School Library Lady

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One in an occasional series of topics that are tough for adults to address with teens.

Since we’ve recently had anti-bullying assemblies at both of my schools, I’ve been talking up some of the best books in our libraries about bullying. You might want to check one out:

New books in our libraries

Some of these are on my reading list this year, and I may review them later. Meanwhile, you might give one a try. The following details are publishers’ blurbs—all these titles had good professional reviews (or I wouldn’t have bought them). For the bullying books that I’ve read and reviewed in depth, click here.

Everybody  Sees the Ants: Overburdened by his parents’ bickering and a bully’s attacks, fifteen-year-old Lucky Linderman begins dreaming of being with his grandfather, who went missing during the Vietnam War, but during a visit to Arizona, his aunt and uncle and their beautiful neighbor, Ginny, help him find a new perspective.

Because I Am Furniture: The youngest of three siblings, fourteen-year-old Anke feels both relieved and neglected that her father abuses her brother and sister but ignores her, but when she catches him with one of her friends, she finally becomes angry enough to take action.

Crossing Lines: High school senior Adonis struggles to do the right thing when his fellow football players escalate their bullying of a new classmate, Alan, who is transgendered.

The Rules of Survival: Seventeen-year-old Matthew recounts his attempts, starting at a young age, to free himself and his sisters from the grip of their emotionally and physically abusive mother.

Freak Show: Having faced teasing that turned into a brutal attack, Christianity expressed as persecution, and the loss of his only real friend when he could no longer keep his crush under wraps, seventeen-year-old Billy Bloom, a drag queen, decides the only way to become fabulous again is to run for Homecoming Queen at his elite, private school near Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Playground by 50 Cent: After beating up Maurice on the playground, Butterball is forced to see the school therapist.

Brutal: Small-town bully. Big-city girl. Someone’s going down.

Bullyville: After the death of his estranged father in the World Trade Center on 9/11, thirteen-year-old Bart, still struggling with his feelings of guilt, sorrow and loss, wins a scholarship to the local preparatory school and there encounters a vicious bully whose cruelty compounds the aftermath of the tragedy.

By the time you read this, I’ll be dead: High school student Daelyn Rice, who’s been bullied throughout her school career and has more than once attempted suicide, again makes plans to kill herself, in spite of the persistent attempts of an unusual boy to draw her out.

Endgame: Fifteen-year-old Gray Wilton, bullied at school and ridiculed by an unfeeling father for preferring drums to hunting, goes on a shooting rampage at his high school.

Shooter: Written in the form of interviews, reports, and journal entries, the story of three troubled teenagers ends in a tragic school shooting.

Keep Holding On: Noelle’s life is all about survival. Even her best friend doesn’t know how much she gets bullied, or the ways her mom neglects her. Noelle’s kept so much about her life a secret for so long that when her longtime crush Julian Porter starts paying attention to her, she’s terrified. Surely it’s safer to stay hidden than to risk the pain of a broken heart. But when the antagonism of her classmates takes a dramatic turn, Noelle realizes it’s time to stand up for herself–and for the love that keeps her holding on.

Click here for the post on classic bullying books.

Click here for the post of bullying books that I’ve reviewed.