Many thanks to Dorothy and Pump Up Your Book for my spot on this Blog Tour.
If ever there was a book which would grab you by the throat, it is this book. If ever there was a book which would cause your soul to shiver, it is this book. If ever there was a book which would cause tears to flow, it is this book. If ever there was a book which would fill your blood with vengeance, it is this book.
Author Pamela Samuels Young has written an explosive story based on true events happening all around the world. Bullying at school and the repercussions.
I was bullied on Facebook based on the color of my skin and supposedly lack of education. I had a breakdown when the so called ‘friends’ called me a names. It took me months to recover; in the interim, I started this blog. There were a few authors too involved in passing on the rumor. A few comments brought me to my knees, imagine what it would do to a child of 9 years when her classmates bullied her to the point of asking her to die.
Bailey was bullied in school, she had just lost her father a few months ago. Unable to take more stress when on Instagram, in school, scripted on walls, on desks, she was told to die repeatedly, she committed suicide. And her mother and friends decided to sue the school. Certain facts came to life later.
This was one of the best books I had read this year. The slow simmer of my anger spread through my veins reading the chapters of the book. My heart broke for Bailey. I, as an adult, couldn’t take a few words of bullying, how was a child supposed to cope? The author has highlighted how people covered up fact to protect their own reputation. There were a lot of social nuances she brought up that caused me to think.
The book hit me with its emotions, empathy, sadness, pain, anger, righteousness. My heart was a seive at the end of the read where everything I felt flowed down by cheeks as tears. Though justice did prevail, but a beautiful life was still lost forever.
How could color of skin matter, it is just melanin. I have assisted a lot of surgeries, held every organ in my hand. Believe me, once the skin is cut, it is all the same. So how does melanin matter? I fail to understand the thoughts which prevail in the minds of people. Are we going forward or backward as a society?
The book had everything, the thrill of a legal court case where the lawyers struggled for justice, the pain of a mother and relatives when they found the child dead, the helplessness when the school refused to take responsibility, the silence of the teachers in the face of injustice, and the suffering of the child Bailey.
I was speechless at the end of the read!!
I received a free ARC from Dorothy and the author, and this is my journey into its pages, straight from the heart!! STRICTLY HONEST AND UNBIASED.
All my reviews can be read here
What Really Goes on Behind School Doors?
When the classroom is no longer a safe space for her child, a grieving mother is determined to seek justice for her bullied daughter. Enter hard-charging attorneys Angela Evans and Jenny Ungerman. From the very start, the two lawyers face more than an uphill battle. An ambitious school principal is far more concerned about protecting her career than getting to the truth. She flat out denies any knowledge of the bullying and prefers to sweep everything under the rug. But just how low will she go? As the battle enters the courtroom, the attorneys fight hard to expose the truth. But will a massive coverup hinder their quest for justice?
Publication Date: October 2019
35 Responses
So sorry you have firsthand experience with bullying, Shalini. I’ll never understand people who feel it’s okay to target others for any reason.
I enjoyed the review and have recently purchased this book. I’ve read the first three in the series and am looking forward to the read.
Have a good weekend.
I too was sorry. They were all part of a book group. The authors said I am supposed to understand that fear could make a person call me a terrorist after the Manchester bomb blasts… 3 years ago or so.
I am a doctor… to be accused to taking lives… I have no words
Wait, what? YOU were supposed to be the understanding one because of someone else’s fear??? YOU didn’t bomb anyone so for YOU to be targeted is pure ignorance and hatred.
Some people look for reasons to be divisive, and I’ll bet some of those who targeted you simply used the bombings and/or your race as an excuse.
Instead of telling you to be understanding, they should have rallied around you and supported you. Again, I’m sorry you went through that, but those people showed who they truly are and you’re better for being rid of them.
That’s the whole point. They didn’t. They called me up and asked me to prove myself in Facebook messenger. They reported me to Facebook and got me kicked out of various group by sending the message to the entire group.
Apparently, Facebook had 31 Shalini so I was a fake out to get their secrets. There are many Mary and Jane in this world, so how does that make them fake?
It took me some time to understand that it was one person’s hatred for a darker skin which started the whole thing rolling. Unfortunately, hundreds believed as she was a grandma of 60 and she apparently was respected
UGH! If she’s a grandma of 60, I pray she hasn’t infected her family with her own personal strain of hate.
Social media knee-jerk responses/attacks are always the worst because facts play no part in them.
Her entire group was the same… So I left all groups, left Facebook, shut down that account and stopped interacting with stupid people. I started this blog and found intelligent ones. Whew!!
LOL! And we’re glad you’re HERE! 🙂
OMG – stupid and crazy are everywhere! I get this, I was ruthlessly bullied in high school by a jealous rat bastard jock and his minions, as well as for many childhood and preteen years in my parents’ snobby church – which my weirdly religious mother forced me to attend every time the doors opened, so I get it. It scars the psyche, even decades later; despite being a reasonably intelligent, well educated, and a strong woman, I still resent it, and deeply! But, we can console ourselves knowing the abhorrent and aberrant behavior reflects more about the bullies’ tiny brains and insecurities than about us. XOXO
I agree.. You are so right about the scars. Such petty narrow minds people have. It was my first experience. Never expected a book reader to take such a stand. Books are supposed to broaden our minds, unfortunately the narrow never see themselves as they are. It was a terrible time. I remember crying for a couple of days then withdrawing from everyone. I shut down my account, withdrew from all book groups….
Stupid makes them crazy, methinks. Or they are crazy hence stupid. Take your pick
That’s utterly terrible! I agree with Felicia. And I would have blocked those authors and reported them even before they could report back. And as far as I know your skin is fair in compare to normal Indian skin tones. I bet they would run away looking at my skin tone. 😁 Anyways, on serious note, it’s totally ridiculous. A white also shoot people in America in one event, do they hate all white? “Saving our own, blaming others”, that’s the policy? Countries are developing in all aspect but people are going backward.
That skin color thing is slapped on us even by Indians. I remember my peer in college, whom i called once friend told me, me and my husband’s babies will be dark skinned and short in height. She was joking at that time but I would like to show my daughter’s pic to her. She told many spiteful things. funny thing was she said I gave her bad vibes! I always tried to be nice in school and college and in life. It bounced back badly, people spread lies and rumors… now I just stay away from people. I like them in books than in real life.
People are so fearless when it comes to derogate other and then they fear when something bad happens to them!
By the way wonderful review!
Thank you honey.
That is so true. They are actually cowards who like to take a holier than thou attitude. They stay they stand for the right things, but actually in their hearts, they are racists and biased.
I have never reviewed those authors books again. They have pseudo intelligence,where they think they are intelligent but are actually pretty stupid.
After the whole episode, I didn’t get the right vibe from the entire group. In fact the grandma who spread rumors about me apologized and said she was afraid. I blocked her and couldn’t care less. Apologizing because everyone criticized her was fake. She had grandsons to whom she passed on this principle as I checked their profiles, no dark skinned friends on their list. Omg how can people be like this?
I am sorry you had to go through so many problems with your friend. I wished she understood friendship was all about the bond and the emotions not color of the skin
What a waste of a human being some people are. Maybe next birth they would be born as cockroaches
I don’t understand this mentality. Damn those who created it. I hope they understand what they are doing is worst than humans and fueling those terrorists who seek this kind of reason to harm others.
As for that friend, well there is no contact any more. She is still on my Facebook but never replies anybody or me, whatever, I don’t care about her behavior or attitude. I don’t think she regrets anything she said and might be thinking the same. Strange thing is her mother still keeps contact and message sometime.
People are weird… And stupid… So when you get some sweet and loyal ones, keep them close. That’s what I do
Definitely 🙂❤
I am buying this book.
I am sorry you suffered from bullying. I did too. School was awful. It went so far as to have me pushed in front of a car in the street, and creating a blog to post pictures of me with nasty comments. I wasn’t popular, I was not pretty. I was top of my class, always reading, and different from girls who only talked about boys. I have no idea how I survived those years.
Differences shouldn’t lead to bullying. xxx
Holy fuck. What the hell!! How are these idiots born? Double fuck!! How could they ever not see your beautiful heart. I am across the seas and your love surrounds me. You leave your food just because I am in pain. Sorry to be harsh, those who treated a pure soul like you don’t deserve to be called human
I thank every day that you are my friend. I remember you when something good happens as that’s Meggy’s wave of positivity
You have taught me to be happy in my reviews. You have shown me emotions that most people just gloss over. At one point of time, I had a thought. How can I be more like Meggy? I want to be, I aspire to be as warm and as kind as you are. Those kids in school are dumbasses not to realize that they have missed out on a beautiful friendship. I am in awe of you completely. I have met very few beautiful souls and you are one of them. ❤️😘
I have no words, lovely friend. Your comment sums up why I am so glad I made it through the horrors of my teenage years. I am lucky to have such a friend, and someone who really sees me without judging. I can’t thank you enough for your support and love. You are a beautiful, rare, and precious person with such a big heart ❤️❤️ We are stronger than those people who can’t see past the colour of a skin or their own nose. We win. I can’t express how touched I am by your comment, and I cherish each of our interactions xxx
This is a very frightening sounding book, Shalini, because this cyber bullying is so common nowadays. I am sorry you were bullied. That is a terrible shame.
Bullying has no age, Roberta… I realized that. I don’t understand such mentality at all
Aww I am so sorry to hear you’ve had first hand experience with bullying Shalini!! I know exactly how you feel. I was made fun of as a child because of my handicap. As I have grown older it still hurts but it doesn’t get to me as much as it did when I was a kid. Great review as always!!
Thank you Misty. After the comments, it looked like so many of us have been bullied because we are different in one way or other. Why do people want only identical friends or acquaintances that they can’t accept when someone is different? We are taught we should be true to ourselves. But when we are, they want to change us or stop us from being who we are. It is beyond my realm of understanding
Same here. I don’t understand people sometimes.
Bullying is horrible and I can never understand people who think it is ok to abuse others, be it online or in person. I’m so sorry that this happened to you! When it comes to books and thrillers in particular I love authors who shed light on important issues like this one and do so in a sensitive manner as well as drawing in from the character’s backstory. It sounds like this was done really well in this book. Great review!
It was wonderfully written evoking all my emotions and my memories. Thank you so much ❤️
Shalini, this discussion makes my blood boil! It makes my heart ache. I just don’t understand how people can be so cruel to other people. Verbal, emotional bullying can be as painful as physical bullying with negative effects that last just as long. As hard as it would be to read this book, I’m glad it was written. We need to have intelligent discussions about bullying. We need to cultivate a culture in which individuals show and receive respect each and every day. As I read your reviews, I never once thought about your skin color. Who cares? Your reviews display your intelligence, your sensitivity, and your concern for others. What more do I need to know?
That is exactly my way of life. For me a person is a human being. Just that. I think I treat them all the same.
At one point in my life, when I was studying, the only thing I saw when I saw people were the names of muscles and bones and nerves and blood supply. Even when I shook hands, my mind said the names of the muscles at play and their nerve supply. That’s all it was for me for a long time.
In books I found my imagination. I used to hide them inside my medical text books and just read. So I assumed all book lovers just lived books and enjoyed book discussion. To know they would think beyond books was a rude awakening.
I still don’t have the courage to start a discussion on the Facebook groups I am a part of. I just lurk at the background, and sometimes I can see the discrimination playing about subtly. I realized most saw their own way and wanted the rest to take the highway.
There was a discussion that some people give 1 star along with lousy explanation as a review on Amazon so such people were called idiots. My first thought was I have also done the same. So what if they have reviewed the book in that manner? It is their profile, their way to rant over things. I might not like it, but it is their way to be. Give 1 star and lousy one line review. It may not seem like bullying but I was also asked why I gave one line and one star review. And when I was asked a reason, I felt persecuted. I was disturbed the whole day as I reviewed the book not the author in a single line.
Somehow I am never asked to explain when I give 5 stars and say I loved the book.
So now I have decided to go about my own way and not give an explanation, taking care I am not making personal comments.
Many good points, but what struck me the most is “Somehow I am never asked to explain when I give 5 stars and say I loved the book.” That is so true! No one, to my knowledge, questions a 5 star review! A book review is an opinion. I know we need to be careful because it does affect an author’s reputation and sales, but you, Shalini, always give reasons for why you like or don’t like a book. Readers can evaluate those reasons and decide if it is the right book for THEM.
OMG! I’m so sorry to hear you were treated like that. It makes my stomach churn at the cruelty in this world. I, for one, would love, love, love to have your pretty skin color!!! You are so strong and an amazingly beautiful person inside and out! And don’t ever forget that, Shalini! You are truly awesome! Hugs!! 🙂 🙂 🙂
It was a horrible time. I couldn’t believe that ‘friends’ could say that. I withdrew into myself. The blog just happened then… And life moved on. But the scar of 100+ people asking me to prove myself and sending me rough messages scared me. It happened overnight. So got a shock in the morning. Horrible people
Thank you so much. You are a beautiful soul who can see beauty everywhere ❤️😘
Oh, i am so sorry too. So horrible experiences you had. There are really to much stupid people on earth. Your review sounds fantastic, will put the book on my shelf. Michael
Thank you ❤️ Michael. I agree some people are horrible
❤️❤️
All I can say to them is, it’s their loss. My life has certainly been enriched by having you in it! And your blog is awesome. So many fun book reviews and interesting discussions…keep ’em coming, girl! 🙂 🙂
Hehehe interesting like Bob?