Bang by Barry Lyga Genres: Diverse Books, Young Adult
Format: eARC
Buy the Book • Goodreads
One shot ruined his life. Another one could end it.
Sebastian Cody did something horrible, something no one—not even Sebastian himself—can forgive. At the age of four, he accidentally shot and killed his infant sister with his father’s gun.
Now, ten years later, Sebastian has lived with the guilt and horror for his entire life. With his best friend away for the summer, Sebastian has only a new friend—Aneesa—to distract him from his darkest thoughts. But even this relationship cannot blunt the pain of his past. Because Sebastian knows exactly how to rectify his childhood crime and sanctify his past.
It took a gun to get him into this.
Now he needs a gun to get out.
This book is not an easy read, yet I feel it is so important to talk about. Bang is a dark and emotional read that takes on a topic we see in our headlines almost daily…Gun Violence. The shame, the guilt, and the depression that eats up at the soul of the character is a carefully crafted and brilliantly told. Barry Lyga takes us into the heart and mind of a sweet, sad, suicidal boy and makes us want to turn back time and give him his sister and his childhood innocence back. I was an emotional wreck reading this book.
Gripping and captivating, Bang will make you question everything you think you know about gun control, PTSD and the human spirit. It will make you cry, feel and hope. Thank you Barry for Sebastian’s story.
