Description
About the Author
Details
- Reading level: Young Adult
- Hardcover: 208 pages
- Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin (September 13, 2011)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0312681585
- ISBN-13: 978-0312681586
SOURCE: PUBLISHER
MY THOUGHTS
Farley Katz has written and illustrated a wonderful book about bullying from the bully’s point of view. This one should provoke a lot of discussions for children, their parents and teachers. I didn’t know that you could actually feel sorry for a bully, but Niko Kaylor with all his bravado and intelligence is actually a confused and angry boy. Niko is forced to write a journal by his mother, his therapist and the school. He illustrates it with all the hatred and anger he can muster and writes what he thinks the “unholy trinity” wants to read. He still continues to bully and ignore the threats placed on him by the school. Until he takes it all too far one day. He is sent to a reform school and becomes the victim instead of victor.
I think most adults will know Katz’s work from Mad Magazine and a lot of the humor present there is carried over. There are situations in the story that would never be allowed to occur at any school in the United States but are illustrated to the extreme to make his point. Bullies have issues of their own and should be dealt with accordingly and quickly. I really enjoyed this one and if you enjoyed Diary of a Wimpy Kid, you will like this opposing point of view.
I am giving away my ARC here
Thanks for the recommendation and looks very different.