Top Ten Tuesday, as always, is hosted at my other blog — The Broke & the Bookish
This week’s topic: Ten Books I’d Recommend To Readers Who Haven’t Read YA Dealing With Bullying
This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales: THIS BOOK. It’s one of my all time favorite books of last year and it’s pretty high up there in general for me. Elise is one of the most memorable characters I’ve encountered in a long time and her story just completely left a lasting mark on my heart.
Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers: Mean Girls has NOTHING on this book when it comes to real mean girl antics! I devoured this book in one afternoon!
Hate List by Jennifer Brown: What a tough read centered around a girl whose boyfriend shoots up their school and she is forced to go back and is completely ostracized because everyone thinks she was in on the plan.
Tease by Amanda Maciel: This was an interesting book because the POV was from the girl who WAS the bully. If you like a challenging read, THIS IS IT!
If I Lie by Corrine Jackson: This book is one of the most underrated books I’ve read in a while and it’s FANTASTIC. The main character is bullied and slut-shamed and she could SO EASILY MAKE IT STOP but that would mean telling a secret that wasn’t hers to tell. I highly recommend this one!
Speechless by Hannah Harrington: I don’t want to say much about WHY this bullying happens and why she decides to take a vow of silence which makes her a bigger target but I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH!
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell: This book is one of my all time favorite books and my heart still aches for Eleanor long after I finished this book. The bullying she endures makes me sick.
By The Time You Read This I’ll Be Dead by Julie Ann Peters: MY HEART. This teeny tiny book was lethal. The main character deals with bullying and more and she has made plans to kill herself.
Thousand Words by Jennifer Brown: A sexting scandal + the aftermath for the main character!
#scandal by Sarah Ockler: I didn’t LOVE this one but I’d still recommend it if you are wanting to read a book where the bullying also happens online.
So tell me…what books would you recommend that deal with bullying to some degree? Have you read any of the ones I recommended? Are you interested in any that I listed?
Rachel says
The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu was so good! Told from four perspectives, it’s about a girl that slept with two guys in one night and is the reason one died in a car crash. Less than 200 pages and a challenging yet quick read!
Lucy says
This is an awesome topic, and as a parent something I want to stay on top of. I really loved TSWSYL, If I Lie and Speechless and am eager to check out Tease. One book about bullying that I just read about is Ann Aguirre’s Mortal Danger.
Jessica @ Strung Out On Books says
Most of these are on my TBR, especially Tease since it’s been recommended to me. I recently read Random by Tom Leveen and I think it was a great book dealing with this topic. Great list! 🙂
Jodie says
I LOVED Some Girls Are. Great novel. I’ll have to read some more of these.
Chrissi Reads says
Fantastic list Jamie. I like books that deal with bullying and have read many on your list. I thought Tease was incredibly intriguing. I thought it was really refreshing to read a story from the bully’s POV. I shall definitely be adding the books I haven’t read yet on your list to my TBR! 🙂
Rebecca @ The Library Canary says
E&P!!! Oh my gosh, I loved that book so much and you’re right, totally broke my heart with all the bullying she has to deal with. Kids are so mean. I also enjoyed Tease even though it was hard to like the main character. And I really want to read This Song Will Save Your Life. I keep meaning to and then I get distracted. Lol Great list!
Andrea @ Bookish says
I have most of these on my TBR list, but have yet to read any of them. One day, I’ll get this pile under control. Yeah, right! lol
Have you read Thirteen Reasons Why? That’s an amazing book that deals with bullying. I listened to the audio and it was just wonderful! I push it on everybody lol
My TTT – Classics!
Bailey says
You post some of the best blog posts! These seems like all great books–some I totally forgot about with all these newer books coming out. Such as If I Lie I was so excited about that one and then never got around to reading it! These are all definitely on my TBR list and after reading what you had to say about them it makes me want to read them even more. I’m trying to think of a book that I’ve read that has had bullying in it…for the life of me I can’t pull any of the top of my head! I blame the fact it’s only nine am lol! 🙂
Tara @ Running 'N' Reading says
Jamie, I loved Some Girls Are; I would really like to read Eleanor & Park, because I loved Fangirl, and also Tease. Great list, as always, and this is a wonderful list topic. Thanks so much for hosting the link-up over at The Broke and the Bookish!
Miss Pring says
Great list! I’d also say Keep Holding On if you want something lighter. Leverage if you want something darker.
Brandy says
Great topic and I’ve only read three of these.
Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass would go on any list of bullying books for me. Right at the top actually. Love it. And I just read Falling Into Place yesterday, which offered a unique and impactful perspective on bullying I think, though I did have some significant issues with the storytelling.
Sarah @ What Sarah Read says
Out of this whole list I’ve only read “This Song Will Save Your Life” and “Eleanor and Park”…both of which I loved. Actually, they are some of the first books I read when I started getting in to YA Lit and they totally made me fall in love with all things YA! But it looks like I have some reading to do. Thanks for sharing!
Kayla @ The Thousand Lives says
I’ve already heard that Eleanor & Park with break my heart just with the romance aspect of it, but I hadn’t heard of the bullying. I’ll make sure to bring extra tissues!
Jennifer aka YA Book Nerd says
Great list about such an important topic!
Holly U says
Thank you for this awesome list! I’ve been wanting to read more books about bullying. And there are a few that I don’t have on my TBR list and I’m adding them! Have you read The Truth About Alice? That one is also amazing! Very powerful story about bullying told in 4 different POVs. 🙂
Benni @ Benni's Bookbiters says
Oh, wow, this is a great idea for a list. These books sound sad, but it’s so important to raise awareness and make readers really understand what the bullied go through.
Nicole @ Reading Books With Coffee says
I LOVE Hate List and This Song Will Save Your Live! By The Time You Read, I’ll Be Dead and Speechless are also great. The only book that deals with bullying is 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher, which has probably been mentioned already, but nothing else comes to mind. I love your list this week
Krystal @ Books Are My Thing says
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher should definitely be added to your list!
Brianna says
I don’t have any recommendations, but my to read list grew by a few.
Melissa @ Writer Grrl Reads says
Before I Fall is one of the best books that I’ve read on bullying — I seem to recall seeing this on your Goodreads TBR list? If so, you should definitely check that one out. I didn’t like Tease (DNFed it actually) because I felt like the main character had zero remorse for her actions. Before I Fall is also told from the perspective of the bully, but I found her to be more self aware.
Katrina says
Amazing picks and topic choice, I would love to read Eleanor & Park, Rainbow Rowell is an author that’s been evading me far too long!
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Katrina @ Chased By My Imagination
Kel (Booked til Tuesday) says
I don’t typically read YA bullying books, but This Song Will Save Your Life is on my TBR list. 🙂