In the News: Bullying

Let's face it, bullying sucks. Seriously. It doesn't matter if it happens online or in person. And as we keep hearing in the news - it can have serious consequences. What is it like for someone to get up every day and know that they are going to have to go somewhere full of fear and pain? There are lots of stories out there that deal with bullying and one of my all time favorites is Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher. Whale Talk is the story of T.J. and his misfit group of students that make up the school swim team. Imagine what could happen if this group of outcasts could earn a letter jacket and rub it in the face of the tormentors. And yet, somehow, along the way it becomes about more than just that letter jacket - it becomes about them revealing themselves and being there for each other.

Another oldie but goody is The Misfits by James Howe. This is the stroy of Skeezie, Addie, Joe and Bobby and the 7th grade. First Addie refuses to say the Pledge of Allegiance. Then all of the sudden, they are creating a new political party and running for student council. This year, the 7th grade, is there chance to be more than what others try to make them, but to be themselves.

Perhaps the most gripping story of what it is like to be an outcast is Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. At the beginning of the school year, no one will talk to Melinda - and Melinda will not speak. You see, over the summer she was at a party and she called the police. Everyone hates her because they got busted. Throughout the course of the school year Melinda must slowly come to terms with what happened at that party, what caused her to call the police . . . she must find her voice, she must learn to speak again.

Sometimes we hear in the news about those teens who have been victims committing suicide. And of course, sometimes we hear about them getting revenge. The Hate List by Jennifer Brown is about one of those times. Valerie and Nick made a list of the people they hated. The people that bullied them. The people that tormented them. The hate list. Valerie had no idea that one day her friend Nick would go to school and shoot the people on that list. Valerie is shot herself trying to stop Nick, right before he kills himself and some of the kids on that list. Now Valerie must deal with the after. Valerie must return to that school her senior year and deal with it all. Her emotions. Her guilt. Her classmates. The Hate List is a powerful and moving story about what it is liked to be bullied, and what happens when someone takes revenge.

Other books that deal with bullying, old and new, include . . .
Names Will Never Hurt Me by Jaime Adoff
13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Undone by Brooke Taylor
By the Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead by Julie Anne Peters
The Shadow Club by Neal Shusterman
What Happened to Lani Carver by Carol Plum Ucci

You can read Teen Author Amy Holder's and see Ellen Degenere's plea to stop bullying here

If you or someone you know is being bullied, tell someone. Learn more about bullying at kidshealth.org