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In 2017, seven-year-old Ava in South Carolina wrote a letter to Tyshaun, an eight-year-old boy from Washington, DC. She asked him to be her pen pal; Ava thought they could help each other. The kids had a tragic connectionboth were traumatized by gun violence.

Avas best friend had been killed in a campus shooting at her elementary school, and Tyshauns father had been shot to death outside of the boys elementary school. Avas and Tyshauns stories are extraordinary, but not unique. In the past decade, 15,000 children have been killed from gunfire, though that number does not account for the kids who werent shot and arent considered victims but have nevertheless been irreparably harmed by gun violence.

InChildren Under Fire, John Woodrow Cox investigates the effectiveness of gun safety reforms as well as efforts to manage childrens trauma in the wake of neighborhood shootings and campus massacres, from Columbine to Marjory Stoneman Douglas.

Through deep reporting, Cox addresses how we can effect change now, and help children like Ava and Tyshaun. He explores their stories and more, including a couple in South Carolina whose eleven-year-old son shot himself, a Republican politician fighting for gun safety laws, and the charlatans infiltrating the school safety business.

In a moment when the country is desperate to better understand and address gun violence,Children Under Fireoffers a way to do just that, weaving wrenching personal stories into a critical call for the United States to embrace practical reforms that would save thousands of young lives.