Bystander by James Preller

Summary:

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.

As 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.

Preller's book takes on the subject of bullying which is all too common in the news today. It's always a very sad day when I read in the news that a young boy or girl has committed suicide because of the fear and isolation s/he feels from being bullied at school. Bystander looks at bullying through the eyes of the new kid at school, Eric. From the moment Eric meets Griffin he knows that something isn't so nice about the kid. Griffin has the gifts of good looks and charm, but underneath he has a dark side. Griffin uses his 'gifts' to win over the other students and in doing so he is able to use them to create a world of chaos in which poor souls like the homely, overweight, David Hallenback, get physically and emotionally abused everyday. Eric isn't sure whether or not to be friends with Griffin or to be afraid of him and fight back. The first half of the book has Eric and many of the other students caught in a battle between doing what is right, or staying silent about the horrible things that Griffin does. Griffin's acts take on a whole different meaning when he physically injures David while the other students watch and do nothing. Eric must decide between right and wrong. This means going against Griffin and suffering the consequences. Preller does a wonderful job at developing the characters. Griffin isn't just a bully for no reason. The reader is briefly taken into the turmoil and chaos of Griffin's home life. He has a abusive, alcoholic father. I feel sorry for him when he shows up to school with a black eye. Everyone knows why, but the students don't want to talk about it. How often does this happen in schools today? The theme of keeping silent over speaking up runs deep throughout the book. Eric's character also comes from a family torn apart over their father leaving them. We find out that Eric's father is schizophrenic and Eric must deal with his anger and come to an understanding about his father's disease, or else he fears he may end up like Griffin. The minor characters of David and Mary also go through the struggles of fitting in and deciding right from wrong. I don't want to give away the ending, but I will say I'm not so sure how realistic it was. The character's in the book do come to their own resolutions with minimal help from adults. Possible yes. In this situation though I'm not sure how realistic it is.

Needless to say, I read Bystander fairly quickly and really enjoyed it. It captures the feeling of middle school quite well and I really felt compassion and understanding for all the characters. As far as the 'tween' set goes, I think this book may be a bit too much for younger kids to understand, but is perfect for those kids entering into middle school.

Further websites and reviews:

http://www.jamespreller.com/category/bystander/

http://thereadingzone.wordpress.com/2009/12/07/bystander-by-james-preller/