Showing posts with label bullying. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bullying. Show all posts
Nov 15, 2018
May 12, 2018
Nov 1, 2016
Mar 1, 2016
Sep 1, 2012
The extraordinary education of Nicholas Benedict - Trenton Lee Stewart
Summary: Nine-year-old Nicholas Benedict, an orphan afflicted with an unfortunate nose and with narcolepsy, is sent to a new orphanage where he encounters vicious bullies, selfish adults, strange circumstances, and a mystery that could change his life forever.
Horn Book Magazine Reviews
Nicholas Benedict, brilliant narcoleptic mentor of the eccentric, puzzle-loving Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society, rev. 3/07; and sequels), is here the focus of a story set in his own childhood. Bounced to yet another orphanage, nine-year-old Nicholas discovers a mystery to be solved but also a gang called the Spiders who bully and humiliate him. Well, they try to: with his powers of observation and prodigious intellect, Nicholas stays one jump ahead of them while he and John, his only friend, race the grasping orphanage director to find the hidden treasure they hope will rescue them from orphanage life. Stewart balances the elements of his story beautifully, using the mystery puzzle to drive the plot while heightening tension through encounters with the Spiders and deepening the tenderness by following Nicholas's emotional development. Stewart handicaps the advantage of Nicholas's almost superhuman intellect by challenging him with uncontrollable narcolepsy and the unfolding realization that even his genius is susceptible to being led astray by his feelings. It is this very human, very relatable realization that really opens up the story after a chance encounter at the climax, leading to the kind of entirely earned, feel-good ending that Mysterious Benedict Society fans have come to expect (and love) from master storyteller Stewart. anita l. burkam Copyright 2012 Horn Book Magazine Reviews.
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Aug 1, 2011
Save me - Lisa Scottoline
Summary: When an explosion rips through the nearly empty cafeteria of a Reesburgh (Pa.) Elementary School, lunch mother Rose McKenna leads two girls to safety before racing to rescue her own daughter, Melly. But Rose soon learns that she may face both civil and criminal charges for her heroics because one of the girls she saved was seriously injured in the resulting fire that killed three school staff members.
Booklist Reviews
Suburban mom Susan Pressman is forced to make a split-second decision after an explosion goes off in the school cafeteria in which she volunteers. Should she rescue her own daughter, Melly, trapped in the bathroom, or lead the girls standing in front of her, who constantly bully her daughter, to safety? Her choice reverberates throughout the little town of Reesburgh, Pennsylvania, as she is cast as the villain by the local news anchor, parents, and the school. While her attorney and husband construct a defense plan that includes filing a lawsuit against the school, Susan sets out to seek the truth behind this mysterious, accidental fire. With the help of a construction worker who may know the cause of the explosion as well as an incognito visit to a local factory, Susan slowly unravels the truth and along with it some hidden secrets in Reesburgh's dark past, including one horrifying buried memory of her own. At the quick pace of a thriller, Scottoline masterfully fits every detail into a tight plot chock-full of real characters, real issues, and real thrills. A story anchored by the impenetrable power of a mother's love, it begs the question, just how far would you go to save your child? Copyright 2011 Booklist Reviews.
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Apr 1, 2011
The chocolate war - Robert Cormier
The chocolate war - Cormier, Robert
Summary: A high school freshman discovers the devastating consequences of refusing to join in the school's annual fund raising drive and arousing the wrath of the school bullies.
Staff Review
Don't let the sweet title fool you.
What begins as a harmless Vigil prank of Jerry refusing to sell chocolates turns into a revolution of determination and a war of wills. Jerry's rebellion is poignant; he does not defy Brother Leon with self confidence and internal strength, rather he is filled with fear and uncertainty, yet has resolved to make a stand, no longer to conform, to 'disturb the universe' and make his own decisions. Several of the characters are at the age where they are beginning to test authority, and have realized that adults are not trustworthy reliable rocks of wisdom that they were once led to believe. Cormier captures the teen spirit, and the power of conformity, with amazing accuracy. Brilliantly written.
Warning! The film based on the book totally misses the mark.
"My Books are an Antidote to the TV View of Life" - Check Availability
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