Eleanor and Park Stole My Heart

Every now and then a young adult book comes along that instantly transports us back to our own adolescence, for better or worse. It can be a painful or a beautiful journey (more often than not, a little of both), but it takes a talented author to do so effortlessly. In Eleanor & Park, Rainbow Rowell tells you a story of two misfits that will leave you forever changed. 

Since her mother brought Eleanor back to the house, she, and everyone else, has had to walk on eggshells. Their stepfather is not a nice man, and in particular, he hates Eleanor. In a house as tiny as theirs, it is all but impossible for her to escape him. Sharing a bedroom with her four siblings, worrying about whether or not they will have food each night, and listening to Richie beat her mother are just some of the reasons Eleanor has no interest in seeking friends in her new school. Never mind the fact that she dresses weird (in whatever her mother gets her from Goodwill), she isn't the skinniest girl, and her flaming red hair has a mind of its own. When she steps foot on the bus that first day, no one will let her sit down... until Park lets her sit with him. 

Park isn't a complete outcast, but he isn't popular by any means either. He tries very hard to keep his head down and blend into the background. When he sees Eleanor, he feels bad, but girls like her are who keep the vicious attention of his peers off his own faults. Taking more after his Korean mother, he has always been too gentle, too feminine, and not manly enough for his former soldier father. He doesn't intend to be anyone's hero, but he can't let Eleanor stand in the aisle of the bus and cry the way those beasts want her to. So he tells her to sit. And that changes everything. 

Eleanor and Park don't talk. He reads his comic books and she carefully tries to read them without letting him know she is peaking over his arm to see. He notices her reading the comics and starts turning the pages slower. Then he starts bringing her comics to borrow. All of this happens without a word shared between the two, but slowly, glacially, Park avoids Eleanor less and less. A few careful questions here, a kind gesture there, and the two find the human interaction they miss the most at the end of each day are the interactions they have together on those bus rides. But Eleanor has a lot to hide and is the target of many a malicious teen. And Park is very conscious of how her proximity affects his ability to camouflage himself from the other kids. Their backgrounds, self-consciousness, and situations should have prevented them from ever getting to know one another, but sometimes life's circumstances can't stop love from blossoming, no matter how hard it tries. 

There is something you should know before you read this book. It has been raved about by bloggers, reviewers, booksellers, and readers everywhere. They are right. John Green gave this clip for the New York Times Book Review: "Eleanor and Park reminded me not just what it's like to be young and in love with a girl, but also what it's like to be young and in love with a book."  He was right. Yalsa, Printz, and every other professional in the field loved this book. They were all right. If you are anything like me, you develop an immediate bias against a book when it receives instant and passionate acclaim. Why? I don't know. I guess the little rebel in us doesn't want to love what everyone loves. But that stupid generalization keeps us from books like Harry Potter, The Fault in Our Stars, and Eleanor & Park, so let's just stop this nonsense already, ok?! Because if we miss out on amazing books like this one, we are just silly little rebels who have lost out on a chance to read some seriously amazing books. 

Eleanor and Park was the saddest and most achingly romantic story I have read since The Fault in Our Stars. Eleanor is a girl who just needs life to cut her a break, but no one stands up for her. Until Park. And he doesn't do it willingly at first, but when he does, you know it goes against every ounce of self-preservation inside him. And it is that simple act of sticking his neck out for this girl that will make you love him unconditionally. Park isn't perfect. Even Eleanor knows she embarrasses him, but he wants to be a better person, and more importantly, he can't imagine life without Eleanor. I loved this boy. I really did. My heart broke for Eleanor, but I loved Park. And his life wasn't tulips and daisies either, but it couldn't compare to the war zone she lived in. 

I imagine some critics of this novel might find fault in the love between Eleanor and Park, but you have to think of the lack of love they have both lived with. Park can never be enough to satisfy his father. Eleanor's own mother left her with a neighbor for a year because Richie didn't want her in his house. For two damaged kids, finding that love was transformational, both for them and for you, as the reader. Rowell has the ability to make you love the main characters with a fierce protectiveness that will surprise you, and the ability to make you hate those who hurt them with a ferocity that makes you want to inflict bodily harm upon those fictional characters like Richie and the girls who bully Eleanor in school. 

This is a book that will steal the heart of any reader. Filled with fabulous 80's music references, comic book references, totally called-for foul language, and adolescence in all its ugly glory, it will change ever reader who turns that first page and can't put it down. There are some dark and dirty parts of this story that are hard to read, but they are just as important as the beautiful, innocent, guarded love that blossoms between Eleanor and park. This book is everything people say it is, and I know it will stand the test of time among readers. 

Rock Out with the Scar Boys

How can you convince someone to accept you in 250 words or less? You can't. So Harbinger decides to tell his story. In Len Vlahos' breakout novel, he gives Harbinger a voice, even though he isn't the kind of you man to stand up and shout... or at least he wasn't, until now. 

With a name like Harbinger, and a history behind that name that would make you sob, Harry was bound to live a unique life. But how unique?

He was almost struck by lightning. 

He wished he was struck by lightning.

He was a methadone addict. 

This all happened before he was 10 years old.

When a group of bullies tied him to a tree, they didn't expect or care about the lightning storm that shot a bolt directly at the same tree where he was tied. He wasn't struck by lightning, but the bolt sheared off the top of the tree in a fiery ball of flames and dropped it on an incapacitated Harry. This leads to months of hospitals, reconstructive surgeries that didn't make him look normal again, and a lifetime of hiding his face from disgusted looks. But he never gave up the kids who tied him to the tree. He was scared to death of those kids. But they were probably more scared of him than he was of them. 

Harry's life is eventful and uneventful all in one. He doesn't do anything. He isn't a stellar student. His situation is a burden on his parents' lives and marriage. He doesn't even have any friends. Until Johnny moves to his town and his school. Johnny is like an uncontainable force that changes everything in his wake, including Harry. When Harry is rejected by a girl, Johnny says, "Let's start a band." While it seemed out of place and not entirely comforting, a band was exactly what Harry needed. Harry needed to stop being a tool. He needed to stop being a doormat. And most of all, he needed to stop feeling sorry for himself. A band wasn't a panacea, but it certainly did change Harry's life in ways he never thought possible.

I personally don't read as much realistic YA as I do fantasy or science fiction, but when I do, I am usually quite impressed because I pick those titles carefully. This story was an absolute shock. It was this mix of shockingly horrible situations, endearing moments, and flawed relationships. I am not quite sure how to classify this story, but I know I loved it. Harbinger is the kind of guy who just lets life happen to him. From the lightning strike to the band, he doesn't fight for or against anything. He just goes through the motions. Johnny changes that, but not all for the good. Sure, Johnny befriended a kid most adults were even too freaked out to talk to, but Johnny liked the fact that Harry was damaged. Next to Harry, Johnny was even more impressive. From his smooth, suave talk with parents to the animal magnetism everyone was drawn to, Johnny appeared to be the model young man, but his relationship with Harry was complicated and not altogether positive. I loved and hated Johnny interchangeably, and it was a difficult pair of emotions to resolve. 

Without Johnny, however, Harry would never have become the young man who wrote this college essay (the premise for the story). He never would have lived those moments, thought those thoughts, or even stepped foot outside his door. And even as he lives this strange and legendary few years with Johnny and the band, he doesn't think he is responsible for any of it. He lives his life assuming the bad things that happen to him were all his fault and the good things were thanks to some other force in his life. It was heartbreaking to witness, but Vlahos made it into a story you can't put down. Harry's short life so far is one we thank god we don't have to live through and thank Vlahos for giving it to us to bear witness. Pretty amazing! I would give this to any student- male or female. I don't think there is a "type" of reader who would enjoy this story because I believe it will transform any reader. Excellent story, transformative characters, and enough spunk and humor to keep you going. A+ in my book!

Just Like You

"I swear to you fat is not an emotion. I wish you could hear that... it'd spare you lots of self abuse."

Typically, Young Adult authors are adults. Sure, they have lived through high school and their awkward teenage years, but they aren't currently entrenched in them. Perhaps they have glorified those times, or maybe they view them like being the lone survivor of a zombie plague- all alone and waiting to be devoured by the beasts surrounding you. Either way, they aren't part of the target audience for whom they write their books. So can they make the young adults they write for believe they lived through the same situations? Yep. With one book. In Dear Teen Me, a collection of letters from the authors to their teen selves, you will get a glimpse of just how much they can connect to the teens they write for.

"You know there is no way in hell a guy like him would ever kiss a girl like you, you think."

There are moms who left. Left behind was a girl who had to raise her younger siblings and needed her grandmother to buy her first bra for her. Dads who left an never called, creating an almost obsessive need for attention of any kind. There was a dad who suffered from mental illness in a way that devastated her childhood. And there were great parents who loved, comforted, angered, yelled, supported and loved some more.

"Here's the thing: You're a freak. Always were. Always will be. One day you'll love this about yourself. But right now you hate it."

There are band geeks, theater dropouts, book nerds, smart kids, dancers, jocks, chubby kids, and so much more. Some had a defining moment like when Big Bern (scary Sister Bernard Agnes) recognized you were a fish out of water and suggested you spend some time in the library, the exact spot where you finally fit in. Some just floated through, realizing only now that they missed an amazing opportunity. But they all have something in common. They had no idea who the hell they really were and who the hell they were going to be one day. And that was OK. Because eventually, they would know. 

"The goose egg on your forehead will heal, but the loose thread in your moral fiber is probably still there to this day."

There were bullies. Some were expected, and some were unexpected. Those were inexplicably sadder. Sometimes the bullied became the bully just to turn the tide a little bit. There were cruel taunts and jabs that will stay with you forever. But there were friends. A girl who let you know it is OK to stop worrying about homework and tests and just be free. Friends who want to play Dungeons and Dragons or belong to the breakdancing group right along with your rhythm-less self. And did you know Lauren Oliver and Elizabeth Miles were friends in school?! How awesome and crazy is that?!

"Keep dancing by the highway, you splendid little dork."

There are first crushes, first kisses, and attempts to lose your virginity. There are milestones and drudgery, but it is all that time you need to spend finding yourself, losing yourself, and finding yourself again. This is all the advice you wish someone had told you when you were a teenager, but then you stop and realize even if they had told you, you would have ignored them and made those same mistakes again. This book should not only be read by students from middle school through their young adult years, but also adults as well. Parents, teachers, and just the woman debating whether or not to go to her high school reunion because she was once an awkward young girl who dreaded every day of high school. I loved this collection. Loved it. And there is nothing you will ove more than watching someone realize those very authors you look up to were struggling through the same horror show you went through during adolescence. (And not Rocky Horror Picture Show, kind of horror either. There was no bustier and singing. This was more like Jason and hockey mask). 

"PLEASE stop pretending you don't know the answers in math class! It's okay to be smarter than they boys. Really. They'll get over it."

Touching MIddle Reader Series

All women remember that age. You were about 11 or 12 years old, heading into the stage where boys were cute, brothers were horrid, and parents were embarrassing. It last about until you were 18. And school? Well, school was a battlefield. Essentially they were the hardest years of your life. Now imagine your mother and some other mothers decided to have a Mother-Daughter Book Club with girls you would never speak to in school... unless they were spreading vicious rumors about you, but you can't really call that "speaking", now can you?! In The Mother-Daughter Book Club, Heather Vogel Frederick gives her characters plenty to think about as they survive 6th grade and their mothers.


Cassidy is a tomboy who loves to play hockey and embarrasses her supermodel mother with every burp and outburst. Emma is the poor, pudgy daughter of intellectuals who named her and her brother after Jane Austen characters (Darcy?! No wonder the boy played hockey!). Jess is a shy, sweet farm girl battling her own issues on the home front since her mother moved to NY to be an actress while dealing with issues at school where everyone tells her she stinks and calls her Goat Girl. Megan is one of the popular girls and would sooner die than be caught hanging out with Cassidy, Emma, and Goat Girl. But when their mothers start a book club (sans Jess's mom who is MIA), they have no choice but to all get together once a month. They may have no choice about attendance, but they don't have to pretend they like it.


At first all the girls hate the idea, but slowly they begin to enjoy reading Little Women, especially since Louisa May Alcott lived and wrote the story in their town! Their mothers have made the club pretty fun and not hard, so they can live through the meetings once a month. But the book club is a constant reminder for Jess that her mother has left her family behind. It also reveals the tensions between the mothers and daughters themselves. But when Megan and her followers pull a prank that went way too far, the whole Book Club is threatened. Now the girls and their mothers must decide whether the Book Club can survive a betrayal as bad as Megans, but if the girls didn't want the club in the first place, what is going to make them try to save it?


I had a feeling this was going to be an adorable story, and I was right! These girls are a wonderful mix of characters from the Queen Bee to the target to the hockey playing tomboy/jock. It explores this mix of girls and how they interact when they must be on their best behavior in front of all their mothers. But more importantly, it explores their interactions when their moms aren't around, and it can get ugly! I think my favorite character had to be Cassidy who knew she could never live up to her model mother and just wanted to play hockey. In fact, when there was no hockey team for girls in the town, she didn't hesitate to hide her identity and try out for the boys' team! She was a real butt-kickin' girl, and she wasn't afraid to stand up to Megan and her cronies. I liked the other girls, even Megan eventually, but I loved Cassidy!


This also explores that sacred yet tenuous relationship between mother and daughter. Any of you daughters out there can admit that this relationship is always a little strained but devoted at the same time. I am 31 and my relationship with my mom is that exactly! So the different girls and their wildly different mothers all came together for one big lesson: mothers and daughters love each other, but sometimes they don't see each other enough to understand each other. I think this would be a great lesson for any young lady struggling at this age to traverse life with her mom (or her mom struggling to deal with a daughter this age!). This book is best for a high skilled 4th grader through about 7th grade. It is written in simple language, but the book is fun and has great characters. I look forward to the other books in the series, and might even have to read Little Women again!

The List Changes Everything

In high school there are the "hot" girls and the "not-so-hot" girls, but no one writes it down on paper. It is not something out in the open for everyone to see. In Siobhan Vivian's The List, those girls are labeled ugliest and hottest girl for each class, and the label will change them forever.


Every year the List comes out. There is an ugliest girl and a hottest girl in each grade. No one knows who makes the lists or how the official (stolen) school seal that marks the official list gets passed down from year to year, but they accept the list as a part of their high school lives. This year is no different from previous years for most people, but it is a life-changer for the 8 girls on the list. One has been on the list all 4 years of her high school career... as the ugliest girl in her grade. One only makes the list after her anorexia slims her down. One embraces her Ugly status by writing UGLY across her forehead and refusing to shower for the whole week leading up to the Homecoming game.


But one thing is for certain: the list affects every single girl it names. And while you might think it would help the lives of the Hottest girls, you would be miserably wrong. Being named Hottest only makes your friends jealous and guys think they have a right to hit on you or think you are a trophy to be won. Being on the list tests every relationship you have ever had, your values, and worst of all, what you think of yourself. The List has changed these girls... but you won't believe how.


This was a deceptively awesome book, I must say. I assumed it would be rife with cliches and stereotypes and full of pink plush morals and "typical", but it really wasn't. Instead, it surprised me. Time and time again, what happened to these girls REALLY surprised me. I thought I knew what was going to happen to the Ugly girls vs. the Hot girls, but I found myself flipping the pages time and time again with that "What the heck?!" shocked look on my face. It was a really refreshing read! But at the same time, it was a frighteningly accurate reveal into the world of high school culture. We, as adults, sit on the outside of the true happenings of our schools, and although we have lived through it, we have also outgrown it, making our opinions jaded. I mean, can you honestly remember what it felt like to live through high school? I can honestly say I have tried somewhat (un)successfully to block it from my mind, but every now and then I see something going on where I teach and all those memories come rushing back. 


This would be an excellent book for any high school aged girl through adult trying to understand the lives and roles of teenagers these days. And to try and pretend judgment and criticism are not a part of adolescence is simply ridiculous. Sometimes we, as adults, just need to immerse ourselves in their world, even through a story like this one, to see the truth of what they live through every day. It might make you a little more sympathetic as you give them detention or scold them for not finishing their work. We see the world through our adult eyes, but we forget that as teenagers, we didn't even know who we were at that point. Vivian did a great job with this story explaining the lives of teenagers and I am sure all adolescents would find at least one character to relate to. Even if they don't want to admit it!

No Safety in Malls

As a person who hates malls with every ounce of her being, I can honestly say the idea of being trapped in a mall with tons of other people and no way out might be my idea of the seventh layer of hell! Now add a possible biochemical weapon, and I am terrified by Dayna Lorentz's No Safety in Numbers!


As Marco was running for his life in the mall parking garage from the beefy jerk from school, he had no idea his hiding spot was also the hiding spot of something a lot more sinister. A bomb. Lexi's mom, The Senator, thought a family outing was going to make up for all the time she has to work, but she couldn't have predicted how wrong she would be as the mall had to be quarantined. Now tons of people are locked down in the mall with no idea what is happening.


At first it seems like a slight inconvenience for most, and maybe even a fun sleepover for others, but the novelty of being held captive in a mall wears off quickly. The bathrooms quickly become filthy, food starts to run out, and riots break out when people realize just how trapped they really are. When people start getting sick and the government agencies require everyone to submit to a blood test, people begin to realize there is something even scarier than being trapped in a mall- being trapped in a mall with a deadly virus rampaging through its halls.


This was an interesting story and one a lot of kids would not be able to stop thinking about. The mall is a place of fun, a haven for kids to shop and goof around and just be kids. So when it becomes a nightmare, it makes everyone reevaluate their previous beliefs. The story also does a good job of showing the progression of such a situation. People aren't panicked at first. They are bored and making the best of the situation. But when things go south, they really get ugly. Looting, violence, and every other manner of human nature when people are scared and determined. 


Although the story was good, it had some huge holes. First, I can't imagine it would take people 6 whole days to panic. I think a day, maybe two, and everything would just implode. People don't just accept a quarantine, and especially not when there is the threat of a deadly virus. I know FEMA and the other government agencies would be relatively good about locking things down, but no force could control tat many scared people. And why didn't anyone question the store that was taken over as a command center until the very end? And why did the credit card machines still work when the phones and internet lines were taken down? There were definitely some holes in the story, but it was still entertaining, which is all you can really ask for.  It would be appropriate for any manner of student and has an average reading level. But be forewarned, it is apparently a trilogy, so there is no resolution at ALL at the end of the book.

The Series Has Lost a Little Something

The Riders of the Apocalypse are supernatural, Biblical, something otherworldly that we can't quite wrap our heads around. But what if they weren't. The Riders have to come from somewhere. What if they were ordinary teens, suffering everything we suffered as teens, who are chosen to bear the burdens of famine, pestilence, war, and death. In Jackie Morse Kessler's Loss, we see an ordinary bullied boy rise up to become the White Rider... even if he doesn't want to.

Billy Ballard is your typical bullied kid. He sinks into himself, takes the blows, and waits it out. It is all about survival. Fighting back just makes it harder. At home, things aren't much better. His grandfather is battling Alzheimer's and Billy and his mother have to take care of him, even when the caregiving can be brutal and totally unappreciated by a man losing his mind. The only glimmer of hopefulness in Billy's life is a beautiful girl who actually notices him. Unfortunately, the only other ones who notice him are the bullies.

Billy has recurring nightmares of an Ice Cream Man who made him make a deal when he was young. When Death, the Pale Rider, comes to Billy and tells him he must substitute for the White Rider, Pestilence. Billy has no idea what he is talking about until he realizes Pestilence was the Ice Cream Man who tricked a young child into agreeing to be the White Rider when the time came. Billy is reluctant to do such a job, so Death tells him he can bring back the original White Rider if he doesn't want the new position. But how do you bring back a Rider of the Apocalypse who doesn't want to be found? Well, it isn't easy!

I have to say I LOVED the first two books in this series. They were creepy and honest and got to the heart of true teen afflictions with an candor I appreciated. But this one faltered for me. I understand Kessler wanted to stray from the formulaic "tormented teen becomes Rider, likes it at first, gets a little excited, then wants to give it up" story from the first two books. But in doing so, she created this strange "Billy chases King Midas" story that got too rambly and confusing for me. In fact, the thing I loved most about the first two books was how much I had invested in the main characters- the kids being called to be the Riders. They were flawed, damaged, and becoming Riders gave them a sense of power they had never had in their lives. And then they realized that too much power was even worse than what they had before. I loved those kids, damage and all. And sadly, this book didn't give me a chance to love Billy. Instead he was "chasing" Pestilence's soul through the "White" or whatever its oblivion state was, tinged with horrible memories written in a stream of consciousness. It wasn't badly written, but I just didn't like it as much as I loved the edgy situations in the first books.

What I did love, however, was the Author's Note at the end of the story where Kessler tells her own tales of bullying, and you won't believe what side she was on (or maybe you will now that I have made you think about it). She talks about the evolution of this story and the use of Alzheimer's on a very personal level. Thanks to this Author's Note, I felt very different about this story than I did at the end of the actual story. I only wish I had those feelings throughout the entire story, not just in the afterword. So I think this story faltered a bit from the edgy start of the series, but it still has its merits. The concept of a bully finally having an outlet to get back at their bullies is something every bullied kid thinks about. I would encourage any junior to high school student to check this series out as it deals with very real teen issues in a surprisingly interesting fictional way.

Wracked with Fury

Have you ever hurt someone? Have you ever caused someone pain, whether you meant to or not? Do you think sorry was enough to make up for what you did? You better hope it was or you could be the next victim of punishment in Elizabeth Miles' Fury series. 


Em is Gabby's best friend, but Em can't stop thinking about Gabby's boyfriend Zach. When Gabby goes away for the holidays, she feels guilty about the fact that she is looking forward to spending time with Zach and no Gabby. What she isn't expecting is that he might feel the same way about her. She knows it is wrong, but she can't help the way she feels, right? 


Chase has scraped and climbed his way to the top of the social pyramid with careful execution, but he stil lives in a trailer, a fact that he never forgets. His inspiration was a childhood friend named Sasha whose mother remarried and with the help of her stepfather's money, was flung to the head of the social staircase. But when Sasha throws herself from an overpass and is in a coma in the hospital, Chase struggles with the fact that he may have been involved in her decision to commit suicide.


Both have made mistakes. All their mistakes had reasons and regrets behind them, but they still chose to do what they did. Now things keep going wrong. Chase is haunted by a beautiful girl who he can't stop thinking about. No matter what she does to hurt him or humiliate him, he can't say no to her. When Em starts seeing a similar girl, she feels like she is being stalked. But what they don't know is that the girls following them are much more dangerous than they look...


Fury was an interesting book, but I found myself really confused in the beginning. Actually, I found myself really confused for about 2/3 of the story. I suspected the book was about Furies getting vengeance on bad people and when the couple of kids in the book were doing fairly bad things, I realized my suspicions were right. But I didn't really understand the connection between Em and Chase. It turns out there really wasn't much of a connection other than the fact that they went to school together and kind of knew each other. My other small qualm about this book was their "crimes" for which the Furies were after them. Once you get to the heart of what Chase did, you will agree that the jerk deserves to be punished, but Em's crime, while despicable, isn't exactly death-worthy. I mean, cheating with your best friend's boyfriend is beyond crappy, and you deserve to come back as a dung beetle in a future life, but to die for that? As a teenager (who are notorious for stupid decisions when it comes to hormones and emotions)? It seemed a little harsh. Not sure if I totally agree with that decision on the part of the author. In fact, I might have either had the second story more serious or eliminated it altogether. 


The writing was nice and clear, and the characters were multidimensional, which I appreciate. I loved the fact that the Furies' victims were not just pure evil- they were normal people, not all good, not all bad, who made bad decisions. I think it brought the human quality into the story where you almost felt bad for them by the time the Furies caught up with them, which made you feel confused as a reader because you knew they did crappy stuff. It was a great moral paradox to grapple with as a reader and made the stories less black and white. The way the story ended left me excited to see where the story will go in the next two books and opened the possibilities up tenfold. There is so much Miles can do from here! On a whole, great breakout series and look forward to more from this author.

From a Bully's Perspective

After finishing The Fault in Our Stars, I really needed to read something different. I had bought this book on a whim, at first scoffing at it, then intrigued by it. I was torn between being impressed by Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson writing about his early start as a playground bully and being annoyed by this ghost written story pumped out to make more money. Now that I have read Playground: A Mostly True Story of a Former Bully, I think I am more impressed than annoyed...


Butterball is a big guy. Junior High is rough enough for a kid, let alone a fat kid, so you have to be tough to make it through. When Maurice, Butterball's only real friend at school, starts telling people something truly horrible about Butterball's family, he does the only thing he can. He defends his honor. He bashes Maurice's face in with a sock filled with D batteries. Now Butterball has to go to a social worker twice a week and talk about his feelings- the last thing he wants to do.


Butterball and his mother moved out of the city to Garden City when his parents split up. He still goes to the city occasionally to see his father, but his dad is usually preoccupied by his latest girlfriend. Butterball's mom works constantly between her time at the hospital and college classes to become a nurse. Mostly he spends his time with Evelyn, his mom's friend who make gross vegetarian stews and rags on Butterball to behave himself. At school he has gotten a lot of attention, some good and some bad, for what he did to Maurice. Now a group of guys wants him to do it again to a guy Butterball has never met. But Butterball doesn't understand- this guy hasn't done anything to him, so why would Butterball bash his face in? 


I wouldn't say this was a great story, but it was one that has a good moral and is told form a different perspective than others of its kind. I like the fact that 50 Cent took the time (via a ghost writer) to get his story out there about his own bullying, why he did it, and how it affected him later. As an artist many kids look up to, it is great to put yourself out there and try to be a positive role model to them. I think it was important for him to stress that there was a reason behind Butterball's actions. While the reason doesn't condone the actions, it helps someone understand and address the situation properly.


I would probably keep this book around, even though there are better stories out there, because it would appeal to some kids where other books might not. They may pick it up and read it just because the author is someone they know and look up to. And to be honest, the moral of the story is pretty strong. Overall, not a bad book but definitely one that has a place on my shelves. But I'm not going to lie... still feel silly calling him 50 Cent (what a ridiculous name!).

Sincerely, Not a Victim

Were you the bully? The victim? Or somewhere in between? Maybe you were more than one through your childhood. Whatever mold you fit into, I am sure you have been a part of bullying from one angle or another throughout your life. As a teacher or parent, you have probably had to witness it. You have tried to stop it, but felt powerless in the face of the beast that has consumed childhoods and ended some. Sure, you can stop what you see in front of you, but the bullying is everywhere, like an omniscient, suffocating monster that is impervious to your efforts. That is why Dear Bully was published.

Dear Bully is a compilation of short essays from 70 authors. These are authors our children have read, and maybe we have read as well. These are adults who write for our children every day, so who better to talk to them about bullying? The stories these adults shared were ones of anger, of survival, and of shame. Some were the victims, the bystanders, or the bullies themselves. This is an amazing compilation of stories that dissect the bullying phenomenon from the inside out. But most importantly, they speak to kids today.

The stories aren't written for parents or teachers. They are written directly for the children surviving in the terrifying jungle that high school has become. Some are stories of triumph while others show pure survival. Either way, bullying is serious, it can kill you, but you don't have to give in to it. Some are funny, some are terrifying. R.L. Stine's story of how coincidence combined with his wise-guy big mouth got him bullied reminded me of why I loved his books as a young adult. He added humor to his story and showed how quick wit can get you into trouble and out of it with quite a flair!

The most touching stories for me were those of the bystanders, the kids who did nothing to stop the bullying or went along with it for fear of being the next target. In my senior literature class this term we have been talking at length about a three character play called Death and the Maiden where the characters represent the victim, the perpetrator, and the bystander. Victims and perpetrators are fairly straight forward, but the bystander is a fuzzy gray area. Sometimes they are guilty, sometimes they are innocent, but one thing follows them and even haunts them- the failure to do anything to stop the hurt of the victim. This is a group my kids and I struggled to define because they are so different. One thing they have in common, though, is that shame of not trying to stop it.

When we are young, we barely know who we are yet. Who are we kidding, I am 30 and I barely know! So how do we empower kids to stand up, stop the bullying, and free themselves from the shame of being a bystander? How do we let kids know that there are people out there to talk to, people who can save them? This book is a huge start. I loved the fact that the stories ranged across the bullying spectrum, but my one criticism is that the stories are predominantly from the female perspective. There are a few male authors, but mostly women contributed their stories. i wish it was more even across genders, but I still love what this book contains. It holds hope. Page after page, from cover to cover, you see hope. This is a message we can't prevent our children from hearing.

The stories themselves are very short- the longest is about 5 pages long. This is great for a student who has a short attention span or struggles with comprehension in a full-length novel. The short snippets are independent and can therefore be used as excellent comprehension checks by themselves without a need to remember everything that came before it. The wide mix of stories is also great to reach many different kinds of children. And if they aren't into a particular story? Skip it! This is an amazing book that should have a home in every classroom, library or home with children. Spread the message:

"Dear Bully, You think you can beat me. But I disagree. Sincerely, Not a Victim"

Please Don't Ignore Vera Dietz

What happens when we put our heads down and ignore all the bad things around us? Do they just go away, or do they come back to haunt us? Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King is a phenomenal story that shows the life of an average girl who struggled to ignore what was happening around her and prayed everyone ignored her very existence. Fortunately and unfortunately, that was impossible.

Vera has been friends with Charlie since they were in elementary school. They have suffered through his abusive father, her mother leaving when she was 12, and deep dark secrets they only shared with one another. But when Charlie starts hanging out with a bad group of kids, drugs ad alcohol aren't the only changes to his life. The girl he starts dating, Jenny, is manipulative, a liar, and hates Vera's relationship with Charlie. When she tells Charlie things she swears Vera has been spreading around school about Charlie, he believes Jenny instead of Vera, who would never say such things. He finally joins the rank of the others and starts torturing Vera in every way possible, from throwing dog poo at her to telling the school how her mother was a stripper when Vera was a baby. Charlie's betrayal is more than even when her mother abandoned her.

Now, almost a year later, Charlie is dead and blamed of a heinous crime. Vera deals with her emotionally unavailable father and works a full time job in addition to going to school, just like he tells her to do. Of course, the vodka bottle beneath her car seat she uses just to get through the day and numb the pain is nothing her father would understand- especially since he has always warned her about their "alcoholic genes" they must be careful of. As Vera's destructive behavior continues, her father is desperate to save her, even if it means accepting the pain he still suffers and would prefer to ignore. What he doesn't expect to uncover is the truth behind Charlie's death.

Please Ignore Vera Dietz is a story you simply cannot ignore. Told in a series of flashbacks to the times when Vera and Charlie were young as well as snapshots of Vera's life now, it slowly gives you snapshots that add up together into a story you can't ignore. The story isn't revealed immediately, and you truly don't know everything until the very end, but you won't want to stop until you find out exactly what happened. It is one of those stories that pulls you into the whirlwind and won't let you go until it spits you out all disheveled and discombobulated.

The story has some mature content and language, but it is handled beautifully and in a way that opens up so many important discussions between you and the reader. Charlie starts selling his underwear to a perv he met on the street, but when things escalate, he doesn't know what to do. Vera knows her family's history, but can't break out of her inevitable future. Perhaps she feels she deserves to suffer like her whole family did because they had her so young. It also raises the question of when you should step in and do something when you know your neighbor is terrorizing and beating his wife and child. At what point do we need to become involved. Although this book has some mature language and content, it is just too important to censor from kids. I would suggest this story for mature middle school students through high school students, but be prepared to talk about it. Not only will your student want to talk about it, you will need to talk about it too.

Dark, Disturbing, and Magnificent

I'm not even sure how to review this book. It was so dark and terrifying, yet so enthralling, I can't even bring myself to talk about it. I know it was written as a young adult novel, but it defies all boundaries and rules the genre set down. Rotters by Daniel Kraus defies all boundaries, adult, young adult, and everything in between. If you go into this book thinking you know what is going to happen, you are going to be sadly mistaken!

Joey's mother dies in a freak accident and he is shipped off to live with his father who he never met. When he gets to the filthy hovel his father calls a cabin, Joey knows live has changed forever. His father disappears for days, and with no food in the cabin and no money, Joey is literally starving. When he is caught trying to steal money out of a locker to buy lunch after days without a meal (or seeing his father), he confesses his living situation to the principal. They put him on free lunches and summon his father to come to the school as soon as he returns. When his father finally comes back home and goes to the school, it is clear they forced him not to leave Joey alone, and Ken Harnett is not happy about it.

Harnett starts getting anxious and slips out at night occasionally. After snooping around the cabin, Joey assumes his father robs recently deceased people's homes. He follows Harnett one night and discovers something so gruesome he can barely process it: Harnett is a grave robber. He digs up graves and steals the valuables, expertly replacing every piece of dirt or tuft of sod so no one knew he was there. Joey is oddly interested and insists (blackmails) Harnett into taking him on the next dig. On his rookie run, Joey is in for the lesson of his life that changes his very sense of being.

After working for a time with Harnett, they head off to witness the relocation of an entire cemetery: an event that brings all the Diggers together, despite their strictly observed territories. It is here that Joey meets the other Diggers and starts to learn about the mysterious culture and rules surrounding them. The Diggers are a mix of strange men, some who take solace in books, one looks like a deranged Santa Claus, but they all have something in common... they are all loners. For Harnett to not only have an apprentice, but for that apprentice to be a son is a defiance of all Digger rules. The superstitious group grudgingly accepts Joey, but one Digger is feared and avoided by all: Baby. Raised as brothers, Baby and Harnett have a tumultuous history, but Baby's rapid downward spiral into drugs, delusions, and a deranged psychosis makes everyone nervous about his presence. When Baby takes an interest in Joey (and even thinks Joey is his son at times), things begin to get dangerous. But nothing can compare to biggest desecration of the most important grave in Joey and Harnett's life. Can Baby be stopped? How far will he go in his madness? Do the Diggers deserve redemption?

This book will not only break down every boundary of humanity and society you think you know, it will also take twists and turns you didn't think possible. Joey is your normal, average kid who ended up in a crappy situation, but his move changes his very being, making the Digger in him seep deep into his bones. He becomes a different person, not just one who is bullied in high school and has a crush on the Queen Bee, but one who sees people at their most vulnerable- their final resting place. It makes him more of a loner, willing to acknowledge that the Digger's solitary life doesn't just protect the Digger, but also the people around them.

I don't know how to describe my feelings for this book because I almost feel dirty or embarrassed to have liked it! It was one of those creepy stories that you can't help but get sucked into, but can you really admit you liked it? It was so morbid and disturbing that I really don't think I have every read another book like it. This book is a true original, and you won't be the same after the first pages you flip through. Just like Digger life changed Joey, it will change you too.

For the sole reason of content, I would save this book for an older reader, maybe 11th grade and up. It is very mature and deals with some really heavy ideas and societal norms. Discussions about desecration of graves and eternal resting places are sure to come up, but the problem is this book precludes those discussions from being black and white. It will change every way you think about things you always thought were clearly right or wrong. There is some mature language, but that isn't the reason to save this book for a more mature reader, it is the shear morbid content that requires it. I suggest reading this book before you share it with a student so you know who is up for the strange and disturbing ride. You will love this book, but you won't know how to feel about the fact that you love this book!

13 Reasons Why You Should Read This Book

It is hard to write about this book now that I have finished it. I am sad. I am angry. I am blown away by both the premise and the execution of this book. Jay Asher wrote a book that would be hard pressed to find someone it didn't change deeply. I know Thirteen Reasons Why left me a different person. And here are thirteen reasons why you should read this book, and then pass it on...

1. Because when a girl wants to tell you why she committed suicide, everyone should listen. Hannah Baker is gone, but she left behind 13 stories about why she made the decision. She instructed the listeners, who are all mentioned in the tapes, to pass them on to the next person. She warned them that if they didn't, a second set of the tapes, full of their dirty secrets, would become public. And so a group of people, some more guilty than others, but all with a hand in the final outcome, passed their dirty secrets to one another. They needed to hear how they played a part in her decision to commit suicide.

2. Because you never know what the consequences of your actions will be. Not all the stories are as horrible as the others. Sure there are some that will disgust you, but it is the small things that hurt Hannah the most. For instance, a boy she didn't encourage when he came on to her after another boy tried to force himself on her in a diner (she was basically stunned and in shock) proceeded to take all her notes from her bag in Peer Communications. Since the teacher acknowledged it was hard for them to give each other compliments, she made them all bags where they could leave anonymous compliments. Hannah needed those. They were like a lifeline. When she realized it was him who was taking them, it hurt her more than the boy who tried to force himself on her.

3. Because bullying goes farther than the immediate incident. When a "Hot or Not" list placed Hannah in the "Best of" list for a specific body part, it seemed to make boys felt they had a right to objectify her. She wasn't even the real target of the mean-spirited list, but the consequences were long lived.

4. Because even someone with genuine intentions can be too late to change the direction things are going. Clay, the narrator listening to the tapes, really cared about Hannah, but his appearance in her life was too late. She had been hurt by so many boys that Clay seemed too god to be true and Hannah felt too damaged to give him a chance if it meant opening herself up to more pain and suffering.

5. Because there are some really bad people out there. One guy who repeatedly sent Hannah over the edge was known for this kind of behavior. In fact, as Clay listened to the tapes, he knew exactly who Hannah was talking about before she mentioned his name. So why did it take a suicide before this guy was called on his actions? Why didn't someone stop him?

6. Because there are always signs. Teens, or anyone for that matter, don't just kill themselves without warning signs. Change of appearance. Giving away items, especially those they care about or use every day. Saying goodbye. Don't overlook the signs. Don't make excuses for them. You can never be too careful.

7. Because even rumors and verbal bullying hurt. There is a misconception that rumors are just part of human nature. We are social creatures and we like to gossip, that's the justification, right? Well, why do we need to justify hurting someone for entertainment? Bullying isn't always physical. Many times, rumors and gossip are the most painful and the longest lasting, especially with technology today.

8. Because suicide happens, even if we don't hear about it. Many times the news keeps coverage of suicides to a minimum, out of respect for the family left behind. Just because we haven't heard about it, doesn't mean it isn't happening right outside our doors. This isn't a problem contained in after school specials and teen novels. It's real and it's killing our children.

9. Because everyone has a story. Hannah had a lot of them. Clay had his own. Everyone had their stories, and some of them were on the tapes. Hannah wasn't the only victim, she was just the one with a voice. Sometimes people just need their stories to be heard. Listen to Hannah's. She needs you to.

10. Because the best way to stop something like suicide is to talk about it. The more shame and guilt attached to these feelings, the less likely kids are to come forward with them. Opening a dialogue in a safe place is the first step. Is it hard to talk to your kids about suicide? Good. It should be. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't do it.

11. Because these characters are real people. Sure they are fictional for this story's purposes, but I'll bet you can think of someone you know who reminds you of Hannah. Someone who you think of every time you read Clay's story. You know a Bryce, a Marcus, and a Justin. So what are you going to do about it?

12. Because it is about time teachers and adults were made uncomfortable when it comes to the emotional lives of our children. We have a ridiculous notion school is just for learning subjects like math and science and history. Wrong. Dead wrong. Our kids are at war from the time they start school until they graduate. It is high time they had some allies in the adults in their lives. We might be uncomfortable getting involved in the emotional lives of children, but if we don't try, how will be help them? Hannah might have been helped had one single adult known what to do to help her.

And finally...
13. Because I need you to read this story. Like with any story such as Thirteen Reasons Why, I need to talk to someone about it! I am sure Clay felt the same way when he listened to Hannah's tapes. When something is that emotional, that painful you want to talk about it. I'm no different. So please, read this story. Yes it has some sexual content (mostly in rumors), and partying (not glorified), and uncomfortable subjects, but that is exactly why every adult and teenager should read this book. And when you do, you won't be the same. But that isn't a bad thing... not by far.

A Witness to Bullying

Bullying seems to be seeping into my world more and more lately. From the conference, to the last few YA books I have read, it seems to be everywhere. Sadly. So how do you make each book unique and special? Because you make it real. Catherine Ryan Hyde made Diary of a Witness as real as you could get with the lives of two young men who continue to suffer at the hands of their bullies even after they suffer and inconceivable tragedy.

Ernie and Will are friends, but they are each other's only real friend. Both are targets. Ernie is bullied because he is overweight and his mom is even more overweight and his father split long ago. Will is bullied because he is strange and has acne and his mother left with another man, leaving him, his little brother Sam, and his father to fend for themselves. Both boys like fishing, which is also a source of mockery amongst the popular guys at school. One day Will convinces Ernie to go fishing in the ocean with him and Sam. In a freak accident, the boat is sunk and Sam never surfaces.

After Sam's death, you would think the bullies would lay off Will for a while, but they do something worse. They use his brother's death as fodder for the torment. In fact, they beat Will down so much, he tries to kill himself. Ernie calls the ambulance and saves Will, but even this doesn't stop the bullies. Ernie and Will go to Ernie's uncle's house for Christmas vacation and they almost feel normal. When they come back to school, though, it is as if Will just can't take it anymore. He talks about hurting the bullies so much that it makes Ernie nervous. When the bullies attack Ernie and Will one final time, it seems as though Will has been driven to do the unthinkable. But can Ernie stop Will before he does something he can never take back? Should he care if the people who tormented him for years are going to get hurt?

This book is told from the perspective of both a witness and a victim. Ernie tells the story, but he is still a victim himself. The narration gives the reader an interesting take on how the bullying dynamic can affect children. An interesting aspect is when the bullies accidentally take it too far. One time, they tripped Ernie and he tripped too far, falling down the stairs. He was barely conscious, but he could hear the boys were scared- they meant to trip him, but not throw him down the stairs. Of course, their concern is for how much trouble they are going to be in, not Ernie's welfare. It shows how almost a frenzy is created when these things get going, bringing people to levels they would never reach independently. This is a scary examination into the world of bullied teens.

The story is short, only 200 pgs, and is appropriate for all ages, high powered elementary students through low-skilled high school students. The subject matter is tough, but so is school for kids of all ages. If a kid is able to read this book, then they have surely been involved in bullying somehow, as a bully, a victim, or a witness. To see the extreme of consequences bullying can reach is an important lesson to learn. This book is versatile enough reach so many kids, it becomes a great asset to any classroom or library.

Rage Against Preconceived Notions

Rarely do we read a book so raw with emotions that it leaves you speechless by the time you read the last page. Jackie Morse Kessler accomplishes this effortlessly. She knows how to bring a reader into the most painful lives of teens who are suffering from eating disorders, bullying, cutting, etc. With her second book in the Horsemen of the Apocalypse series, Rage, she has a cutter who has been bullied to the brink of sanity, become War, the Rider of the Red Horse.

Missy slept with Adam and he saw her for who she was- a cutter. He immediately dumped her and told everyone about her scars. Now she is tormented even worse than before. Now they all call her Cutterslut and other horrible names. Missy's only means of control over her own life is to cut. She can't control the pain she feels every day at home and at school, but she can control the blade. When Adam invites her to a party, Missy reluctantly agrees to go, but she goes to show them all they don't bother her. When Adam is uncharacteristically kind and kisses her, she forgets all her anger and pain. She follows him upstairs and takes off her clothes for him. Just as she does, he calls for everyone to come in. It is then, in a flurry of cell phones and cameras, that Missy's life changes forever. With her secret out and her picture and video all over the web, she chooses to accept Death's offer to become War... and her first stop is the party.

As War, Missy creates havoc in the party, making everyone's aggression and anger seethe to the top. When she leaves, she is conflicted about what she has done and what she might have done if Adam had been there. She starts to go out into her world to do the job of War, but she sees her destruction doesn't just hurt adult soldiers- there are innocent women and children there too. She fights the will of War, but Famine and Death explain the balance to her. When there is no balance, like when Pestilence took some time off, the result can be like the Black Death- centuries of consequences. When she returns to school and feels the consequences of her own bullies, she is torn between wanting to punish everyone in the building to knowing there are innocent people who don't deserve to suffer her wrath. But can Missy keep War until control in order to restore the balance?

This is a very dark and important story. When we consider bullicide (suicide as a result of severe bullying) and school violence like Columbine, it is vital that we look at the emotions of the victim. The pain, the humiliation, and the rage they feel is overwhelming. The result is often violence, either towards themselves or others. While critics attacked this book for being "too violent" and "too graphic" about a cutter, I would like to know why they don't acknowledge the bullying. If they are so worried about the cutting, perhaps an honest conversation about the impetus for the cutting is where prevention should start. Yes, this was a dark book, but it is impossible to write a book about such vicious bullying without it being real, raw, emotional, and dark.

I am bowled over by these books, but I will admit they might be too much for a more sensitive young adult. As parents and teachers, we know the type of student who can handle a series like this one. The beauty of this author is she doesn't take prisoners. She doesn't hold back or "write in code" to protect delicate sensibilities. She lays it on the line. And if you don't like it, then perhaps you should do something about stopping the behaviors that cause this kind of situation. perhaps it is time to do something about the bullies in order to save the victims.

5th Annual Girl Bullying Conference

I had the privilege of attending this year's bullying conference last week. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect, but when I got there, it was clear these people had some great information and ideas. There are a number of different aspects for bullying, especially girl bullying, or relational aggression as it is called now (I just remember it as torture for most of 6th and 7th grade). You have to consider who is doing the bullying. These days, it isn't a big, scary-looking, mean boy with tattoos who smokes cigarettes as the John Hughes movies would have us believe. Instead, it is the popular girl, the smart girl, the girl who charms adults and knows how to torture her victims without ever raising suspicions. Who is the target? Could be anyone. Anyone who crosses the bully, has something she wants, or just has the pure dumb luck to be in the right place at the right time. The important thing to remember is the victim has done absolutely nothing to deserve this behavior. All too often we here "well, she is a weird girl. No wonder the other girls don't want to sit with her". This is called blaming the victim and is reprehensible on so many levels.

Another problem many schools face is where does the bullying occur? Well, as we all remember, it takes place int he hallways, the locker rooms, the school bus, etc. Barbara Coloroso said at the conference the bathrooms in a school were the single most dangerous place for a victim to enter. They are completely unsupervised space where the bully has total control. But the scarier and even less controlled than the bathrooms is the great land of cyber infinity. With all the social media we have at our fingertips, girls have taken bullying to a level we cannot fathom. If a girl moves because the bullying in her school is so bad, the rumors, lies, and torment only take a few keystrokes to follow her. Kids create Facebook pages about the perceived sexual activities of their targets. They text them. They video the target getting pushed, threatened, attacked, and then post it for everyone to see. This inescapable nature of cyberbullying has created a situation so dire kids are killing themselves. So what can we, as parents, adults, and educators, do about it?

Well, Barbara Coloroso will tell you conflict resolution isn't going to accomplish anything. Bullying isn't a fight, it isn't a conflict, so sitting down the bully and the target won't change a blessed thing. In fact, in this scenario, very often the bully will seem sincere, sorry, and beg forgiveness, while the victim will be angry and confrontational. The moderator may seem perplexed by this aggression and start to blame the victim, but would you want to agree to be friends with your torturer?! She went on to say people like Dr. Phil, who think the bully wouldn't hurt their victim if only they knew the pain they were causing, are so wrong they have left the reservation. Can we really think the bullies don't know the pain they are causing? Not only do they know how much they are hurting their victim, they enjoy it. They get pleasure from the pain. So telling them about the pain they inflict won't help the situation. It might make it worse, but it certainly isn't going to stop it. So what the heck can we do?

Well, first we have to recognize what the bullying has done to separate themselves from the victim enough to cause this pain with complete disregard. They have stopped seeing the victim as a person, and instead they see them as an "it". The victim is subhuman to them. So we must start early to create empathy among our students. They must feel for the people around them, including their victim. Now, I don't pretend to know how to do this, but if you have any suggestions, I am all ears. I have some ideas, of course, but I don't think there is any one formula or tactic that will work for every scenario. This is like a puzzle that can't be done the same way twice.

But the one thing so many presenters at the conference said is we can't be reactionary with bullying... we have to be preventative. How do we make our students care about each other so much they wouldn't bully? How do we create a sense of community where students protect one another instead of hurt one another? Once presenter created a year-long calender that focused on bringing girls together with various projects and community service efforts. They called it Chick Chat. It included some fun chick movies (and some serious ones), bake sales, clothing drives for battered women, and so much more. Each month was a theme like Breast Cancer for October, Family, Friendships, Relationships, etc. Each week there was an activity or meeting and they tried to include outside speakers for every theme. The presenter explained their girls weren't required to come, but bit by bit they trickled in until a community was born.

Punishment is important when bullying occurs, but there needs to be more than just punishment. I remember a student who damaged space in her dorm once, nothing too damaging, but enough to make a lot more work for the women in charge of housekeeping. Why did she do this? She didn't have empathy for them. She assumed it was their job to clean up after her, and their hard work didn't matter to her. The perfect "punishment"/exercise in empathy? Make her work with them for a couple of days, doing the same work they do. I personally think this made more of a difference with that young woman than any detention or suspension ever would have. Perspective is powerful tool.


Barbara Coloroso also write a book called Extraordinary Evil: A Short Walk to Genocide, a book that explains bullying behavior we see so often in schools across the world is very similar to the behavior and aggression the perpetrators of genocide display. They make their victim an "it", thereby negating any need for empathy or caring of their victim's pain. In Rwanda, the Tutsi were called cockroaches. In Germany, the Jews were called rats. Make your victim into something inhuman, and you can justify your actions and absolve your guilt. I have taught a unit about the 1994 Rwandan Genocide to students for a few years now, and the hardest thing I find is to make them truly understand the fear and pain these people experienced. It is so foreign and distant form their own lives, they have trouble imagining it. Sure, they understand genocide is awful, but they don't understand how awful. But every kid understands the reaction they felt to being bullied- the stomach clenching, sweat producing fear of seeing your attacker from a distance knowing what is about to happen. By connecting those emotions to the worst product of human nature, genocide, we can create empathy in our students. I have found this book to be an invaluable tool, and think any history teacher would count this as a valuable tool in their classrooms.

So we have a seemingly insurmountable problem that plagues our children. We have tried everything, and no solution is flawless. But if this conference has taught me anything, it is that our kids are too important to lose to bullying. We need to find a way to create empathy in our children. We need to never blame the victim and be savvy to the ways of the bully, including the charm, manipulation, and deceit they use when the adults are around. And most importantly, we need to create a community where they want to protect one another, not harm one another. It is a tough mountain to scale, but not impossible.

A Brutal Tale of Bullying

There is a great, big beast in our schools that we can't control. Try as we might, as strict as we can be, we can't stop the bullying that happens among our students. I think the greatest feeling of helplessness for a parent or educator is knowing bullying will happen no matter how many conferences we attend, how many times we bring the students together to have an open conversation, how many horror stories we share or how many times we try to appeal to the conscience of our children. I am not a pessimist, but I consider myself a realist. Bullying is out there, and we just have to hope all our preparation and proactive actions will help in the long run. Michael Harmon's Brutal shows how one school had good intentions, but feel far too short to protect one young man.

Poe Holly is the product of some bad decisions. Her mom is an amazing doctor who selflessly goes to South America for a year to help people, but she isn't so great at being a mother. Instead she leaves Poe with her father, the same father Poe has never met and has only spoken to a handful of times in her entire life. When she arrives at her father's house, she realizes not everything is the way it seemed. Her father is the school counselor and he is actually a very kind and understanding man. Despite her previous feelings of abandonment, she can't help but start to care about him.

The same thing happens when Poe meets the students of her new school. Her next-door neighbor is a boy named Velveeta (really Andrew, but he really likes cheese) who seems to be the target of the worst kind bullying. She also meets a cantankerous young man named Theo who seems to subscribe to Poe's exact philosophy of anti-establishment-ness. Turns out, though, Theo is the mayor's son. You would think Theo's particular brand of politics would tick his parents off, but in reality they are just the most happy and bubbly people- nothing seems to phase them (which you would think would be super annoying, but isn't really).

When Poe stops a group of the prized football players beating up Velveeta after a prank they pulled on him, she finds herself on the wrong side of the most powerful students in the school. Now Colby Morris has it in for Poe. When Poe hits his girlfriend in the face for stealing her spot on the Elite Choir, Colby thinks Velveeta did it and spreads the word that he is going to make Velveeta pay. Poe tries to seek help, but no one is listening to her (perhaps because the other times she spoke out were to protest important things like the inequality of the gym uniforms). When the football players pull Velveeta into the bathroom and beat him within an inch of his life (actually put him in the hospital), no one believes it was Colby Morris, even the teacher who heard Poe screaming and came into the bathroom to find Velveeta broken and bloody. now Poe must find a way to prove to the school it was Colby (although they already know who did it) beyond a shadow of a doubt, even if it means putting herself in danger to do it.

This is a book where the characters constantly defy their stereotypes. I thought Poe's father was either going to be completely detached or totally ticked off by her constant need to "poke the bear" or throw injustice in people's faces, but he was supportive of her in a wonderfully constructive way. He called her out when she was being petulant for the sake of it, but he supported her when she was right that the school was created a hierarchy among the students while simultaneously touting that all students were equal. Theo and his parents were a mold-busting group too. His parents seemed fine with his obvious attempts at non-conformity, but at times they seemed a little too disconnected. I expected them to be frustrated with how his actions affected their political aspirations, but they didn't. Even Velveeta was a surprise, as a boy who would fight to protect Poe- his only friend- even if it meant getting beaten half to death and not seeking help or police protection. This story became a stereotype buster for me. No one followed their traditional roles, and while it seemed a little over the top at times, I appreciated this character creation by Harmon.

The sometimes sharp language would probably make this a book best for mature junior high students through high school. This is a great book for any student to open up a dialogue about bullying and life in their own high schools. Sometimes I find myself shocked by what students share with me when they open up. In such a small school, I like to think we are super-connected to what happens with our students, but the truth is, we can't know everything. This book is proof of that. I hope you will give this story a chance and let yourself admit our flaws in order to try and fix them.

Where Did it All Begin?

Who doesn't love the "Sex and the City" ladies and all their adventures? Well, upon finding that Candace Bushnell wrote The Carrie Diaries, a young adult novel about Carrie as a senior in high school, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. I have always wanted to know more about those girls and just how life was like for them in the mean halls of high school.

Carrie hasn't had things easy, but she still has dreams of becoming a writer. She applied to a summer writing program in NYC, but she was rejected. Now she must resign herself to going to Brown and studying science like her father wants. She wishes desperately her mom were still alive to give her advice about what to do. So she keeps going through the motions, hanging out with her friends, chain smoking cigarettes (it was the 1980's after all), and listening to all her friends tell her about their boyfriends, guy friends, and crushes... until Sebastian Kydd arrives.

Carrie's first run-in with Sebastian when they were young was not terribly promising, but he is still as hot as she remembers. At first she thinks he is dating the head cheerleader (and Queen Bee) Donna LaDonna (feel free to gag a little at that name... I did). But soon it becomes clear Sebastian Kydd wants her more. Carrie is thrilled, until Donna LaDonna wages war on her. Carrie keeps trying ot get to the bottom of the LaDonna/Kydd thing, but Sebastian keeps dodging her questions.

Carrie's dad introduces her to a Brown student he knows and encourages her to spend time with him (in a not-so-subtle way of getting her to go to Brown). She likes George, but he just isn't boyfriend material. Still she continues hanging out with him until George finds out about Sebastian. Then she is left with Sebastian and a group of friends that has slowly fallen apart while Carrie was wrapped up in her own world.

When Carrie's sister gets put in jail for shoplifting and her father makes all three daughters go on lock down, she doesn't get to see anyone (including Sebastian) for 2 weeks. Upon her first jailbreak, there is clearly something up with Sebastian and Carrie's friend Lali. When Carrie runs back into the bar, she gets an eyeful of the two of them making out. Now, boyfriend-less, friendless, motherless, and without the summer writing class, Carrie has no idea what to do. Luckily, George forgives her and along with a few other good friends, and they help Carrie realize she has to go with what she believes in. She starts writing articles for the school newspaper under a pseudonym and exposes high school life for what it really is. When she submits those articles to the NY writer's program, she is accepted and her father agrees to let her go. Thus begins the story of Carrie Bradshaw, columnist...

If this story sounds a little thin, its because it kind of is. If it weren't for the ties I already had to the main character, Carrie, I may not have really gotten in to this story. The beginning was kind of slow and it took some real willpower to spend some time getting into it. When I finally did, though, it picked up a bit. The story was interesting, but I think there were a number of flaws. First, the marketing of this book as YA shoots past the mark. In order to really like the story, you should know of the TV show or original novels by Candace Bushnell, but those are certainly not child-friendly. Otherwise, this is only a mediocre story at best.

The other serious flaw was the time period it is set in- she is a senior in high school in the early 80's when kids and teachers alike openly smoked in and around school, the drinking age was 18, so they could easily sneak into bars and get alcohol. This might not seem too much of a stretch for teenagers, but it really seemed like a different world. In fact, I think younger readers would have a hard time relating to the time period- it is that weird limbo where it is close enough to seem familiar but long enough ago to be so wildly different. If it was earlier or later, it might have been easier to relate to.

The writing is fairly simplistic, but some of the circumstances might be better for an older crowd. There is a fair amount of talk about sex, alcohol, and cigarettes, but I wouldn't say it is in excess. I just think this might be a better book for older young adults or adults who are more familiar with the television show. I know they would certainly appreciate the last paragraph where a certain someone comes to Carrie's rescue!

Boys, Girls, and not Much More...

I must admit the cover and the title of this book would have immediately turned me off if not for the author. Rosalind Wiseman is the author of Queen Bees and Wannabes, a book that followed in the groundbreaking footsteps of Reviving Ophelia and continued the examination of adolescent girl behavior. We adult women have all known about this elusive behavior since we were young girls ourselves, but Mary Pipher started putting it on paper. Wiseman took the idea and put it in more direct terms so every teacher and parent could use this information to help their daughters through the grueling years of adolescence. So when I saw the author of this book was Wiseman, I thought, "Silly stereotypical, unimaginative cover be darned! This one is going to rock the stereotypes and bring the real life of young women to the table!" Sadly... I wasn't entirely correct...

Charlie has just started ninth grade and chose to go to Harmony Falls high school instead of her neighborhood high school after her horrible experiences with the mean girls as their used and abused sidekick. New school, clean slate. Unfortunately, as soon as she arrives and joins the school newspaper, she see Nadhi, the very girl whose reputation she sat by and watched her "frenemies" destroy. Lucky for Charlie, Nidhi is willing to forgive Charlie for not stepping in to stop the girls and they strike up a great friendship and partnership for the newspaper. Charlie also lucks out by meeting another girl who is just looking to survive high school, Sydney.

Together, the three make a fairly functional group of young women. They crush on boys, then realize their crushes are actually jerks. They deal with girl drama like the frenemies from Charlie's middle school coming to the homecoming dance and making her feel about an inch tall. They deal with jocks and hazing. There are old friends who return as possible love interests, and there are serious questions about how much the "golden few" in high school (lacrosse team) can really get away with. In all, this is a very realistic portrayal of a girl surviving 9th grade.

The problem was there wasn't much other than daily goings on and the occasional mini-crisis involving a boy disrupting Sydney's power point presentation because she rejected him or Sydney storming into the locker room to humiliate the boy in front of the entire varsity lacrosse team (which then leads to Sydney mocking him constantly, Charlie telling her it was getting to be too much, Sydney getting mad at Charlie, and them having a touching heart to heart where they get their frustrations off their chest). Honestly, I felt like I had spent a week in the girls dorm after finishing this book. And while that isn't a problem, of course, and I appreciate the realistic nature of the story, I was kind of waiting for the real story to emerge. If I wanted simple everyday girl world, I could easily spend a day or so in the girls dorm and get a full dose. When I read a book, I want a real conflict and resolution. This book had the hazing prank gone awry when an innocent man is hurt and the lacrosse players might get away with it, but the conflict wasn't really built up to or developed enough to stand out in the middle of all the other girl drama.

In all, this is a fairly immature book with some interesting characters and not much by way of substance. I think it would be too immature for most high school students, but might be good for the odd mature elementary to middle school student who thinks they are more mature than they really are or has become immersed in social politics. It has enough realistic situations with good, moralistic endings to be both entertaining and educational. The subtle lack of a fully developed plot might also not bother this type of student, as it is the type of book you can pick up and put down without any damage to a running plot. There is some mention of parties and alcohol, but the main characters are never involved directly and are more disdainful than interested in joining. In all, this book was just OK, and I wanted so much more from Ms. Wiseman... Maybe next time?