"Bullies Like Me" By: Lindy Zart - Book Review

Bullies Like Me is outside my normal romance genres, but this is one of the most enjoyable books I've read in a long time. I am super stingy with five star ratings, and this novel deserved it from page one. The story is told from the perspective of Alexis, Nick, and Melanie. Three Enid Illinois high school students whose lives are all impacted by bullying in very different ways.

After Alexis Hennessy's mother left them and her sister moved away to start her life, her father moves them to Enid Illinois. From her first day at Enid High school, her experience was a nightmare. Every day she was picked on and put down over and over until it became too much for her to handle. She felt like she wanted to die, so she swallowed her father's bottle of pills and was rushed to the hospital, Her stomached pumped, and was given a second shot at life at the Live Treatment Center. While there, she met a boy named Nick who quickly became her closest friend.

Inside these walls we formed a make-belive world for the two of us. It isn't real, but I wish it was.

I immediately liked both Nick and Alexis. There was an obvious chemistry there, but it's still new and it's really sweet. The characters are all in high school, a little younger than I usually enjoy reading, however the age group was necessary for this story line.

With her therapy finished, aside from weekly sessions, she is able to leave the Live Center, but she isn't ready to leave Nick or go home to an absent father, and she definitely isn't ready to go back to Enid High. To heal, she needs to face her tormentors and move on from her past. She also has her own ideas on how to get closure.

I became someone that wanted to die.

And that makes me angriest of all. That I gave them that power, that I let them decide my value. Monday, I'm going back to the school that took my soul. I have to. It's the only thing that makes sense, the only thing that makes it all endurable. Because I have something I need to do. I'm taking back what was taken from me.

I'm going to make my bullies pay.

Melanie Mathews is the most popular girl at Enid High School and she is all too aware of that fact. She is instantly dislikable, which is the point as she looks down on everyone and everything around her, including her own mother and 'friends'. The way she thinks about others is appalling, and what's worse, she acts on those thoughts.

She is taken off guard when the vaguely familiar new girl is not only not acknowledging her place, but is outright antagonizing her. She confronts the girl, only for her to act unaware. While angered by this "weird" girl's actions, Melanie is also confused as to why this happening, and unfamiliar with being treated this way.

I shake off the tainted remnants of the ugly drawing, and the weird girl. Calming down, I realize neither are worth being upset over. She's nobody. I won't let her think otherwise by showing that her behavior troubles me.

I won't allow her to be somebody.

She handles the bullying alright in the beginning, but before long, she starts losing her friends and popularity. She realizes over time that none of her so-called "friends" are real. She begins to feel things she has never really experienced, such as anxiety and insecurity. Through it all she wonders why Alexis chose her to pick on. And I'm not gonna lie, I got pleasure in her getting a bit of what she'd dished out over the years.

My chest is tight. I've never felt like this before. I don't understand what it means. What is happening to me?

Nick Alderson was probably my favorite character. He is a resident of the Live center by choice. He knows first hand the toll bullying can take. Before he came to Live, he was a completely different person. The king of Enid High, he and his friends were cruel to the less popular, one boy unparticular. When horrific events unfold because of his actions, he has a break down and was drowning in guilt until the day he met Alexis Hennessy. I absolutely loved the way he would speak of her.

She hums with energy. Her cheeks are flushed, her eyes sparkle, and I want to press my lips to hers to steal some of her vibrancy. That, and I just want to kiss her.

Their bond cleared some of the darkness in his mind, and while he has an idea, he doesn't what happened to bring Alexis to Live, and she definitely doesn't know about his past. He sees her when she comes to therapy, and as their relationship turns romantic, she eventually wants him to leave the facility. Something he hasn't done since arriving at Live. She gives him a hope for happiness.

He has no idea what she's doing to Melanie at school, but when she finally tells him, he fears for her. He tells her to stop and is certain if she continues what she's doing, it will change her.

Revenge destroys, and that's all it does. This darkness, if she lets it, will abolish her as well as her enemies.

She doesn't understand why he doesn't support her until his history comes out. She is more determined than ever to finish what she started. Nick knows how this all will end if he lets her do this. He just hopes he isn't too late.

This book was so much more than just an entertaining story. The message of the importance of kindness and forgiveness towards others, and yourself was quite powerful. The author's personal connection to the topic showed and it was a beautiful combination. I would personally recommend this book to anyone 10+.

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