A huge thanks to HarperTeen’s editors, Sarah Dotts Barley and Tara Weikum, for their guidance and wisdom. Thank you to our agents Elisabeth Weed and Edward Necarsulmer. I’d personally like to thank Jocelyn and Gloria Kelley of Kelley & Hall Book Publicity for immediately jumping behind this project and helping to promote it so that we received great media coverage, including Sheila Weller’s amazing feature article in Glamour magazine.
And finally, I want to remember the teens that were the inspiration for this book and who tragically took their own lives because they couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunneclass="underline" Phoebe Prince, Carl Walker-Hoover, Ty Field, and Tyler Clementi—to name only a few. This book is in your honor.
Bullying is not a rite of passage, it is not acceptable, and by working together, we can make it stop.
—Megan Kelley Hall
This book would not exist without two things: stories and bravery. Writers lived through the stories of this book. Stories of others’ suffering now inspired us and them into action. For many of the contributors here and on the website, it took immense bravery to share those stories. Thank you all so much.
A special thanks to the contributors, all authors of awesome. Thanks to Sarah Dotts Barley, Tara Weikum, Caroline Sun, and the entire Harper team for making this book a reality. It was a giant leap of faith and a huge squat press of hard work on their parts. Similar thanks goes to Edward Necarsulmer IV and Elisabeth Weed, both mighty vanquishers of meanness. I will be forever grateful for the passion and integrity you all brought to this project.
Thanks also to everyone who has ever survived. That includes the bullied, the bullies, the bystanders, and the heroes. We have a little bit of all of these in each of us. This book is for you.
And finally, thank you to Emily Ciciotte and Shaun Farrar, who taught me how to be tough.
—Carrie Jones
Contributors
CYN BALOG is the author of the paranormal novels Fairy Tale, Sleepless, and Starstruck. She lives outside Allentown, Pennsylvania, with her husband and daughters. Visit her online at www.cynbalog.com.
LISE BERNIER is a retired molecular biologist with a specialty in genetics. She has always been an artist on the side. “They Made Me Do It and I’m Sorry” is her first comic. She lives in Montreal, Canada, and is Cecil Castellucci’s mother.
HEATHER BREWER is the author of the New York Times bestselling series The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod; First Kill, the first book in The Slayer Chronicles; and Bloodbound, a romantic fantasy epic. Heather likes moonlit walks, black nail polish, and the feeling of sand between her toes. She lives in Saint Louis, Missouri, with her husband, two children, and two very spoiled cats. Visit her online at www.heatherbrewer.com.
JESSICA BRODY is the author of The Karma Club, My Life Undecided, 52 Reasons to Hate My Father, Unremembered, and two books for adults. Jessica originally moved to Los Angeles to be a singer/songwriter, but soon discovered she had a better knack for writing novels. Now she uses her songwriting background to write and produce original soundtracks for her books. Visit her online at www.jessicabrody.com.
TERI BROWN really did grow up in Alfalfa. She now lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband and two teenagers. She is the author of Read My Lips. Visit her online at www.teribrownwrites.com.
CECIL CASTELLUCCI is the author of numerous books for young adults, including Rose Sees Red, Beige, The Queen of Cool, Boy Proof, and The Plain Janes graphic novel series. She lives in Los Angeles. Visit her online at www.misscecil.com.
CRISSA-JEAN CHAPPELL teaches creative writing and cinema studies at Miami International University of Art and Design. She is the author of Total Constant Order, which was a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age, a Florida Book Award medalist, and a VOYA Editor’s Choice, and NARC. She no longer wishes for superpowers of invisibility, though sometimes she flies in her dreams. Visit her online at www.crissajeanchappell.com.
MARINA COHEN is the author of several works of fiction and nonfiction, including three middle grade novels, Shadow of the Moon, Trick of the Light, and Chasing the White Witch, and two teen thrillers, Ghost Ride and Mind Gap. Ghost Ride was shortlisted by the Ontario Library Association for their Red Maple Award. Marina lives in Markham, Ontario, Canada, with her husband and three children.
HOLLY CUPALA is the author of Tell Me a Secret and Don’t Breathe a Word, which was inspired by her real-life abusive relationships chronicled in “Midsummer’s Nightmare.” When she isn’t writing her next novel or making art, Holly spends time with her family in Seattle, Washington. A portion of her author earnings goes to World Vision’s Hope for Sexually Exploited Girls. You can find Holly online at www.hollycupala.com.
ERIN DIONNE survived junior high bullying and is now the author of Models Don’t Eat Chocolate Cookies, The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet, and Notes from an Accidental Band Geek. Her novels are about fitting in, figuring things out, and finding yourself. She lives outside of Boston with her family and dog, where she roots for the Red Sox, teaches English at an art college, and enjoys chocolate cookies. Visit her online at www.erindionne.com.
LUCIENNE DIVER is the author of the Vamped series, which VOYA calls “witty vampire romance/adventure with plenty of heart and action” and Wondrous Reads calls “Mean Girls with fangs.” Either description will do. Lucienne is also a longtime book addict, a literary agent, a blogger, a mom, and a caffeine enthusiast. More information is available online at www.luciennediver.com.
CLAUDIA GABEL is the author of the teen series In or Out and the mash-up novel Romeo & Juliet & Vampires. She is also a senior editor at Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Children’s Books, where she acquires and develops fiction for young readers. She lives in New York City. You can visit her online at www.claudiagabel.com and check out her blog at www.claudiagabel.blogspot.com.
NANCY GARDEN is a recipient of the American Library Association’s Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing books for teens. She is the author of the classic Annie on My Mind, one of the first teen novels to feature lesbian characters positively, among many other books. Visit her online at www.nancygarden.com.
JEANNINE GARSEE works as a psychiatric nurse in a busy inner-city hospital and lives with her family outside Cleveland. She is the author of Say the Word; Before, After, and Somebody in Between; and The Unquiet. Visit her online at www.jeanninegarsee.com.
LINDA GERBER is the author of Trance, the Death By . . . mystery series, Now and Zen, The Finnish Line, and Celebrity. Her books have been tapped as ALA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults and Junior Library Guild and Literacy Lab Selections. Linda recently returned to life in the Midwest after four years in Japan, where she served as the Regional Advisor for the Tokyo chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. She lives and writes in Dublin, Ohio, blissfully ignoring her husband, four kids, and one very naughty puppy. Visit her online at www.lindagerber.com.