Dear Bully: A Panoramic Review (and Canadian Giveaway!)

"You are not alone.


Discover how Lauren Kate transformed the feeling of that one mean girl getting under her skin into her first novel, how Lauren Oliver learned to celebrate ambiguity in her classmates and in herself, and how R.L. Stine turned being the “funny guy” into the best defense against the bullies in his class.


Today’s top authors for teens come together to share their stories about bullying—as silent observers on the sidelines of high school, as victims, and as perpetrators—in a collection at turns moving and self-effacing, but always deeply personal."
(from Goodreads)

Dear Bully edited by Megan Kelley Hall and Carrie Jones

My reaction: Most people have been bullied at some point or other in their lives. This book proves it, providing stories — most of them based on real life — from authors demonstrating that they went through it too. I found it easy to connect with many of the stories, recognizing in them my own experiences and emotions.

They all kind of blended together, none of them in particular really standing out in my mind. Many have a similar message so if you read the book all at once (I didn't) I think it might start to feel quite repetitive. But they feel true-to-life and it's easy to read just a few at a time, as most of them are pretty short. Also, there is no necessary order to the stories so you can jump around as much as you like. However, they are organized into different categories (such as "Just Kidding," "Regret," "Survival") by the themes or formats of the stories.

Best aspect: Gaining a glimpse into these authors' pasts. It was great to see a more personal side to them, fleshing them out as people rather than just writers. And the fact that many of these authors are well-known in the YA reading community (like Lauren Oliver, Kiersten White, and R. L. Stine, for instance) will hopefully make readers more likely to pick up this book.

Also, I found it really interesting that a few of the authors actually had contact, years later, with the bully they so vividly remembered. It was neat to see how both people reacted!

If I could change something... I would have liked a few more stories from perspectives other than those being bullied. While there were some included, having more from the point of view of the bully (or even more importantly, in my opinion, from the point of view of a bystander) would have rounded out the collection.

Also, I didn't agree with specific messages voiced in some of the stories, but that may be more of a personal thing. The overall intention of the book is certainly sound. I do think a bit more practical advice on what to do if you or someone you know is currently being bullied would not go amiss, although it should be mentioned that a list of resources is provided at the back.

In five words or less: tough, true, and hopeful.

Read if: you have ever bullied someone, been bullied, or stood by and watched it happen to someone else. Basically, if you're a living, breathing, human being.

Final verdict: 3.5 shooting stars.

Disclaimer: I received this book for review from the publisher.

And now for the giveaway...

HarperCollins Canada generously provided me with an extra copy to give to one lucky winner!

The rules:

- Entrants must be 13 years or older.

- Open ONLY to Canadian mailing addresses

- One entry per person

- Following and tweeting are not necessary but always appreciated!

- Ends Nov. 20, at 11:59 pm EST.

- Winner will be selected randomly and contacted by e-mail

This contest is now closed.

Cloaked in Red: Review

Cloaked in Red by Vivian Vande Velde, read for my "Read Outside Your Comfort Zone" Challenge. 

Amazon's description:

"So you think you know the story of Little Red Riding Hood, the girl with the unfortunate name and the inability to tell the difference between her grandmother and a member of a different species? Well, then, try your hand at answering these questions: Which character (not including Little Red herself) is the most fashion challenged? Who (not including the wolf) is the scariest? Who (not including Granny) is the most easily scared? Who is the strangest (notice we're not "not including" anyone, because they're all a little off.)? Who (no fair saying "the author") has stuffing for brains? Master storyteller Vivian Vande Velde crafts eight new stories involving one of the world's most beloved (and mixed-up) characters in literature. You may never look at fairy tales in quite the same way again."

Why is it outside my comfort zone? Short stories have never been my thing. Usually I've found that just as I've started to get a feel for the setting and characters, the story ends. Also, when I was younger I wasn't such a fan of the ambiguous or unsettling endings short stories frequently have...or perhaps I just read the wrong ones. Ray Bradbury's "The Veldt" creeped me out no end. Still, I thought fairy tale retellings might be a good way to get me more comfortable with short stories, since I'm a big fan of fairy tales.

Did it win me over? Why or why not? For the most part it did. I didn't like all the stories equally, but that would be rare. I loved the author's note, where she discussed why she wanted to rewrite the story of Little Red Riding Hood. I found it to be the most hilarious part of the whole book, actually, and she makes some astute points into the bargain. The story, if you think about it, doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

In terms of the actual retellings, my favourites were "Deems the Woodgatherer," "The Little Red Headache," and "Little Red Riding Hood's Little Red Riding Hood." I liked the fact that other fairy tales were incorporated into "Deems the Woodgatherer," and the author uses the character/audience knowledge discrepancy very well. We can all see what the nearsighted woodgatherer clearly cannot. "The Little Red Headache" was such a fun take on the story by portraying the (rather conscientious!) wolf's perspective on the events that transpire. And as for the last one — I don't know that I've ever empathized quite so much with an article of clothing before. What a Little Red Pain-In-The-Neck the cloak had to put up with!


I was less thrilled with "The Red Cloak," "Little Red Riding Hood's Family," and "Why Willy and His Brother Won't Ever Amount to Anything." The first was the retelling that stuck the closest to the original fairy tale, and I found it rather bland. "Little Red Riding Hood's Family" introduced a paranormal element towards the end that came out of nowhere. And Willy in the third one just seemed too dense for words (although I did like the twist about his identity at the very end!) 


As for "The Red Riding Hood Doll," I'm feeling kind of mixed about that one. Anything to do with dolls coming to life I find rather unsettling and creepy, but the psyche of the main character Georgette, and her need for a child, was interesting. And "Granny and the Wolf" I feel pretty ambivalent about — it was okay, but nothing special.

Best aspect? The different creative ideas the author used for giving the original fairy tale more depth and explanation. Sometimes the stories ended up veering rather far from the Little Red Riding Hood tale we all know, but they were a good deal more interesting, and often more logical!

 
If I could change something, I would... I might have had a few darker, more haunting or lyrical stories in there. Most of them are quite light-hearted and obviously intended to be spoof-like and humorous. Yet I didn't find any of them outrageously funny, although there were several mildly amusing ones that made me smile.

Just one more thing I want to mention:  I wanted a better sense of the time period/setting in each story; there wasn't much description given to ground them in a particular time and place.

Would I read more like this book? Sure. I didn't really mind the fact they were short stories because the tale of Little Red Riding Hood itself is quite short, so it worked. I did try to pace myself with them, spreading them out, but even so midway through I did start feeling tired of reading variations on the same story, so I wouldn't recommend reading it all in one go. Perhaps a collection of short stories by several authors might be easier to read in fewer sittings, since each author would have such a different writing style.

Quote:




If the wolf hadn't had such a deeply held moral belief system, he could have convinced himself that by leaving the basket behind, the girl had forsaken her rights to it. But, instead, he picked up the basket in his teeth, then loped through the trees, following the trails of wailing, crushed forest vegetation and human scent.


Final verdict: 3.5 shooting stars. Enjoyable enough, but these retellings didn't blow me away.

If you haven't signed up yet for the "Read Outside Your Comfort Zone" challenge and would like to, you can learn more about it and fill out the form HERE.