Rowena’s review of Dear Bully: Seventy Authors Tell Their Stories.
You are not alone
Discover how Lauren Kate transformed the feeling of that one mean girl getting under her skin into her first novel, how Lauren Oliver learned to celebrate ambiguity in her classmates and in herself, and how R.L. Stine turned being the “funny guy” into the best defense against the bullies in his class.
Today’s top authors for teens come together to share their stories about bullying—as silent observers on the sidelines of high school, as victims, and as perpetrators—in a collection at turns moving and self-effacing, but always deeply personal.
It’s really hard for me to review this book because this isn’t a work of fiction. Each of the stories told throughout this book are real stories that happened to real people. In this book, seventy authors come forward and talk about their different stories with bullies.
Each story is told in a way that will have you reflecting back to your teenage years and it’ll have your heart breaking because of what each author went through and how each story helped shape the people they all grew up to be. I know that immediately after finishing the last story, I gave the book to my daughter to read because as much as I talk about standing up for those that are being bullied at school, to see what’s going through people’s heads while they were being bullied helps paint a clearer picture of how devastating being bullied is and I want them to understand that it’s never okay.
I can’t say that I connected with one story more than the others because I took away something from each and every single story. I reflected on the kid that I was and the adult that I’ve grown up to be. My past has helped to shape me into the person that I am today and as strong as I think I am, I’m no where near as strong as each of the authors with stories in this book.
This book is very enlightening at the same time that it’s not preachy. There’s nothing in this book that will have you thinking that these people think that they’re better than everyone because of the things that they went through as kids. No, this book is a mouth piece for seventy authors who were harassed as children and want the kids that are going through this now to know that they’re not alone. There is help out there for those that need it and they’re urging kids to stand up for each other and to stop bullying.
I’m so glad that I picked this book up to read for review. I’m grateful that we were offered a review copy of this book because it’s something that parents of children in their tweens and teenage years should read…together. It’s something that needs to be talked about and awareness needs to be raised to help those kids that need the help. I definitely recommend this book to anyone and everyone.
A portion of the sales from this book will be going to the anti-bullying campaign so please go out and get a copy of this book for yourself and heck, buy a copy for your friends- you’d be helping out a very worthy cause.
Grade: 5 out of 5
This book is available from Harper Collins. You can buy it
here or
here in e-format.
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As the mom of a kid that’s been bullied, I can’t wait to read this one. An amazing idea, thanks for reviewing it and bringing it to my attention.