A review by bookworm_mommy
Bystander by James Preller

4.0

Synopsis from B&N: Eric is the new kid in seventh grade. Griffin wants to be his friend. When you�re new in town, it�s hard to know who to hang out with�and who to avoid. Griffin seems cool, confident, and popular. But something isn�t right about Griffin. He always seems to be in the middle of bad things. And if Griffin doesn't like you, you�d better watch your back. There might be a target on it.\nAs Eric gets drawn deeper into Griffin�s dark world, he begins to see the truth about Griffin: He�s a liar, a bully, a thief. Eric wants to break away, do the right thing. But in one shocking moment, he goes from being a bystander . . . to the bully�s next victim.\nStarting third quarter, we will be reading through this book with our Advisory classes. So I figured I should probably read it first. And I was pretty impressed with this.\nPreller doesn�t take a one-dimensional approach to his bully characters. They are complicated, just like real people and real life are. You feel sorry for Eric. And mad at Eric. And mad a Griffin. And a little bit sorry for him too. \nI also like that he tackles the bystander issue as well. Some people are outright bullies. But it is just as wrong (and contributes to bullying) when others stand around and do nothing.\nAnd there is no true and final conclusion. Because, again, bullying in real life just isn�t like that. \nI think that it is a great approach that looks at all angles of the �bullying problem�. I see a lot of potential for good dialogue with the students in class. \n\n