The ABC's of Shattered

• Author. The author is Eric Walters, who has written 104 novels and pictures books as of September 2019. His books have won more than 100 awards, including, but not limited to, eleven children's choice awards, three Ontario Library Association Silver Birch and four Red Maple awards.
• Barbaric. Genocides are barbaric things to do because they destroy human life unnecessarily. Being barbaric can lead to other consequences, because of the guilt that comes with killing people. Shattered mentions a genocide, and Ian get taught about these barbaric activities.
• Civics is a word meaning to help fellow citizens, and helping the community helps fellow citizens. Civics was also the school subject that Ian was required to do 40 hours of community service for, which he did at The Club.

• Drugs are directly related to homelessness. Drugs cause addictions, which results in the users buying themselves out of a house and home.
• Education. Ian was educated by the homeless people about their stories and Ian learned about the Rwandan Genocide, PTSD, and the Guatemalan Civil War.
• Food. As part of his volunteering, Ian was giving food to homeless people in The Club.
• Guatemalan Civil War. The Guatemalan Civil War is a war that happened between the Guatemalan government and various left-hand rebel groups. The rebel groups were supported by the ethnic Maya indigenous community and the Ladino peasants. There were between 140 to 200 thousand dead and/or missing. It lasted over 36 years. Ian learns about the war during his discussions with homeless people.
• Homelessness is a theme in Shattered. It is a serous issue that plagues each and every city. Often homeless people are addicted to drugs or have mental illnesses. There are 150000 to 300000 Canadians homeless annually.
• Ian is the main character in this story, and he volunteers as part of his Civics class at the Club. There are other characters, like Mac, the Club's owner, food cooker and Ian's volunteer hours facilitator, and Berta, Ian's mom. There were also a number of homeless people, like Sarge, who educated Ian during his volunteer hours.
• Judgement. Homeless people are subject to a lot of judgement in today's society, because people are very judgemental. Ian stops judging homeless people later in the book because he learns that the stereotypes of homeless people are incorrect, and learns that everyone has their own story.
• Kitchen. The Club was a stew kitchen for homeless people. Stew kitchens give out food in a bowl for n people, and generally rely on donations of food and money.

• Life. Shattered is a story about what goes on in a homeless person's life. Every person has there own story, and some have stories of being refugees of wars or genocides, or others are veterans with mental illnesses. People can become homeless for a variety of reasons, some of which they can't do anything about.
• Mental Illness is a serious issue among those who are part of the homeless community. Mental illness is often left untreated among homeless people, and to society, the person who is mentally ill has certain bad traits, such as impulsiveness, avoidance, and mood swings.
• Narrative is a synonym for plot. The plot of this story relies on the fact that Ian is required to do 40 hours of community service to pass his Civics class. While he is doing said service, he learns many things about Rwanda, and its genocide, the Guatemalan civil war, and sees the truth about homelessness, which is stereotype-breaking.

• Overshadow. Most of the homeless community is overshadowed by the rest of the world, and the homeless community is never paid attention to.
• PTSD, or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, is a mental illness, common among veterans and the abused, caused by a traumatic event. PTSD causes the person who has it to avoid reminders of the traumatic incident, avoid normal activities, be easily frightened, be jumpy, and have flashbacks of the event.
• Question. Ian questioned his beliefs on who homeless people are during his volunteer hours because of the many nameless homeless people in the story who taught him something and were very kind. He questioned the stereotypes of homeless people. The reader has to question why human nature is the way it is, and society needs to question what its consequences are.
• Rwandan Genocide. The Rwandan Genocide was a genocide where the majority, being the Hutu, committed a mass slaughter of the minority, being the Tutsi. In about 100 days, between 500000 to a million Rwandans were killed. The genocide occurred in 1994.
• Susceptible. Being homeless makes you very susceptible to being kicked out of your living space and becoming a drug addict. People with mental illnesses are susceptible to becoming homeless.

• Title. The title is Shattered, which is built on the fact that homeless peoples' lives are shattered.
• Underprivileged. Majority of the homeless community is underprivileged.
• Volunteering was a requirement for Ian's Civics class, where he had to do 40 hours of community service. Volunteering involves working for no pay.
• Why? I have many unanswered questions relating to the novel. Why did Ian think that volunteer hours are easy? Why do people kill? Why do armies need to exist, when everything can be peaceful? Why do people not pay attention to homeless people? The list goes on and on!
• Xenophobia is a fear of people from other countries, or a fear of immigrants. Xenophobia was directly related to the Rwandan Genocide, as the majority murdered the minority. Nowadays, remembering the genocide cautions against Xenophobia.
• Year. The time period of the story is most likely in the very early 2000s. This story takes place in a mid-sized city in Canada, presumably with a somewhat nearby ski hill. Ian's school, The Club, and Ian's home are the three rotating settings of Shattered.

• Zero. Most homeless people are are limited by, or have zero, money. When you end up with zero money, you have to beg for food and end up living off of donations until you can get some more money to get something for yourself.

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