The book that I am considering for purchase is Letters to a Bullied Girl: Messages of healing and hope by Olivia Gardner with Emily and Sara Buder. New York: Harper, 2008 ISBN 978-0-06-154462-0 14.95
“Olivia Gardner, was singled out, physically and verbally bullied by her peers after she suffered an epileptic seizure in front of other students.” The introduction gives some background information, which details the extent of the harassment in every venue possible in this high tech world we live in. Emily and Sara Buder read about the incident and promoted a project, which encouraged adults and children to send messages of “healing, hope, inspiration and healing to Olivia. Letters were sent to a P.O. Box and the response was overwhelming. About 125 letters from parents of children who were bullied, adults who had been bullied and students who were dealing with the issue at the time of the project, March 2007 make up the rest of the books.
This would work for parents and students. In fact, my KCLS copy has been sitting on my desk and students have asked to borrow it. I think it is an R (recommended) because of the limited number of resources that connect specifically to middle school students. However, I wish there were more letters from students.
I like any feedback anyone can come up with on this book.
1 comment:
The book this made me think of was 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher, a book about a girl who commits suicide leaving behind 13 tapes describing her reasons for what she does. The main character is a boy who could have befriended her but doesn't quite make a connection. At the end of the book he reaches out to another isolated girl, leaving the reader with hope for the future.
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