becandbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Trigger warning: suicidal ideations, infant death, Islamophobia
This is such an important book. This book will make you ugly cry.
With gun control being such a debated topic in the current world and media, this book strikes you right in the heart muscle, no matter what your experience.
Lyga gives you insight into every nook and crevice such an event can crawl into, even 10 years on. From the most expected nooks, such as personal guilt, family dysfunction, and mental health; to the way society looks at you, to relationships, to sharing you're background, and even to school.
Sebastian's friendship with Evan was a nice backdrop to his everyday life - a friendship with differences of both background and financial wellness and the difficulty when Evan's parents silently disapprove of Sebastian and his background.
Sebastian's friendship with newly moved in Aneesa, is also a wonderful story in itself of learning from one another's differences. This relationship is a special one.
I understand the criticism around Lyga's choice NOT to focus too heavily on Aneesa's Musilm background and the experience of racism and the fear of. But honestly, I kinda LOVE the idea that such a thing can be mentioned, and discussed but does not have to be the focus. It is not ignored or downplayed or left out entirely by the author. Instead it is acknowledged and discussed when appropriate with the story line. I actually truly appreciate this in itself.
I do wish Sebastian's mental health, or perhaps even his parents', had more discussion. Sometimes trauma is just trauma, but when an author sets an MC with unstable mental health and yet chooses not to clearly define it, readers and reviewers tend to choose and label with diagnosis terms that may or may not be accurate.
All in all, this book tells a powerful and important story. Also, a warning, it will make you hungry.
This is such an important book. This book will make you ugly cry.
With gun control being such a debated topic in the current world and media, this book strikes you right in the heart muscle, no matter what your experience.
“Harry Potter is the boy who lived, and I’m the boy who killed.”
Lyga gives you insight into every nook and crevice such an event can crawl into, even 10 years on. From the most expected nooks, such as personal guilt, family dysfunction, and mental health; to the way society looks at you, to relationships, to sharing you're background, and even to school.
Sebastian's friendship with Evan was a nice backdrop to his everyday life - a friendship with differences of both background and financial wellness and the difficulty when Evan's parents silently disapprove of Sebastian and his background.
Sebastian's friendship with newly moved in Aneesa, is also a wonderful story in itself of learning from one another's differences. This relationship is a special one.
I understand the criticism around Lyga's choice NOT to focus too heavily on Aneesa's Musilm background and the experience of racism and the fear of. But honestly, I kinda LOVE the idea that such a thing can be mentioned, and discussed but does not have to be the focus. It is not ignored or downplayed or left out entirely by the author. Instead it is acknowledged and discussed when appropriate with the story line. I actually truly appreciate this in itself.
I do wish Sebastian's mental health, or perhaps even his parents', had more discussion. Sometimes trauma is just trauma, but when an author sets an MC with unstable mental health and yet chooses not to clearly define it, readers and reviewers tend to choose and label with diagnosis terms that may or may not be accurate.
“Popular culture woefully underprepares us for actual therapy.”
All in all, this book tells a powerful and important story. Also, a warning, it will make you hungry.
angstyp's review against another edition
4.0
Okay this would have been a five star book if there wasn't the absolutely cringey scene of "friend zoning". I mean the whole book was cringey in the way that it was emotional and a terrible situation all the way around. Why did that romance have to be there. Why can't two people exist in a teen book without that happening. Even with the explanation at the end, why did we need the man-splaining?????????
maybephasing's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Suicidal thoughts, and Gun violence
juicelina's review against another edition
4.0
I wasn't really expecting much going into this book. I wasn't expecting it to be the best book I've ever read or the worst. I read Barry Lyga's Boy Toy a long time ago and I really enjoyed that one. I still think about it sometimes and it's definitely one I want to reread. So I've been meaning to pick up another one of his books.
I really liked how everything was done in this one. The impending suicide was not the main focus of this book, but it was always there. This book focuses more on the friendship between Aneesa and Sebastian. I really loved how it was done and how it turned out. It didn't make it seem like having a relationship is going to suddenly make you feel non suicidal, but it does help. Sebastian isn't contemplating suicide because he's depressed (at least that's not really the vibe I was getting). It was more like something he felt like he needed to do. And he was experiencing more of a PTSD than depression. This was so interesting to read. I don't really know how else to describe it. Barry Lyga's books have a way of making you think (at least the two that I've read) and I really like that. It's probably not a book for everyone, but definitely worth the read.
Also the descriptions of food in this book made me so hungry and I'm so sad that I will never be able to taste any of Sebastian's pizzas :(
I really liked how everything was done in this one. The impending suicide was not the main focus of this book, but it was always there. This book focuses more on the friendship between Aneesa and Sebastian. I really loved how it was done and how it turned out.
Spoiler
I like the fact that Aneesa and Sebastian didn't end up in a relationship. I like that Aneesa said that she just wanted to be his friend. I feel like it's weird of me, but I actually really liked that.Also the descriptions of food in this book made me so hungry and I'm so sad that I will never be able to taste any of Sebastian's pizzas :(
melissapalmer404's review against another edition
5.0
Book #63 Read in 2017
Bang by Barry Lyga
When he was four years old, Sebastian picked up his father's unattended handgun and shot and killed his infant sister. That haunts Sebastian, now a teenager, and his parents. The parents split up and Sebastian lives with his mother, hardly ever seeing his father. Though not named in the press, all of his hometown knows what he did. He has one friend until Aneesa moves into the neighborhood. She does not know his past so Sebastian can have a "clean" relationship with someone new. Sebastian has thoughts of suicide as a way to stop his pain. This is a powerful read.
Bang by Barry Lyga
When he was four years old, Sebastian picked up his father's unattended handgun and shot and killed his infant sister. That haunts Sebastian, now a teenager, and his parents. The parents split up and Sebastian lives with his mother, hardly ever seeing his father. Though not named in the press, all of his hometown knows what he did. He has one friend until Aneesa moves into the neighborhood. She does not know his past so Sebastian can have a "clean" relationship with someone new. Sebastian has thoughts of suicide as a way to stop his pain. This is a powerful read.
bestdressedbookworm's review against another edition
4.0
I dont know what rating to give this book yet. I either really loved it or really hated it.
I enjoyed the characters, and the ending wasnt where I was expecting it to go at all, so that was a really good surprise, it felt very true to the story without me even realising the book should not have ended the way I thought it would. However there was a lot of light hearted fluff in the middle that just felt like it filled pages, however now im at the end I can sort of see its importance though at the time I was annoyed with it.
Really confused. Lets go with 4 stars and see if I change it after more thought
I enjoyed the characters, and the ending wasnt where I was expecting it to go at all, so that was a really good surprise, it felt very true to the story without me even realising the book should not have ended the way I thought it would. However there was a lot of light hearted fluff in the middle that just felt like it filled pages, however now im at the end I can sort of see its importance though at the time I was annoyed with it.
Really confused. Lets go with 4 stars and see if I change it after more thought
elste's review against another edition
5.0
Forgiveness … one of the hardest, if not downright impossible, to genuinely actualize with every fiber of ones being. And to take this one step further – to forgive oneself, a task most of us will never accomplish given our brief stay in life.
How do you even try and learn such grace? Let alone try and manage the reality of it. Yet, if we cannot forgive ourselves, we will never be able to truly forgive others. This seemingly insurmountable burden is what young Sebastian Cody needs to figure out.
“Bang” is a powerhouse of a story. Tragedy laced with a beautiful becoming. A completely engrossing story that challenges our own perceptions of absolution and clemency toward our most haunted inner selves.
Oh, and one more thing. Sebastian gets an A+ for his brilliant ACAS Essay Assignment. Well done.
How do you even try and learn such grace? Let alone try and manage the reality of it. Yet, if we cannot forgive ourselves, we will never be able to truly forgive others. This seemingly insurmountable burden is what young Sebastian Cody needs to figure out.
“Bang” is a powerhouse of a story. Tragedy laced with a beautiful becoming. A completely engrossing story that challenges our own perceptions of absolution and clemency toward our most haunted inner selves.
Oh, and one more thing. Sebastian gets an A+ for his brilliant ACAS Essay Assignment. Well done.
shellihuntley4's review against another edition
4.0
We meet the main character of this book in high school, but quickly learn that the defining action of his life happened when he was four years old. at that time, he shot and killed his infant sister with an unsecured firearm. Suicide ideation pervades the book as he struggles to move beyond this horrible accident. Hope and healing come in the form of a new friendship.
ahoke1990's review against another edition
4.0
I so thought this was not going to end in a happy way. I was prepaired to read the worst. But this about an accident and accidents. This is an accident.
2. an event that happens by chance or that is without apparent or deliberate cause.
Now its also about being okay with that. Knowing you were too young and it wasn't your fault.
The end is eventually forgiving and open about what happened.
Is the writing voice the best ever? No. But the plot and overall story is good. Its an important message and I enjoyed the time spent. Its not what I usually and naturally pick up. But it was not bad and I liked it. Will I read another Barry Lyga? I don't know..
2. an event that happens by chance or that is without apparent or deliberate cause.
Now its also about being okay with that. Knowing you were too young and it wasn't your fault.
The end is eventually forgiving and open about what happened.
Is the writing voice the best ever? No. But the plot and overall story is good. Its an important message and I enjoyed the time spent. Its not what I usually and naturally pick up. But it was not bad and I liked it. Will I read another Barry Lyga? I don't know..
melindagallagher's review against another edition
4.0
Bang is a heartbreaking story of a boy who found his father's gun and accidentally shot his baby sister. He was just 4 years old. Now at 14, his family is torn apart and he is just looking for a way out. The guilt and the grief are too much to bear. Just as it seems it is about "time", he meets a new friend, Aneesa. Together they start a YouTube cooking channel featuring pizza. Just when it seems that he will be saved, things take a turn for the worse. Some good discussions over gun control and safety can be had with this book.