August 04, 2012

Review: Dear Bully: 70 Authors Tell Their Stories

Dear Bully

Author: Various Authors
Publisher: Harper Teen
Publication Date: September 6, 2011
Pages: 384
Source: Hardcover/Library

From some of the biggest names in teen fiction comes a timely and moving collection of personal stories about bullying.

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.

Read your favorite authors' stories about bullying—as silent observers on the sidelines of high school, as victims, as perpetrators.

With contributors including Heather Brewer, Nancy Garden, Ellen Hopkins, Carolyn Mackler, Lisa McMann, Alyson Noel, Aprilynne Pike, Carrie Ryan, Jon Scieszka, Rachel Vail, Nancy Werlin, Mo Willems, Kiersten White, and many more.

Review: Ok, this is going to be more of a shorter review. This was a great book! One I definitely think everyone should read! I hate bullying. We've all been a part of bullying whether we've done the bullying our self or were the victims of being bullied. I myself identify a lot more with the latter. I was bullied a lot. Especially during middle school and the first 2 years of high school. When I was reading all these authors different stories I found myself relating to a lot of them. A few in particular hit really close to home; such as friends turning on you for no reason, being the one with very few real friends that wouldn't abandon me even if it meant them being put in the line of fire as well, being the one bullied about my clothes.. etc. Like I said, many of the stories really hit close to home. You never think your favorite authors ever went through as much pain and suffering as you have but they were just normal people before they became famous. Its logical that they have. In the stories I also see some of whats still happening today. Kids hiding their pain about being bullied, not opening up to anyone about it; or if they do adults just telling them to suck it up and get over it, or to just ignore it. People really have to try harder to stop bullying because just ignoring it or saying get over it isn't helping. I'm pretty sure everyone out there that has been bullied agrees with me. Sure there has been some big strides in stopping bullying but its still not enough. We always need to be doing more. 

5 Stars!