This best-selling memoir was both heart-breaking and inspiring to read. In fact, I stayed up late several nights reading it, because I just couldn't put it down. Jodee Blanco chronicles her experiences of being bullied in an honest and transparent way. Starting in fifth grade and continuing through her final year of highschool, Jodee found herself the center of cruel jokes, physical tormenting and verbal abuse.
The book begins at her twenty-year high school reunion and then flashes back to elementary school and chronicles her school years, then ends at the reunion. The story is one of devastating cruelty; in fact, having never been bullied and never really witnessed true bullying, I found it to be nearly impossible to believe. However, more and more there are stories in the news that confirm that this type of behavior is not unique.
One thing that really hit me hard was that some of the behaviors that Jodee found most hurtful weren't the outright cruel ones, like dunking her favorite shoe in a toilet of urine, but the times that other kids watched and didn't stick up for her, or the hundreds of times she was not invited or included. Not only was she hurt by the bullies' behaviors, she was emotionally devastated by being an outcast.
Amazingly, she writes that she would not change her past because it has brought her to the place she is now; she is a sought-after speaker and expert on the topic of bullying and has intervened in crisis situations. She has helped so many kids, teens, parents, and teachers with her inspirational story and has achieved great success as an adult.
This book is one every parent and teacher should read. It is too important to ignore.
