Bullyville by Francine Prose

Bullying is one of those hot topic issues right now. Every year we have to do a program with the students about the effects of bullying and the tendency of people to be silent bystanders. It's a good idea and probably a good approach but I'm not sure of the effectiveness of it all. The idea is that successful bullying relies on people not wanting to get involved. So if bystanders speak up for the victims then the bullies are defeated. Huzzah! Except as far as I can tell, it just makes the bullies sneakier or favor things like internet trolling.

When I was a teen/pre-teen I was bullied. Not horribly, but it happened. It's a part of growing up. I dealt with it mostly by ignoring them and getting even in small subtle ways. Mostly, I just holed up in the school library and made it difficult for them to find me. It worked, but it worked because I grew up in an age where they mostly had to physically find me in order to bully me. With the internet and social media, that is no longer the case. No matter how bad it was on a given day, it ended when I got home. That's not true any more.

So, I don't know what the answer is for these kids. My current tactic is to stock my classroom library with stories dealing with bullying as a theme on some level. Bullyville is one of the books I picked up for that. I'd never heard of it or its author, Francine Prose. I am, however, always game for something new.

The main character, Bart Rangely, is a pretty inherently tragic figure. His estranged father dies in the North Tower during 911. As a result, Bart is offered a free ride at a local exclusive prep school. He goes, of course, despite the schools well known reputation for producing bullies. Our boy Bart ends up under the care of the worst bully at the school. Thus begins the absolute worst year of Bart's life.

Bart doesn't just turn into a pile of mush though. He does fight back, and as a result, ends up finding out more about his tormentor and probable motivations.

What I like about this book is that Prose didn't feel the need to tie it all up in the end with a nice bow and a fairy tale ending. It's messy and she lets it be messy. While the situation resolves for Bart, there's no sudden character flips or kumbaya moments. The bully is a bully and he is not redeemed.

This is a good treatment of the themes and a readable book. It's a good addition to my classroom library.

Monster by Walter Dean Myers

Walter Dean Myers has been writing YA Literature since the mid 80's and so he's part of my childhood. I was definitely familiar with his name. However, what he writes tends to be oriented to a more male audience. Monster is the first of his books I've read. I became aware of the title through a NCTE reading list on culturally diverse literature.

Monster is amazing. It won a ridiculous number of awards including the Michael L. Printz Award and the National Book Award Honor for Young People's Literature. Awards aren't everything, but I'm really beginning to trust the Printz award. Everything I've read that won that award is just amazing.

So. Monster is about Steven Harmon, 16 years old, and his experience on trial for felony murder. The writing alternates between journal entries and a hypothetical screenplay of Steven's experience written by Steven. It's an incredibly powerful strategy the effectively conveys this kid's terror of his experience of prison (the journal entries) in contrast with his weird dissociation of his experience at trial (the screenplay.)

Here's a kid who, despite being very different from me, I could see myself in. I remember being that age and wanting desperately to seem tough, or worldly, or something indefinably adult. I think it must be a pretty universal experience, however, many of us stay clear of actual legal repercussions. So, it's easy to sympathize with this kid who clearly just got sucked into something way over his head.

By the way, felony murder is a death that happens as a result, direct or indirect, of the commission of another felony. So, if a guy drops dead of a heart attack during a bank heist, everyone involved in the heist in any way is suddenly on the hook for murder. This is something we actually teach our kids once per year because LD/ADHD kids are higher than normal risk for impulsive decisions that lead to this kind of thing.

Steven's trial, for most of the book, leaves it pretty unclear just how involved he actually was. However, his ruminations on responsibility and human nature are very mature without being overly cerebral.

Excellent, quick read.