack adds
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Leftcoastzen
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Not finished with the book yet but my sense of outrage compelled me to mourn all the victims gun violence , so tragic .We still lack a genuine dialog on the issues involved .Sadly ,this book could be rewritten everyday with a new list of victims.

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Fancypants
Mehso-so

Heartbreaking stories, but it still felt a little flat to me. I couldn't really tell what he was trying to say through the stories. In the beginning he claims there isn't a point, they are just stories but isn't the point of stories to learn something?

ShelfSpaceLimited I found it interesting that he chose to present these stories and explore this specific topic, while as a U.K. native he spoke of gun violence as being alien and foreign until he came to reside in the States. 8y
Fancypants @ShelfSpaceLimited yesss. I was kind of hoping that would give it a more nuanced feel/story but maybe that's why it didn't seem to resonate as much. 8y
ShelfSpaceLimited @Fancypants I suppose I assumed he was trying to present the material in a less biased way, so as not to feel too political. I agree, it left it feeling flat and lacking. Haven't seen much feedback about this, I was glad to see someone else read it 😀 8y
1 like1 stack add3 comments
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Fancypants
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mllemay
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Pickpick

This is a masterpiece of nonfiction. Very well-researched with an extremely powerful emotional component. It really shines a light on the ravages of inequality and the myriad ways in which society fails its most vulnerable members every single day. I'm heartbroken and angry but at least my eyes are wide open.

Debiw781 I have this one on my list to read 8y
40 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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8little_paws
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Pickpick

What this book says it's about is the ten children who died from gunshot wounds on November 23, 2013. What it's actually about is how multifaceted of an issue gun violence is, how different communities could use different solutions, and if you read carefully it's also about how different communities react different to gun violence, based on income, race, and social standing. Five shining stars.

beagle.mama Oh wow, that sounds like a powerful, and difficult read. 8y
Tanzy13 🐱 8y
Hooked_on_books Agreed. Great read. 8y
DebinHawaii It sounds amazing. 8y
71 likes6 stack adds4 comments