Dear Bully by Various Authors edited by Megan Kelley Hall and Carrie Jones, Book Review

You are not alone.

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.

Today’s top authors for teens come together to share their stories about bullying—as silent observers on the sidelines of high school, as victims, and as perpetrators—in a collection at turns moving and self-effacing, but always deeply personal.







Rating: 5/5






Title: Dear Bully: Seventy Authors Tell Their Stories






Author(s): Various Authors






Publisher: HarperTeen






Release Date: September 1, 2011






Source: Publisher






*I received a review copy of Dear Bully from HarperTeen in order for 100% honest review.













When I first saw this book on Goodreads, I just knew that no matter what, I had to read it. When I first read the title, I raised my brow and further researched the book to find out that it was a non-fiction anthology written by seventy various authors, edited by Megan Kelley Hall and Carrie Jones, about their own personal bullying experiences. Some were victims, some were bystanders, and some were bullies themselves.






I, myself, am a teenager and while I was reading this book, I felt like I could very much relate to the stories of these authors and it was an eye-opening book that I had to think about for a while before writing this review due to the powerful emotions radiating from this book.






Reading this book made me think of a few personal accounts of bullying that I have gone through, or am currently going through. Through the eyes of these authors--you, the reader--are exposed to the torture that the victims went through for years without anyone--parents, relatives, friends, teachers, etc.--doing anything to stop the bullying, much like today.






My favorite stories included in Dear Bully were written by Laurie Faria Stolarz, Lisa McMann, Heather Brewer, Carrie Jones, Sophie Jordan, Kiersten White, Cynthia Leitich Smith, Michelle Zink, Nancy Holder, Alyson Noel, Aprilynne Pike, Lauren Oliver, Lauren Kate, Amy Reed, Dawn Metcalf, and Megan McCafferty.






I highly recommend Dear Bully to anyone who cares enough to read it. I read this book and shed a few tears along the way--that's how intimate and personal I felt throughout the book. I suggest that librarians and teachers take up Dear Bully as curriculum in their classrooms because even though bullying will never be universally stopped, if one life is saved by reading this book, then that's all that matters.
At the end of this book, one message was very, very clear: You are not alone.