Your girl, Tee, is a bookworm and super proud of it. You can find me in the library, Barnes & Noble or on the couch with a book. No disrespect to ebooks (I have those too), but I’m alllll about turning crisp pages. I love words and when the right author crafts them, shoot, they love me back too, minus the mushy hugs and sloppy kisses.
In honor of Bullying Prevention Month I gotta hook you up with these novels. Bully or bullied? Or even if you are a bystander, these are 8 must-have books for your collection. What I love, love, love about these books is that the characters are imperfect, they don’t have all the answers and things aren’t wrapped up in a predictable bow. Sometimes life is ugly. Sometimes people are ugly. But finding your strength, well, that’s just beautiful.
Speak, by the incredibly talented Laurie Halse Anderson, is my fave.
Read it and tell me what you think about our girl Melinda. She’s a hero, right?
Speak
By Laurie Halse Anderson
Melinda’s friends and kids she doesn’t even know hate her because she called the police at the end-of-summer party. No one speaks to her at school and she’s decided not to speak AT ALL. She’s scared about what will happen if the truth comes out about what happened to her at the party.
Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass
By Meg Medina
The title gets right to the point, yes? Piddy better watch her back because Yaqui and her girls are out for blood, simply because Piddy isn’t Latina enough for them, i.e. has white skin, gets good grades and doesn’t have an accent.
Jumped
By Rita Williams-Garcia
One day. One story. Three girls. Dominque has anger issue and plans to beat up Trina afterschool; mind you, Trina doesn’t even know what she did to tick this girl off. Will Leticia warn her?
Dear Bully: 70 Authors Tell Their Stories
Edited by Megan Kelley Hall and Carrie Jones
Bully. Bystander. Bullied. Everybody comes together in this book to tell his or her story. And yes, if you just watch ish happen, you’re guilty too.
By The Time You Read This, I’ll Be Dead
By Julie Ann Peters
Daelyn has been bullied since kindergarten, and has tried to kill herself a few times, but thankfully she hasn’t been successful. She’s over the edge and over everyone at school, until Santana decides to sit with her afterschool. Is it too late for Daelyn to let him in?
Tease
By Amanda Maciel
Inspired by real-life drama, this book follows what happens when a student who’s bullied commits suicide and a classmate faces criminal charges.
Thirteen Reasons Why
By Jay Asher
Hannah commits suicide and two weeks later Clay gets a box of cassette tapes from her. On the tapes she details the many reasons why she killed herself. Is Clay partly responsible?
Camp
By Elaine Wolf
Sleepaway camp is supposed to be fun, but it isn’t for Amy because she bullied by some older girls. Then, a deep, dark secret comes out and something tragic happens that changes Amy and her fam forever.
Have you read any of these books? Lemme know. Post in the comments below or email me.
