People Kill People by Ellen Hopkins

From Goodreads,

"Someone will shoot. And someone will die.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Ellen Hopkins tackles gun violence and white supremacy in this compelling and complex novel.

People kill people. Guns just make it easier.

A gun is sold in the classifieds after killing a spouse, bought by a teenager for needed protection. But which was it? Each has the incentive to pick up a gun, to fire it. Was it Rand or Cami, married teenagers with a young son? Was it Silas or Ashlyn, members of a white supremacist youth organization? Daniel, who fears retaliation because of his race, who possessively clings to Grace, the love of his life? Or Noelle, who lost everything after a devastating accident, and has sunk quietly into depression?

One tense week brings all six people into close contact in a town wrought with political and personal tensions. Someone will fire. And someone will die. But who?"

Goodreads - People Kill People

Everything in the news today seems to be centered around gun control.  It is the neverending debate over should people have access to guns and be allowed to carry or not.  I was raised around guns and was taught to always treat a gun as if it is loaded.  I absolutely believe that people who have had the proper background check and training should be allowed to purchase and carry.  This book focuses on the piece that guns don't kill people, people kill people.

People Kill People is a unique tale that is told by the narrator Violence.  Violence lives in everyone, but for some, its voice is louder.  Violence weaves the tale of six people: Rand, Silas, Daniel, Noelle, Cami, and Ashlyn.  These six people are connected in a strange way and their story comes together over the course of the book.  One of the people purchased a gun from an ad and one of the people will use the gun to murder someone by the end of the book.  Violence keeps the reader guessing to try to solve the crime.

THE REST OF THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!!

After I met Violence and the other six characters I immediately knew who was going to fire the gun.  The entire book is pushing gun control.  So the question quickly came to which of the characters would need the most gun control.  That was quickly answered when I realized Rand and Cami had a two-year-old son.  I knew immediately that it would be none of the six characters that we followed that would pull the trigger.  I knew it would be the little boy named Waylon who would have the unfortunate luck of pulling the trigger.  When it finally reached that point of the book and it was finally stated that Waylon pulled the trigger I was both relieved and frustrated.  I was relieved because I knew that I was correct in guessing who did it, but frustrated that it wasn't one of the six characters I had followed the entire time.  I was also frustrated at the lack of brains by Cami and Rand.  One of them purchased the gun but didn't think it would be a good decision to lock it up.  Honestly, they were asking for trouble.  I loved the whole whodunnit bit.  It was exciting to watch the stories come together and trying to figure out who would die.  I devoured this book quickly thanks to the mystery of who would fire the gun and who would die.

I was really intrigued by the narrator of this book who was named Violence.  The entire story is narrated by a thing or an idea instead of a person.  At the beginning of the story, I was very captivated by Violence, but as the book continued I found myself very bored with its prose.  It was such an odd thought that violence has a voice.  It was also interesting when Violence stated that it is present in everyone, but it is a louder voice in some than others.  That some events in life will bring that voice to the forefront.  It is almost frightening that violence is present in everyone, but different things trigger the voice of violence to be louder.  It really made me stop and ask myself if I have ever triggered the voice in someone and what has triggered it in me.  Violence exists in everyone, it is really just the question of what you do with that voice in your head. 

This book was interesting, to say the least.  The only thing that kept it moving was trying to figure out who bought the gun, who fired it, and who died.  I felt like the book was shoving the idea that people shouldn't own guns down my throat.  I understand that Hopkins was writing a book focused on such a controversial topic, but it was still a little irritating to being so anti-gun.  I still have to give this book 4 stars.  This book is not written in Hopkins' typical prose but alternates between prose and a regular book.  If you are looking for a book on gun control this is going to be a perfect fit.