Tolog Review: Dear Bully

Dear Bully: 70 Authors Tell Their Stories
by Megan Kelley Hall and Carrie Jones
reviewed by Dominique Godinez

Dear Bully: 70 Authors Tell Their Stories, edited by Megan Kelley Hall and Carrie Jones, is a series of multiple biographies that express how seventy young adult authors overcome diversity, choose acceptance, and or embrace their differences. This collaboration of authors details themselves as their younger selves as either a spectator, bully, or victim. Dear Bully is divided into nine chapters, each offering a title that vocalizes the recurring theme in that specific section. “Just Kidding,” my favorite chapter title offers a glimpse into the harsh effects that words of bullies when teasing or making unethical comments creates.
Alyson Noel, author of Prom Queens, survived bullying and felt the long time effects remain in her life. As a young girl her dream was to publish a book of a girl with a similar story to her own, and once she did she felt incredibly accomplished; however, that great feeling was tainted as soon a bully reached out to Alyson via email. Noel remarks, “And in my reply I forgave her. I forgave her because doing so freed me from the burden of that particular past” (Hall and Jones 231.) Noel depicts her reaction as she became the bigger person and dramatically changed a part of her life, letting go of all the bad bully memories. Alyson Noel is just one story of how an individual can overcome their adversity and struggles with bullying by accepting what happened and forgiving their oppressor. 

There are many different writing formats of how the seventy authors expressed their encounters with bullying that aided in my understanding of the book. Not only did these formats make the book more exciting to read, it showcased the writer's’ strengths and allowed them to meticulously describe their emotions. Poetry, Cataloging, Illustrations, and relatable stories contributed to my liking and appreciation of this book. All seventy authors showcased a format that invoked feelings of hurt, pain, resolve, and regret. On page 179, Cecil Castellucci, the author of “They Made Me Do It and I’m Sorry,” took advantage of her amazing illustrator and brought her feelings of despair to life through comic illustrations. Although the central topic of Dear Bully: 70 Authors Tell Their Stories is bullying, there are many other themes present: overcoming adversity, acceptance, and or embracing your differences. With an abundance of themes the stories are always personal, new, and stirring to read. 

I fully recommend this book to anyone looking for a refreshing and forlorn filled read, and advise you to check it out at your local library. By involving the perspectives and experiences of people as bystanders, victims, and bullies I became knowledgeable on certain issues I had not experienced. I also extremely enjoyed the nine chapter implementation for it brought the reader on a journey of how bullying affects who you are, your life, and your accomplishments. This incredibly astonishing book had me cry on more than one occasion and overall impacted my mindset toward bullying and my consideration of others and their struggles.