Shooter- Walter Dean Myers, Cycle 2 1-15

The book shooter is a compelling book about a shooting of a White Male at Madison High school. The first fifteen pages of the book is written in the form of an interview in which an interrogator is interviewing the suspect about the incident. Though only through the first fifteen pages through the form of an interview the book reveals a lot of key components to the main character. For example, when the interviewer asked "Your father was upset that you didn’t make the team?" The suspect Cameron talked about how his father will always put him down and how he played like a girl. The rest of the pages I read was background information about the character. The character revealed that he didn’t have many friends I didn’t get out of the house much.

The pages I have read are written in an interview form which reveals how each character acts in particular by their choice in words. Most of the reading I did is straight forward but in some lines I have to draw an inference from what I have read. For example, the main character Cameron says, "You're trying to fit me in right? I have to be either a ballplayer or a loner, or what? You need to fit me in someplace right?" This quote required me to do some critical thinking. Since most of it has been background information I inferred that Cameron was one of the outcast at his school and how no real identity to him. The references to if he had any friends occurred multiple times perhaps showing that Cameron wasn’t much of the friendly type or wasn’t liked by others. This could be key to the rest of the story by hinting the motive or why he decided to shoot.

The first fifteen pages really drew me in to the book and I am eager to read on. The way the book is written is unique since it is mostly written in the form of dialogue and interviews. Since the book is formatted in this particular way I have to draw inferences about each of the character since there is no specific background information. I have to read in between the lines like I did in the quote I mentioned earlier. That particular quote required me to draw conclusions that may or may not be correct. The book has left me with some unanswered questions. Why is he being interviewed 6 months after the shooting? What was the motive? These unanswered questions make me want to keep continuing on with the book as it makes me think about what the next possible move can be.