Young Lives Taken by Gun Death: A Book Review
This is the next installment in a series of short reviews of criminal justice, social justice, and narrative nonfiction titles available at the Washington State Law Library.
1,297. The average number children under age 18 that die annually from firearm injuries across the United States, according to a study published in the journal Pediatrics. Gunshots are the third leading cause of injury-related death among children, behind transportation-related injuries such as car crashes.
On average, four children and teens are killed by guns every day in the U.S. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). In his book, Another Day in the Death of America, journalist and author Gary Younge sets out to explore exactly what the title purports, by telling the personal stories behind gun-related deaths of children and teens on a single day — November 23, 2013 — when 10 children and teens were killed by guns. His aim: “to put a human face — a child’s face — on the ‘collateral damage’ of gun violence in America.” (pg. xv)
“It was just another day in America,” Younge writes in the introduction to Another Day, “And as befits an unremarkable Saturday in America, 10 children and teens were killed by gunfire. Like the weather that day, none of them would make big news beyond their immediate locale, because, like the weather, their deaths did not intrude on the accepted order of things but conformed to it.” (pg. xiv) Younge’s introduction goes on to explain his research process in-depth, including how November 23 was chosen (“the date itself…was arbitrary”), who he interviewed and how, and what types of documents he reviewed while conducting research for Another Day.
The 10 victims profiled in Another Day varied in age (nine to 19), location (cities, suburbs, and rural areas across the country), and ethnicity (black, Latino, and white). They were all boys, and the majority were African American (seven of 10). Each chapter is devoted to a single child’s story.
Although the book focuses on exploring the victims’ lives and how they passed, Younge is honest in critiquing his own reporting, forthright in his assessment of the National Rifle Association (NRA), and ultimately condemns American gun culture. The NRA, however, certainly isn’t the only target of his criticism. Younge doesn’t hold back, addressing issues of class, race, poverty, parenting, mass incarceration, and the economy at large.
Another Day is a devastatingly dark and personal look at the impacts of gun violence in the U.S. It may provoke discussions on gun control and legislation, but will also give readers pause as they reflect on the lives of 10 young people, and the toll the loss of those lives has taken on many others.
For more information, check out this interview of Gary Younge at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. (EK)
