We first meet Sean as a nine-year-old, who lives a marginalized existence with a single mother who is more interested in her current boyfriend and her bottle of booze than her own child. When he discovers his mother and her boyfriend murdered, he is saved by Pops who is the father of the drug-dealing boyfriend, who takes him in and raises him. Despite the new stability, Sean is still bullied and an outsider at school. Pops tries some old-school methods of making Sean a man and taking him to a boxing gym to teach Sean skills to fight his bullies. Next, we see Sean as a college student who learns some truths about Pops and the lessons he taught him when he was a child.
This coffee table-sized book is quite clearly a “message” book, that didn’t quite hit its intentions as stated by the author on the inside flap or in the afterword written by a social worker. Bullying is often supported by a society that does nothing to stop it, for when aggressors go unchecked, it becomes culturally acceptable (Trump!!). While the author’s lesson is worthy, the story narrative did not match. Pop encourages or turns a blind eye to Sean’s theft, provides liquor to a minor on several occasions, and teaches him to fight back physically instead of teaching other coping mechanisms. While I am not opposed to learning how to defend yourself ( I actually think it’s a good idea), it does not match the author’s intended purpose of changing the greater bullying culture.
I came away from this book feeling dissatisfied. I liked the purpose and the sketchy dark-hued illustrations that were evocative of a rough-edged childhood, but it fell flat for me. I can see merit in teachers reading it, but I could not truly recommend it to older youth for the mixed messages it presented.
-Nancy
November 19, 2016 at 5:15 pm
In a weird way then, it seems like the book matches how our culture often tries to respond to things like bullying. We have a lot of solid (or cliche, depending on your perspective) presentations/books/shows/etc. that feature a “good message” but it’s never quite delivered as effectively as it could be. We just keep missing the mark. A few years ago I was having a discussion in class with some of my students about to bullying and exclusion. One said, “We’re lucky. We really don’t have a problem with that at our school!” Another replied, “Not to be contrary but, if you’re saying that, then you may be part of the problem…because it’s very, very real.” I think of that often and, when I think of how we fail in teaching/modelling/sharing this message with others and in our own lives, I feel the burning desire to figure out a way to be better at fighting this. We have to be better.
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November 19, 2016 at 5:37 pm
I think the student who didn’t think there was a bullying problem is very typical- they are in a bubble of obliviousness, for they aren’t being bullied, nor do not perceive themselves as a bully. They might be a passive bully, a bystander who does nothing to help, because they don’t think it concerns them. Then when it does effect them, they are outraged. Bullying is an issue that everyone should be aware of, and take pains to change the culture of.
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