On My Bookshelf: Enough Is Enough: How Students Can Join the Fight for Gun Safety by Michelle Roehm McCann

The basic plot from Amazon: Young people are suffering the most from the epidemic of gun violence—as early as kindergarten students are crouching behind locked doors during active shooter drills. Teens are galvanizing to speak up and fight for their right to be safe. They don’t just want to get involved, they want to change the world. Enough Is Enough is a call to action for teens ready to lend their voices to the gun violence prevention movement. This handbook deftly explains America’s gun violence issues—myths and facts, causes and perpetrators, solutions and change-makers—and provides a road map for effective activism.

Told in three parts, Enough Is Enough also explores how America got to this point and the obstacles we must overcome, including historical information about the Second Amendment, the history of guns in America, and an overview of the NRA. Informative chapters include interviews with teens who have survived gun violence and student activists who are launching their own movements across the country. Additionally, the book includes a Q&A with gun owners who support increased gun safety laws.

Why I liked it: I flew through reading Enough Is Enough: How Students Can Join the Fight for Gun Safety, a young activist’s handbook to joining the fight against gun violence. I loved the mix of background information and history on the issue, infographics and hard hitting statistics, interviews with activists, and "never forget" profiles of recent mass shootings. The writing was passionate, yet easily understandable for young people, and what could be more convincing than hearing about gin violence from the same people who have been affected by it. As a teacher who has worked in several communities plagued by gun violence, I was pleased to see that the book did not limit its focus to just school shootings or mass shootings, but gun violence of all types and scales.

Classroom application: This book would be a great add to the nonfiction section of a classroom library from grades 6 and up. While violence is clearly an integral part of the book and the topics of gun violence and mass shootings are generally disturbing, there is nothing too graphic described. The book joins what seems to be a new wave of politically charged books written for young adults like How I Resist. I love that these books aim to empower young people to take action and not to underestimate the power that they have, even before they come of voting age.

This book, or excerpts from it, would a great addition to a social justice themed unit with titles like The Sun Does Shine and How I Resist. The book could also serve as a mentor text for informational or argument writing about an issue students are passionate about. Students could create graphics to accompany their writing. They could also conduct an interview with an expert or someone who has personal experience with their selected issue.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of Enough Is Enough: How Students Can Join the Fight for Gun Safety for yourself, you can find it on Amazon here.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The Literary Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.