A free, confidential, secure service that provides live help operated by RAINN via their telephone hotline or website.
1-800-656-HOPE
www.rainn.org/get-help
TREVOR PROJECT
The Trevor Project is determined to end suicide among LGBTQ youth by providing life-saving and life-affirming resources including their nationwide, twenty-four/seven crisis intervention lifeline, digital community, and advocacy/educational programs that create a safe, supportive, and positive environment for everyone.
www.thetrevorproject.org
REACH OUT
Reach Out is an information and support service that uses evidence-based principles and technology to help teens facing tough times and struggling with mental health issues. All content is written by teens, for teens.
http://us.reachout.com
THE JED FOUNDATION
The Jed Foundation works nationally to reduce the rate of suicide and the prevalence of emotional distress among college and university students.
www.jedfoundation.org
IT GETS BETTER PROJECT
The suicide of fifteen-year-old Billy Lucas inspired “Savage Love” columnist Dan Savage’s website, where musicians, politicians, artists, and many, many more talk openly about growing up gay—and sharing how life got better.
www.itgetsbetter.org
RAVEN DAYS
“For surviving middle school, junior high school, and high school as a hunted outsider.” An organization for outsiders who are being bullied at school, for adults who remember what it was like to be bullied, and for those who want to help.
www.ravendays.org
Resources for Educators and Parents
STOMP OUT BULLYING
Stomp Out Bullying, a national antibullying and anti-cyberbullying program for kids and teens, is a program of Love Our Children USA.
www.stompoutbullying.org
TEACHING TOLERANCE
Teaching Tolerance, a program of the Southern Poverty Law Center, aims to reduce prejudice and improve intergroup relations in the nation’s classrooms and communities. Teaching Tolerance’s Mix It Up program is a national campaign that helps K–12 teachers develop inclusive school communities.
www.tolerance.org
INTERNATIONAL BULLYING PREVENTION ASSOCIATION
The mission of the International Bullying Prevention Association is to support and enhance quality research-based bullying prevention principles and practices in order to achieve safe school climates, healthy work environments, good citizenship, and civic responsibility.
www.stopbullyingworld.org
GLSEN
The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network, the leading national education organization focused on ensuring safe schools for all students, envisions a world in which every child learns to respect and accept all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression.
www.glsen.org
MASSACHUSETTS AGGRESSION REDUCTION CENTER
The MARC website offers free resources on bullying prevention, cyberbullying education and prevention, and violence prevention.
www.bridgew.edu/marc
STOP BULLYING NOW!
A campaign that presents practical, research-based strategies to reduce bullying in schools.
www.stopbullyingnow.com
NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR PEOPLE OF COLOR AGAINST SUICIDE
NOPCAS was formed to stop the tragic epidemic of suicide in minority communities.
www.nopcas.com
THE OPHELIA PROJECT
The Ophelia Project serves youth and adults who are affected by relational and other nonphysical forms of aggression by providing them with a unique combination of tools, strategies, and solutions.
www.opheliaproject.org
Acknowledgments
Thanks to all of the brilliant, generous, and talented contributors in this book. When we started the Young Adult Authors Against Bullying group on Facebook, we had no idea how quickly it would take off. So, not only do I want to thank the anthology contributors for their time, patience, and creativity, I’d like to thank the hundreds of authors who submitted essays for inclusion in this book (and who will be featured at www.dearbully.com), as well as the thousands who joined our fight against bullying online.
A huge thanks to HarperTeen’s editors, Sarah Dotts Barley and Tara Weikum, for their guidance and wisdom. Thank you to our agents Elisabeth Weed and Edward Necarsulmer. I’d personally like to thank Jocelyn and Gloria Kelley of Kelley & Hall Book Publicity for immediately jumping behind this project and helping to promote it so that we received great media coverage, including Sheila Weller’s amazing feature article in Glamour magazine.
And finally, I want to remember the teens that were the inspiration for this book and who tragically took their own lives because they couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel: Phoebe Prince, Carl Walker-Hoover, Ty Field, and Tyler Clementi—to name only a few. This book is in your honor.
Bullying is not a rite of passage, it is not acceptable, and by working together, we can make it stop.
—Megan Kelley Hall
This book would not exist without two things: stories and bravery. Writers lived through the stories of this book. Stories of others’ suffering now inspired us and them into action. For many of the contributors here and on the website, it took immense bravery to share those stories. Thank you all so much.
A special thanks to the contributors, all authors of awesome. Thanks to Sarah Dotts Barley, Tara Weikum, Caroline Sun, and the entire Harper team for making this book a reality. It was a giant leap of faith and a huge squat press of hard work on their parts. Similar thanks goes to Edward Necarsulmer IV and Elisabeth Weed, both mighty vanquishers of meanness. I will be forever grateful for the passion and integrity you all brought to this project.
Thanks also to everyone who has ever survived. That includes the bullied, the bullies, the bystanders, and the heroes. We have a little bit of all of these in each of us. This book is for you.
And finally, thank you to Emily Ciciotte and Shaun Farrar, who taught me how to be tough.
—Carrie Jones
Contributors
CYN BALOG is the author of the paranormal novels Fairy Tale, Sleepless, and Starstruck. She lives outside Allentown, Pennsylvania, with her husband and daughters. Visit her online at www.cynbalog.com.
LISE BERNIER is a retired molecular biologist with a specialty in genetics. She has always been an artist on the side. “They Made Me Do It and I’m Sorry” is her first comic. She lives in Montreal, Canada, and is Cecil Castellucci’s mother.
HEATHER BREWER is the author of the New York Times bestselling series The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod; First Kill, the first book in The Slayer Chronicles; and Bloodbound, a romantic fantasy epic. Heather likes moonlit walks, black nail polish, and the feeling of sand between her toes. She lives in Saint Louis, Missouri, with her husband, two children, and two very spoiled cats. Visit her online at www.heatherbrewer.com.
JESSICA BRODY is the author of The Karma Club, My Life Undecided, 52 Reasons to Hate My Father, Unremembered, and two books for adults. Jessica originally moved to Los Angeles to be a singer/songwriter, but soon discovered she had a better knack for writing novels. Now she uses her songwriting background to write and produce original soundtracks for her books. Visit her online at www.jessicabrody.com.
TERI BROWN really did grow up in Alfalfa. She now lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband and two teenagers. She is the author of Read My Lips. Visit her online at www.teribrownwrites.com.
CECIL CASTELLUCCI is the author of numerous books for young adults, including Rose Sees Red, Beige, The Queen of Cool, Boy Proof, and The Plain Janes graphic novel series. She lives in Los Angeles. Visit her online at www.misscecil.com.
CRISSA-JEAN CHAPPELL teaches creative writing and cinema studies at Miami International University of Art and Design. She is the author of Total Constant Order, which was a New York Public Library Book for the
Teen Age, a Florida Book Award medalist, and a VOYA Editor’s Choice, and NARC. She no longer wishes for superpowers of invisibility, though sometimes she flies in her dreams. Visit her online at www.crissajeanchappell.com.
MARINA COHEN is the author of several works of fiction and nonfiction, including three middle grade novels, Shadow of the Moon, Trick of the Light, and Chasing the White Witch, and two teen thrillers, Ghost Ride and Mind Gap. Ghost Ride was shortlisted by the Ontario Library Association for their Red Maple Award. Marina lives in Markham, Ontario, Canada, with her husband and three children.
HOLLY CUPALA is the author of Tell Me a Secret and Don’t Breathe a Word, which was inspired by her real-life abusive relationships chronicled in “Midsummer’s Nightmare.” When she isn’t writing her next novel or making art, Holly spends time with her family in Seattle, Washington. A portion of her author earnings goes to World Vision’s Hope for Sexually Exploited Girls. You can find Holly online at www.hollycupala.com.
ERIN DIONNE survived junior high bullying and is now the author of Models Don’t Eat Chocolate Cookies, The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet, and Notes from an Accidental Band Geek. Her novels are about fitting in, figuring things out, and finding yourself. She lives outside of Boston with her family and dog, where she roots for the Red Sox, teaches English at an art college, and enjoys chocolate cookies. Visit her online at www.erindionne.com.
LUCIENNE DIVER is the author of the Vamped series, which VOYA calls “witty vampire romance/adventure with plenty of heart and action” and Wondrous Reads calls “Mean Girls with fangs.” Either description will do. Lucienne is also a longtime book addict, a literary agent, a blogger, a mom, and a caffeine enthusiast. More information is available online at www.luciennediver.com.
CLAUDIA GABEL is the author of the teen series In or Out and the mash-up novel Romeo & Juliet & Vampires. She is also a senior editor at Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Children’s Books, where she acquires and develops fiction for young readers. She lives in New York City. You can visit her online at www.claudiagabel.com and check out her blog at www.claudiagabel.blogspot.com.
NANCY GARDEN is a recipient of the American Library Association’s Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing books for teens. She is the author of the classic Annie on My Mind, one of the first teen novels to feature lesbian characters positively, among many other books. Visit her online at www.nancygarden.com.
JEANNINE GARSEE works as a psychiatric nurse in a busy inner-city hospital and lives with her family outside Cleveland. She is the author of Say the Word; Before, After, and Somebody in Between; and The Unquiet. Visit her online at www.jeanninegarsee.com.
LINDA GERBER is the author of Trance, the Death By . . . mystery series, Now and Zen, The Finnish Line, and Celebrity. Her books have been tapped as ALA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults and Junior Library Guild and Literacy Lab Selections. Linda recently returned to life in the Midwest after four years in Japan, where she served as the Regional Advisor for the Tokyo chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. She lives and writes in Dublin, Ohio, blissfully ignoring her husband, four kids, and one very naughty puppy. Visit her online at www.lindagerber.com.
MEGAN KELLEY HALL, in addition to coediting this book, is the author of Sisters of Misery and The Lost Sister, two teen gothic thrillers that tackled bullying and “mean girls” way before bullying became daily news. Megan is a founding partner with her mother and sister of Kelley & Hall Book Publicity and has written for a variety of publications, including Elle, Glamour, Parenting, American Baby, Working Mother, the Boston Globe, and the Boston Herald. A graduate of Skidmore College, she lives north of Boston with her husband and her daughter. Visit her online at www.megankelleyhall.com.
KRISTIN HARMEL, a longtime reporter for People, is the author of The Art of French Kissing, Italian for Beginners, The Blonde Theory, How to Sleep with a Movie Star, and the teen novel After. She has lived in Paris, Los Angeles, New York, Boston, and Miami, and now resides primarily in Orlando. Visit her online at www.kristinharmel.com.
When NANCY HOLDER was sixteen, she dropped out of high school to become a ballet dancer in Cologne, Germany. Eventually she returned home to California and graduated from the University of California, San Diego. A four-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award from the Horror Writers Association, Nancy has received accolades from the American Library Association, the American Reading Association, the New York Public Library, and Romantic Times. She and Debbie Viguié coauthored the New York Times bestselling series Wicked, Crusade, and the Wolf Springs Chronicles. Nancy is also the author of the teen horror series Possessions and has written many novels set in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Saving Grace, Hellboy, and Smallville universes. Visit her online at www.nancyholder.com.
ELLEN HOPKINS is the New York Times bestselling author of Crank, Burned, Impulse, Glass, Identical, and Perfect. Visit her online at www.ellenhopkins.com.
TONYA HURLEY is the author of the instant New York Times bestselling and critically acclaimed ghostgirl series, and Blessed, the beginning of a new trilogy. A writer for television and film as well, Tonya has created, produced, and written live and animated series for ABC, and her independent films have been selected for such prestigious film festivals as Tribeca, Edinburgh, and the LA Independent, and broadcast on IFC, the Sundance Channel, and PBS. Tonya lives in New York with her husband and daughter. Visit her online at www.tonyahurley.com.
CARRIE JONES (the writer, not the porn star, and this book’s coeditor) has been battling bullies ever since they told her she talked funny. She’s pretty sure she still talks funny, but it hasn’t kept her from being an internationally bestselling author of the Need series or winning awards for some of her other books. It also hasn’t kept her from being an undercover prostitute, a church secretary, a police dispatcher, or a gymnastics instructor. Carrie is also the author of After Obsession, cowritten with Steven E. Wedel. She lives in Maine with two ridiculously large dogs and the rest of her family. None of them mind how she talks either. Visit her online at www.carriejonesbooks.com.
New York Times bestselling author SOPHIE JORDAN grew up in the Texas hill country, where she wove fantasies of dragons, warriors, and princesses. Sophie is a former high school English teacher and her debut young adult novel, Firelight, is out now. Visit her online at www.sophiejordan.net.
LAURA KASISCHKE has published several novels, including The Raising and two novels for teens, Boy Heaven and Feathered, and eight collections of poetry. She is a professor in the MFA program and at the Residential College at the University of Michigan. She lives with her husband and son in Chelsea, Michigan.
LAUREN KATE grew up in Dallas, went to school in Atlanta, and started writing in New York. She is the New York Times bestselling author of the Fallen series and The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove. She lives in Laurel Canyon, California, with her husband and hopes to work in a restaurant kitchen, get a dog, and learn how to surf. Visit her online at www.laurenkatebooks.net.
JOCELYN MAEVE KELLEY is a literary publicist and freelance journalist, writing for national magazines like Glamour, Self, Elle, and The Writer. A magna cum laude graduate of Emerson College, Jocelyn hosted and produced an award-winning Associated Press public affairs radio program that tackled subjects such as bullying, depression, and school systems in America. Visit her online at www.kelleyandhall.com.
DEBORAH KERBEL is the author of Lure, Girl on the Other Side, and Mackenzie, Lost and Found. Girl on the Other Side, which deals with the subject of bullying in school, was shortlisted by the Canadian Library Association for its Young Adult Book Award. Born in London, Deborah currently lives and writes in Thornhill, Ontario, with her husband and two children. Visit her online at www.deborahkerbel.com.
A. S. KING is the author of the ALA Best Book for Young Adults The Dust of 100 Dogs; the Michael L. Printz Honor Book Please Ignore Vera Dietz, described as “deeply suspenseful and profoundly human” by Publishers
Weekly, and Everybody Sees the Ants. Recently returned from Ireland, where she spent more than a decade living off the land, breeding rare poultry, teaching literacy, and writing novels, she now lives deep in the Pennsylvania woods with her husband and children. Learn more online at www.as-king.com.
JO KNOWLES, author of Lessons from a Dead Girl, Jumping Off Swings, and Pearl, lives in Vermont with her husband and son. Visit her online at www.joknowles.com or follow her blog at www.jbknowles.livejournal.com.
AMY GOLDMAN KOSS is the author of several novels, including The Not-So-Great Depression, Poison Ivy, and Side Effects. She lives in California with her husband and children. Visit her online at www.amygoldmankoss.net.
STEPHANIE KUEHNERT was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1979. She got her start like most authors by writing bad poetry about unrequited love and razor blades back in the eighth grade, also around the time she discovered punk rock. Stephanie is the author of I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone and Ballads of Suburbia. Visit her online at www.stephaniekuehnert.com.
Although ERIC LUPER took his fair share of being force-fed grass on the soccer field and being pushed into his locker after gym class, he found himself on the other side of it all a stronger, more compassionate human being. Now he is the author of numerous books for young people, including Jeremy Bender vs. the Cupcake Cadets and Seth Baumgartner’s Love Manifesto. (By the way, guess how many of those bullies have written books? None!) To learn more, visit Eric online at www.ericluper.com.
CAROLYN MACKLER is the author of the Michael L. Printz Honor Book The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things, Tangled, Guyaholic, Vegan Virgin Valentine, and Love and Other Four-Letter Words. Carolyn lives in New York City with her husband and two young sons. Visit her online at www.carolynmackler.com.
MEGAN MCCAFFERTY is the author of Bumped. She also wrote the New York Times bestselling Jessica Darling series, which includes the novels Sloppy Firsts, Second Helpings, Charmed Thirds, Fourth Comings, and Perfect Fifths. She lives in New Jersey with her husband and son. For more information, follow @meganmccafferty on Twitter, friend her on Facebook, or visit her online at www.meganmccafferty.com.
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