Middle School Realistic Fiction  Topic: Bullying

A student is being bullied when he or she is exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more students.

http://www.seattleschools.org/schools/whitman/aboutwhitman/bully.htm

The starred book after the title (*) indicates that the EMS library has this book.

Andersen, Laurie. Speak*.  2001.  A traumatic event near the end of the summer has a devastating effect on Melinda's freshman year in high school. 8th grade

Anderson, Mathew T. Burger Wuss.  1999.   Hoping to lose his loser image, Anthony plans revenge on a bully which results in a war between two competing fast food restaurants, Burger Queen and O'Dermott's.

Brown, Susan.  You’re Dead, David Borelli.  1995. David has always known wealth and comfort, but after his mother dies and his father absconds with company funds, David is sent to a foster home, an inner-city school, and a new life. Threatened by bullies and confronted by unc0aring teachers, David must find his own way into a life that he can accept.

Cole, Brock.  The Goats*.  1990. Stripped and marooned on a small island by their fellow campers, a boy and a girl form an uneasy bond that grows into a deep friendship when they decide to run away and disappear without a trace.

Coleman, Michael.  Weirdo’s War.  1998.  While trapped in a cave with one of his fellow students, a longtime enemy, Daniel relives his troubled relationship with his schoolmates

Crutcher, Chris. Whale Talk*. 2002. Intellectually and athletically gifted, TJ, a multiracial, adopted teenager, shuns organized sports and the gung-ho athletes at his high school until he agrees to form a swimming team and recruits some of the school's less popular students. 8th grade

Flake, Sharon. The Skin I’m In.  1999. Thirteen-year-old Maleeka, uncomfortable because her skin is extremely dark, meets a new teacher with a birthmark on her face and makes some discoveries about how to love who she is and what she looks like.

Gardner, Graham.  Inventing Elliot. 2004  Elliot, a victim of bullying, invents a calmer, cooler self when he changes schools in the middle of freshman year, but soon attracts the wrong kind of attention from the Guardians who "maintain order" at the new school.  Grade 8

Hahn, Mary Downing. Stepping on Cracks*.  1992. In 1944, while her brother is overseas fighting in World War II, eleven-year-old Margaret gets a new view of the school bully Gordy when she finds him hiding his own brother, an army deserter, and decides to help him.

Howe, James. Misfits.  2001. The story of four best friends, the target of cruel name-calling who decide they aren't going to take it anymore, "an upbeat, reassuring novel that encourages preteens and teens to celebrate their individuality.

Mayfield, Sue.  Drowning Anna.  2002.  When brainy shy Anna moves from her posh London to a small town, everyone starts to gossip. The most popular girl in school, Haley, befriends Anna, but soon Haley begins her cruel games. 

 Mikelsen, Ben. Touching Spirit Bear*. 2002. After his anger erupts into violence, fifteen year-old Cole, in order to avoid going to prison, agrees to participate in a sentencing alternative based on the Native American Circle Justice, and he is sent to a remote Alaskan Island where an encounter with a huge Spirit Bear changes his life. Good read-aloud.

Odell, Kathleen.  Agnes Parker…Girl in Progress. 2003.  As she starts the 6^th grade, Agnes faces challenges with her old best friend, a longtime bully, a wonderful new classmate and neighbor and herself.

Park, Barbara. Dear God, Help!!! Love, Earl.  1994. Tired of being pushed around by the class bully, Earl and two friends devise the perfect revenge. Good read-aloud.

Philbrick, Rodman. Freak the Mighty*. 1993. At the beginning of eighth grade, learning disabled Max and his new friend Freak, whose birth defect has affected his body but not his brilliant mind, find that when they combine forces they make a powerful team.

Plum, Carol.  The Body of Christopher Creed*  2001. Torey, a high school junior with a seemingly perfect life, struggles with doubts and questions surrounding the mysterious disappearance of an outcast.

Sachar, Louis. The Boy Who Lost His Face. 1991. David receives a curse from an elderly woman he has helped his schoolmates attack. David learns that popularity isn't everything with the help of new friends and a very nice girl.

Sachar, Louis. There’s a Boy in the Girl’s Bathroom*. 1999. An unmanageable eleven-year-old misfit learns to believe in himself when he gets to know the new school counselor, who is a sort of misfit too. Good read-aloud.

Singer, Nicky.  Feather Boy.  2003. A timid, unpopular boy learns about courage, love, and luck through a school project involving a strong-willed elderly woman, the abandoned house where her son died, and the legend of the Firebird.

Spinelli, Jerry. Loser*. 2003. Even though his classmates from first grade on have considered him strange and a loser, Daniel Zinkoff's optimism and exuberance and the support of a loving family do not allow him to feel that way about himself.

Spinelli, Jerry.  Wringer*.  1998. A moral drama sure to engage young readers and promote classroom discussion Palmer dreads his 10th birthday, when he will become a "wringer," trained to wring the necks of pigeons gunned down in an annual shooting contest. The thought of killing the birds sickens him, as does the bullying behavior of his three buddies.

Spinelli, Jerry. Stargirl*.  2000.  Stargirl, a teen who animates quiet Mica high with her colorful personality, suddenly finds herself shunned for her refusal to conform.

Wilhem, Doug.  The Revealers*,  2003. Tired of being bullied and picked on, three seventh-grade outcasts join forces and, using scientific methods and the power of the Internet; begin to create a new atmosphere at Parkland Middle School.

These above annotations are copied from publisher summaries of the book.