"On an average day in America, seven young people aged nineteen or under will be shot dead. Guardian journalist Gary Younge tells the stories of the lives lost during the course of a single day in the United States. It could have been any day, but Younge has chosen November 23, 2013. From Jaiden Dixon (age 9), shot point-blank by his mother's ex-boyfriend on his doorstep in Ohio, to Pedro Dado Cortez (age 16), shot by an enemy gang on a street corner in California, the narrative crisscrosses the country over a period of twenty-four hours to reveal the powerful human stories behind the statistics. Far from a dry account of gun policy in the United States or a polemic about the dangers of gun violence, the book is a gripping chronicle of an ordinary but deadly day, and a series of character portraits of young people taken from us far too soon and those they left behind. Whether it's a father's unspeakable grief over his son who was at the wrong place at the wrong time, a mentor who tries to channel his rage by organizing, or a friend and neighbor who finds strength in faith, the lives lost on that day and the lives left behind become, in Younge's hands, impossible to ignore, or to forget. A searing portrait of youth, family, and the way that lives can be shattered in an instant. At a time when it has become indisputable that Americans need to rethink their position on guns, this narrative work puts a human face on the collateral damage of gun deaths across the country."--Provided by publisher.

Jaiden Dixon, Grove City, Ohio -- Kenneth Mills-Tucker, Indianapolis, Indiana -- Stanley Taylor, Charlotte, North Carolina -- Pedro Cortez, San Jose, California -- Tyler Dunn, Marlette, Michigan -- Edwin Rajo, Houston, Texas -- Samuel Brightmon, Dallas, Texas -- Tyshon Anderson, Chicago, Illinois -- Gary Anderson, Newark, New Jersey -- Gustin Hinnant, Goldsboro, North Carolina.