Jodee Blanco
BenBella Books/Independent Publishers Group
443 pages. $14.95.
In this sequel to Please Stop Laughing at Me, her best-selling memoir about being bullied from fifth grade through high school, Blanco chronicles public response to the book. Demand for her school presentations mushrooms into huge whole-school gatherings followed by one-on-one student conferences, and sessions for teachers and for parents. Alone with Blanco, youths confide not only shocking harassment but adults’ refusal to confront bullying behavior.
Blanco’s forthrightness also inspires young bullies to beg forgiveness from their victims. Battling debilitating flashbacks to her torment as a class outcast, Blanco coins the term Adult Survivor of Peer Abuse and develops the anti-bullying program, “It’s NOT Just Joking Around.” This searing testimony packs many punches, from Blanco’s adult friendships with her ex-tormentors to her exposé of adult school culture that allows bullying to flourish. An addendum offers valuable advice for youths, educators, parents and adult survivors of bullying. (800) 888-4741, http://www.ipgbook.com.
