Dear Bully

Dear Bully

 Edited by Megan Kelley Hall and Carrie Jones,

340 pages

Dear Bully is a collection of letters from several current teen authors standing up to their childhood bully. In these letters the writers stand up to their bullies and say things they wished they could have said back when they were in school.  Most of the letters started with an explanation of the torment they went through followed by what they wished they would have said or done. The authors discuss how their experience with bullies have helped them in their adulthood and made them a better person today. Although most of the letters are about being bullied a few are from authors who bullied others and how they regret.

            I thought the book did a good job of explaining how horrible bullying can be and how much it can hurt someone. The teasing and laughter can stay with people forever, for example in one of the letters it says, “ After twenty years, there’s an enormous part of me that feels choked up by the thought of her”. I think the book also does a good job of showing how one can be a bully when they don’t even mean too. One small comment that you jokingly share to a friend can upset someone else and cause him or her a lot of pain, so it is important to watch you say.

I think the main purpose of this book is to raise awareness about bullying and to give support to those who are bullied. When someone is constantly bullied day in and day out it can really start to alter him or her. These letters provide examples of people who have lived through the bullying and they prove that it can get better. I also think the book is telling people to be careful about what they say and realizing the impact their comments and jokes can have on people. I think a lot of people would enjoy this book because it is a topic that a lot of people can relate to whether they are the bully or have ever had something mean said about them.