Tuesday, April 2, 2013

B- Bullying and Characters in YA Books


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Bullying can happen to anyone, anywhere, any age, and statistics are showing that bullying is an increasing issue.

More than 1 in 4 teens are bullied, and over 160,000 youth stay home each day due to fear of being bullied at school.

Here are some characters from books that center around the issue of bullying...


Noelle from Outcast by Susan Oloier dreams of a different life, one where Trina Brockwell doesn’t exist. Trina has bullied Noelle since junior high. Now she’s tired of it. With the help of her black-sheep aunt and a defiant new classmate, Noelle seeks revenge. But vengeance comes with a price: Noelle risks friendship, her first love, and herself to get back at those who have wronged her.







Lil from Playing Nice by Rebekah Crane is different and has many secrets that make her a target for gossiping and online bullying. But Marty sees something special in Lil. Something honest, something real.







Don't forget!!!

Head over to Moxie Writers for more on the YA cause/tough issue and organizations that help.

Head over to Susan Oloier's site for a song and lyrics that pertain to today's issue.

14 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

That's a lot of kids staying home out of fear.

Michael Di Gesu said...

Bullying is running rampart everywhere. It is terrible. Sadly revenge ISN'T the answer because it usually ends up hurting that person even more. I wish I knew the answers. But I believe a stable home life is the beginning. If more kids had parents who cared and were involved positively in their kid's lives, bullying may be cut down tremendously. But we will never be rid of it.... It's ingrained in human nature. There will always be bullies.

Susan Oloier said...

Michael, I agree with you 100%. Parents are key to where their children wind up and how they treat others. I, too, agree that bullying will never go away.

Rebecca: thanks for featuring my book today :-)

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Dani said...

My son has been getting bullied since the 3rd grade. Being called all sorts of "gay" slang terms. He's none of them (even if he was, it wouldn't matter to me), my point is, is that it has made him a stronger, thicker-skinned high-schooler because of it.
It really needs to stop.
Dani @ Entertaining Interests
#warriorminion

Katie O'Sullivan said...

Great idea for AtoZ! Love that you've teamed up with 2 other blogs, too.
Will be back during the month!

J.L. Campbell said...

Susan and you are awesome for continuing to raise our awareness of the stuff that needs to be kept on the front burner.

Julie Flanders said...

How sad to imagine that many kids staying home because they are afraid. :(

Mark Means said...

This is always an issue that needs to be brought up...well done! :)

Nick Wilford said...

Sadly it's a problem that doesn't seem to go away. I've got Susan's book on my TBR list.

Patricia Stoltey said...

It's such a good idea to link the three blogs during the challenge. I like to read YA novels, so I'm checking all these suggestions.

Akash Govindarajan said...

Hmm good one!! I have been bullied previously but not now :)
And what is YA?

Andrew Leon said...

I really don't think bullying is on the increase. I think this is one of those issues where we are just more aware of it and can recognize it more easily. The heightened awareness and attention makes kids more willing to report it.
Bullying was "not a problem" in my elementary school, because no one ever said they were being bullied. Unless an adult actually caught something happening in the act, no one ever told, and, even if it was caught in the act, the one being bullied would often claim nothing was happening.

Sounds like an abusive relationship, doesn't it?

Kelly said...

This is a topic that hits home for me, but I agree with Andrew Leon -- I think it's an issue that receives a lot more attention now than it did years ago. I had an experience with bullying when I was in junior high, and if a kid today acted like my bully did back then? Well, the authorities would've been involved, for sure.