Author: Eric Kahn Gale

I have to give Gale a lot of credit for writing this book.

It’s a shred of hope that the existence of bullies is a preordained matter, each one carefully selected and… more importantly… a systemic approach to picking their victims.

In other words, here is the reason bullies exist, why they pick on who they do and how they must go about doing it. He’s trying to give clarity to a situation that has little to no plausible explanation.

Middle school is when young people recognize and/or develop a sense of social order and nobody wants to be left out. Without the foresight to stand your ground, one easily gets swayed into the mess of trying to fit in somewhere.

Unless, of course, you’re a single outcast.

The story sucked me right in and I applaud the stylistic choice to intersperse the experience of the protagonist (Eric) with snippets from “The Bully Book” (a book handed down from bully to bully to teach the “proper” methods of maintaining social order). It keeps the pace moving and provides great anticipation for what’s to come.

For me, the last chapter stands out and is worth the entire read to get there.

The only disappointment is in knowing there is no conspiracy. After putting the book down, you’re more aware of what questions to ask and what to look for, but the source of the problem still remains a mystery.