Synopses & Reviews
When you cant trust anyone, how can you ever feel safe? In seventh grade, Maggie Camden was the class outcast. Every day, the other girls tripped her, pinched her, trapped her in the bathroom, told her she would be better off dead. Four years have passed since then, and Maggies tormentors seem to have moved on. The ringleader of them all, Raleigh Barringer, even moved out of town. But Maggie has never stopped watching for attacks, and every laugh still sounds like its at her expense. The only time Maggie feels at peace is when shes hiking up in the mountains with her best friend, Nick. Lately, though, theres a new sort of tension between the two of thema tension both dangerous and delicious. But how can Maggie expect anything more out of Nick when all shes ever been told is that shes ugly, shes pathetic, shes unworthy of love? And how can she ever feel safe, now that Raleigh Barringer is suddenlyterrifyinglyback in town?
Review
"This book and its open-ended conclusion will challenge teens to think about the impact of bullying..." Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
Daelyn Rice is broken beyond repair, and after a string of botched suicide attempts, she's determined to get her death right. She starts visiting a website for "completers" — www.through-the-light .com.
While she's on the site, Daelyn blogs about her life, uncovering a history of bullying that goes back to kindergarten. When she's not on the Web, Daelyn's at her private school, where she's known as the freak who doesn't talk.
Then, a boy named Santana begins to sit with her after school while she's waiting to for her parents to pick her up. Even though she's made it clear that she wants to be left alone, Santana won't give up. And it's too late for Daelyn to be letting people into her life...isn't it?
National Book Award finalist Julie Anne Peters shines a light on how bullying can push young people to the very edge.
Synopsis
A significant book about one girl's struggle with suicide, from National Book Award finalist Julie Anne Peters. Daelyn is fifteen years old, and in her mind she is a failure. She tried slitting her wrists, and she was rescued. She tried swallowing chemicals, and after burning through her esophagus enough to lose the ability to speak, she was rescued. But this time will be different.
As readers see Daelyn's touching friendship with a quirky seventeen-year-old boy develop and her newfound willingness to share all of the pain she has held inside of her, they may just see a glimmer of hope. Will Daelyn see it though?
Raw and heartfelt, this is an inside look into the mind of a teen who has lost the will to fight and the parents that will do anything they can to help her survive. Still, there are some things that even loving parents can't protect you from--yourself.
Please note that due to the sensitive nature of the material in this book, we will be providing back matter from key experts. We hope that this book will help to open a dialogue about this increasingly prevalent issue.
Synopsis
After a lifetime of being bullied, Daelyn is broken beyond repair. She has tried to kill herself before, and is determined to get it right this time. Though her parents think they can protect her, she finds a Web site for "completers" that seems made just for her. She blogs on its forums, purging her harrowing history. At her private Catholic school, the only person who interacts with her is a boy named Santana. No matter how poorly she treats him, he just won't leave her alone. And it's too late for Daelyn to be letting people into her life . . . isn't it?
In this harrowing, compelling novel, Julie Anne Peters shines a light on what might make a teenager want to kill herself, as well as how she might start to bring herself back from the edge. A discussion guide and resource list prepared by "bullycide" expert C. J. Bott are included in the back matter.
About the Author
Jennifer R. Hubbard lives in the Philadelphia area. She is a hiker, a chocolate lover, and a night person who believes that mornings were meant to be slept through. Her short fiction has appeared in literary magazines. Her published books include the contemporary young-adult novels The Secret Year, Try Not To Breathe, and Until It Hurts To Stop.