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YA books which deal with bullying?


Michelle

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I'd like to know if there are YA books addressing bullying in the schools. I know it's not as common in other countries as in ours . Our schools have implemented groups of kids who are anti-bullying ,so if we have a new kid who is having trouble fitting in, or someone who is being bullied, this group of kids will befriend the kid ,hang out at lunch with them, and help them to feel more comfortable in school .

We also have programs at school that teach the kids about bullying .

 

I think the YA books would also be a terrific way to reach these kids that are bullied,so maybe they can read about how someone else handled it ,or maybe they won't feel so alone with it .

 

Yes, you guys are so fortunate . I rarely hear of the violence in your schools that we have in ours. And most of the places have been real small little towns just like ours ,where nothing ever happens ..

 

We DID have a really handsome boy in middle school about 5 years ago ,who was on the football team in 6th grade . In 7th, he chose to be in band ,rather than football. He realized that he didn't like football ,so wanted to switch to band. He was bullied so badly that he killed himself . A beautiful ,handsome boy with curly hair and freckles. His parents lived a block from school in a nice home . They go around to other schools now to talk to kids about bullying and what it can lead to .

 

It breaks your heart to see these cases ,which are almost an epidemic over here now . I wish there were more ways to reach these kids before they do something that isn't FIXABLE .

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Both my books (the Geekhood books) have bullying in them. I don't offer any answers; I wish I could - but I don't know what they are. In my experience as a bullied kid, the bullies rarely get their comeuppance - at least not in the way Hollywood films tell us they do. It's a tough subject and all I can offer is a look inside the head of a character who suffers at the hands of bullies and how this can impact on their lives. More importantly, my books deal with what happens if you keep your problems to yourself; bullying is still something YAs are afraid to talk about - to each other or to adults who might be able to help. If we could break down those walls, something positive might happen.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Sean ,

Thanks for mentioning your book ,Student Bodies. I'll order a copy of it for my Kindle . 

 

Andy

Thank you also for mentioning how you are trying to address the bullying situation in your books. I'll also be ordering your first book . The 2nd isn't yet available here .

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Hi there,

 

The Weight of Souls is all about bullying (and Egyptian gods and an ancient curse).  I've written a number of blog posts on the subject - http://dearteenme.com/?p=3184 and

http://leocristea.wordpress.com/2013/07/01/guest-post-identity-in-sff-learning-to-find-your-puzzle-pieces/ are two examples.

 

In the words of one reviewer (Leo Cristea):

 

The Weight of Souls explores bullying subtly and therefore gets to the heart of the issue succinctly. Taylor’s race is refreshing in YA fantasy—especially urban fantasy (never mind the fact that there is a Chinese model on the cover and the protagonist is half-Chinese, instead of the wrong ethnicity or a total lack of model whatsoever, electing instead for graphics). I’ve read so few books with protagonists of a different ethnicity and it’s a pity! In relation to Taylor’s race, I feel that Pearce demonstrates that with bullying, it’s not always about race or weight or anything else that could mark a person as “different” (though of course, sometimes it is precisely that, but with the characters of the bullies and the surrounding story, this doesn’t feel as though it’s the case), but rather the fact that these things become ammunition for the bullying. Sometimes people are bullied simply because the bully chose them. Taylor is bullied because she is Taylor.

In The Weight of Souls, this is precisely the kind of bullying that’s explored (in my opinion: I wouldn’t like to assume). The topic of bullying is difficult to explore properly, especially as in a great many YA novels, whether it is the central topic or not, there is some bullying directed towards the protagonist (usually someone with low
self-esteem, or something similar—in this vein, I’d love to see a guy with low self-esteem in YA urban fantasy, as in really love) yet this is simply a passing subplot; like a shower in the middle of the day that passes with the clouds. So to see realistic and directed bullying was different and informative.

 

My school visits also deal with bullying and how I overcame it. 

 

Another good book is called Hate List, which deals with the aftermath of a school shooting in the US.

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Thank you very much for the links and answers regarding bullying . I think it may be a much larger issue here than it is in other countries. I'm really not sure, though . I think kids have always bullied other kids ,for many reasons . Anything that would make them stand out in some way would probably be cause for bullying .

 

I keep thinking that if someone could reach these kids ( the ones who use violence as a response to the bullies) ,maybe it'd change the future of all involved . I may be among the minority, but it breaks my heart to know that there are kids out there who have been bullied to the point that they respond with violence and end up killing other people because of it . I wish there was a way to help them before they got to that point .

 

Just looking for solutions to an ever-growing problem .

 

Thanks again for your response . I'll check out the links and also your book :)

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