Johnny Get Your Gun by John Dudley Ball

Johnny Get Your Gun Reviews

• 
  Bill

  After John Ball's previous novels (In The Heat of the Night & The Cool Cottontail) featuring detective Virgil Tibbs his third outing is another fine story.
  This time Tibbs is trying to find a nine year old boy who has taken his father's loaded gun in order to shoot another child. For a novel written back in 1969 it still says a lot about the lack of gun control in the USA & how, sadly even now, things haven't improved. The same can be said, in some ways, about racism too.
  Although this is the third Virgil Tibbs novel I've read I always hear the voice of the great Sidney Poitier (who played Tibbs on screen) as I read.
  Tibb's laid back approach is similar to French detective Maigret, but for me Tibbs is by far the more interesting creation.
• 
  Jennifer

  I listened to this book free through audiobooksync.com as part of their free YA program to keep teens reading in the summer.
  Although an interesting story, this one bothered me and I think part of that is because I listened to the audio book. There were multiple uses of the words n*gger, colored, and Negro which grated on my 2018 ears and really dated the book (which was published in 1969 when this was much more common). Race and gun rights were both big parts of this story and I often felt like the author was a little preachy and trying to make a political point instead of just telling a story. (Which I dislike regardless of which political side - just tell the story and let it make your point!) I also felt like the author was patronizing to people of color (characterizing them as "better educated" because they "spoke properly" and the mc refusing to "lapse" back into a southern drawl -- he was raised in the south -- because he had "grown beyond" that).
  Overall, the story was entertaining and not as simple as I had expected at the beginning, but I probably won't be reading anymore by this author.
• 
  Jennifer

  Audiobook. Although I enjoyed the idea of introducing the issues of racism and gun control to teenagers in a narrative and captivating story, I was incredibly annoyed that I felt like the author forced his views down the throat in the narrative rather than giving the reader the freedom to explore the issues on their own and come to their own conclusions.
• 
  Robert

  Third in the series and far superior to the second. Virgil Tibbs is yet again a strong, opinionated, self controlled anchor for the story, but the characters revolving around him are a wonder. Few times have written words moved me to tears, but the absolutely heartbreaking description of the - by today's standards- gentle bullying that snaps a lonely boy did the trick. What follows is a ramble across Southern California with the embodiment of Chekhov's relentless gun leading the way. The real-life figures who bleed into the story were a nice surprise, and I'd love to know the real world story behind their inclusion - did Ball know them before beginning and work them in, or only seek their permission after the story bloomed? Finally, the period details casually included are irreplaceable insight into a time in the not far past when cultural attitudes on many subjects were quite different than today - read it soon and be entertained and engaged on several levels.
• 
  Angela Martinez

  I liked most of the story. It was a little weird in places, but it was good overall.
• 
  Shaeley Santiago

  First recommended to me by a student several years ago, this book shows how bullying can lead to the unthinkable. Set in southern California in the early 1970's, the story touches on racial tensions as Johnny's dad has difficulty accepting the authority of an African American detective.
• 
  Paul

  3.5*
• 
  Robyn

  This has got to be one of the worst covers.
  
  First Line:

  It was close to the summer solstice, so that all day long the sun had hung high in what had been a cloudless sky, p.1.

  Nine year old Johnny McGuire is a poor white kid just moved to California. It’s the early 1970s, and there’s nothing better to Johnny than Gene Autry, baseball, and his window-to-the-world radio. One day Johnny takes his radio to school (and as a former teacher I’d just like to point out what comes next is exactly why we tell students not to bring valuables to school!) only to have an older boy break it. Heartbroken, Johnny goes home to get a gun.
  
  What Dazzled: This book is from week 3 of Audiobook Sync, and Francisca Goldsmith writes in her
  blog that “Listeners will forget quickly that this title is as old as it is because its story could be set today with unfortunate credibility.” I completely agree with her statement. Johnny Get Your Gun offers readers scenes on race and race relations, social justice, gun control, bullying, and more. Comparing this book with today’s social climate is what I found most interesting.
  
  What Fizzled:
  #ownvoices
  
  Jots and Thoughts:I did not know that John Ball wrote In the Heat of Night which was turned into a movie starring Sidney Poitier as detective Virgil Tibbs (the same detective in Johnny Get Your Gun). FYI the author uses several times throughout the novel the N-word. Read Harder challenge: A book with a cover you hate.
• 
  Leslie

  I enjoyed this book. I wish there was a bit more of a mystery element to it. But it was a good story with some important themes that I think are (unfortunately) just as necessary in today's world as they were in 1969.
  
  Some favorite lines:
  “Guns, dammit, guns! The right to keep and bear arms was given when a raw young country was part of a great, wild, largely unknown continent. In crowded modern cities, a loaded gun was as lethal as a pit viper. A machine for killing, and nothing else.”
  
  “‘I heard about Booker Washington and George W. Carver and then like a kid I dreamed that someday a great man would come, with a black skin, that the whole world would look up to and honor. And when we looked there was Martin Luther King. Nobody shoved him aside when he stood up to accept the Nobel Prize, but some bastard couldn’t stand it, so he shot him. And while things like you cried for black power and started riots that ripped apart the Negro sections in Newark and Detroit other men stood up to take his place.’
  He stopped suddenly, his teeth clamped hard together. Then he consciously regained control of himself; when he spoke again it was almost calmly. ‘I work here because nobody cares whether I’m black or white, just so long as I do my job. I clawed my way up against prejudice, I licked poverty, and I earned my job. And here. I’m not a black man, I’m Virgil Tibbs, a respected police officer, and nobody asks for anything more. I just caught a murderer who’s in a cell upstairs. Now who the hell are you?’”
• 
  Mary Havens

  I listened to this as part of Sync/Audiofile's Summer Reading program, a free audiobook program starting in late April until July. 2 books a week for free! Check them out :)
  I am telling you this because 1) I would have never found this book without this program and 2) I'm so glad I did.
  I read the descriptions of the books and later find out information about them. So I had no idea until I started listening to this book that it was written in 1969. If you didn't know that, you would balk at the language used (lots of Negro and colored) and the $4 price to get into Disneyland. But the core issues are still the same: racism, gun control, parenting, poverty. So much and so little has changed in 50 years.
  I want to read more by Ball but I'm unable to find anything at the libraries. I have seen In the Heat of the Night (the movie) once but don't remember much. I found Ball to be a good author (although the Angels bit drug out and seemed impossible) and even timely or timeless. I would like to read more by him.
  And, of course, Dion Graham!!!! My favorite narrator by far. I've started looking up books that he has voiced and will likely listen to them just because he's so good. :) A far cry from that other book I had to abandon because the narrator was so terrible.
• 
  Kristel

  I think it is quite interesting to read this book published in 1969 about a black police officer in Pasadena. This book is the third book in a mystery series about an officer named Virgil Tibbs. Tibbs solves this mystery by good detective work. The story takes place sometime after the the Watts riots and during the civil unrest of the sixties with riots and peaceful protests. The story features a poor white nine year old recently moved to the area, another school mate, older and bullying that occurs that leads to bigger issues.There is a bit of preaching about gun safety and questions the right to bear arms. There is a great deal of race issues addressed. Some of the language used is definitely not politically correct for the current time. Another item in the book that I thought was unnecessary is the nude picture that is mentioned and when looking up information about the author, discovered that the author John Dudley Ball was a nudist but never the less another element of the book that was not politically correct and really did not need to be a part of the book. I enjoyed the book and felt it was over all a decent read.
• 
  Laurie

  
  Audiobook Sync free audiobooks for their 2018 YA summer program week 3.
  Oof-ta. This book packs a punch. It looks like this is the third novel in the Virgil Tibbs mystery series, but it seemed to stand alone just fine, and with the current gun tensions, I can see why Audiobook Sync decided to add this to their summer lineup. I'm not sure which way I should feel about that precisely, but regardless this was a powerful book. Poverty, anger, hatred/suspicion of authority, fear, racism, and gun violence all play a part in this fairly short story centered around a hurt and terrified 9yr old boy.
• 
  Amberfaye

  I listened to this book free through audiobooksync.com as part of an initiative to keep teens reading in the summer. In light of recent events it appears to me that Johnny was treated to respect and with kid gloves by the police as a result of his privilege. The author was very condescending in regards to the way he characterized POC. Overwhelmingly this story did not exactly age well and was on the didactic side of gun control and anti-bullying. Johnny's mother also needs an all expenses paid trip to Disneyland while his dad gets some anger management tips. To quote several bad 80's "very special episodes" "[Johnny] learned it all from you Dad!".
• 
  Liesl

  Audiobook SYNC Theme: Running Scared
  
  Although published in 1969, this hit on a lot of topics that are relevant and unfortunately still an issue today. The things that date the book are the use of the n-word, negro and colored along with prices for things. (He got into Disneyland for $4?! Whaaaa?!) But other than that it reads very contemporary. I enjoyed getting to know Virgil Tibbs and might check out other books in the series. I also enjoyed the audiobook narrator and he has done the entire series.
• 
  Leslie

  The ending was totally unexpected (at least by me!). Sadly, many of the issues are still relevant today, 50 years after this was first published, such as poor relations between the police and black people. Tibbs is a great character; while I haven't read "In the Heat of the Night", I love the film with Sidney Poitiers and have seen it several times. I hadn't realized that Ball wrote a whole series around this character until I got this audiobook from the 2018 SYNC offerings - I will have to read more of them!
  
  Dion Graham does a splendid narration in this audiobook edition.
• 
  Heather

  This book was read by Dion Graham who also read the INFINITY RING SERIES which I have listened to. This was another book in the 2018 Audiobook SYNC Summer Series. It was published in 1969--oh how I would love to be able to pay the same amount that Johnny pays in this book to get into Disneyland!
  
  I thought this was a great book that delt with racism as well as gun violence and education on guns and gun registration. A good SYNC book for this year!
  
  
• 
  Kate

  I can't decide between 3 or 4 stars. this book was like a time capsule. the language, imagery, and cultural references were so completely 1969.
  
  It provided a snapshot of southern California in a middle class neighborhood (and some less than middle). There is racial tension and mental health issues, gun issues and socio-economic factors, all coming into play over the course of a two day experience.
• 
  Rebecca

  Like others, I got this book through last summer's Audiobook Sync (they just started this year's free books, so go check it out!). It was an interesting story and has some important points to make. Some people have pointed out the dated language, but it also is used within the context of a time period, so it made sense to me. A little heavy handed on the moralizing, but an interesting read (or rather listen :)
• 
  Amy the book-bat

  While at times the novel seemed a bit dated (set in the 1960's), it also has relevance to today's society. This book could open up a lot of discussions about race and gun violence, as well as the right to bear arms. The liberal use of the N-word was irritating to me, but does seem to be appropriate to the setting of the story.
• 
  Scott

  This red like someone telling a true story. It seems it is fictionalized. It takes place certainly in a very different time then we are in now. It was an over arching story of a turbulent time in history, but is that so different than we see happening even right now? Both sides absolutely right with their beliefs.
• 
  Alicia Weaver

  Wouldn’t have read this if it hadn’t been an audiobook. However the reader kept me very interested as I listened to young Johnny struggle to hold it together once he makes he decision to take his father’s gun and use it in a revenge plan against a classmate.
• 
  Mimia The Reader

  Liked the story but it felt a little preachy some times and I figured the ending out as soon as Virgil (I can’t remember his last name) make his first experiences.
  
  Also, the audiobook narrator makes all the voices very annoying.
• 
  Chinook

  An exploration of gun control, male rage, racism, bullying - it’s a short book but it packs a lot in. The style was a bit overly focused on sending a message and the language is uncomfortable at times.
• 
  Emily Maughan

  3.5 stars. I listened to the audiobook and overall liked it but didn't LOVE it.
• 
  Lori

  Written 49 years ago but oddly appropriate for today in its issues of gun rights and race relations. Suspenseful and touching.
• 
  Kathie

  Another book from Audiofile's youth summer program. Gripping from beginning to end. Well performed by the reader, as well.