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Published: Nov. 14, 2009
Words: 48171 (approximate)
Language: English
Ebook description
Principal Lukather is desperate. An internet bully is terrorizing his students at Lakeland Middle School. He makes a deal with street smart Scott Halifax: go undercover as a student and nail the bully in return for a ticket out of the County Detention Center. It takes some sly computer sleuthing and a little dumb luck before they expose the bully, and it’s the last person they ever suspected.Tags
internet bully cyber attacks threats teen text messageAvailable ebook reading formats
Single purchase gains access to all formats. How to download ebooks to e-reading devices and apps.| Format | Full Book | Sample First 15% |
|---|---|---|
| Online Reading (HTML, good for sampling in web browser) | Buy | View sample |
| Online Reading (JavaScript, experimental, buggy) | Buy | View sample |
| Kindle (.mobi for Kindle devices and Kindle apps) | Buy | Download sample |
| Epub (Apple iPad/iBooks, Nook, Sony Reader, Kobo, and most e-reading apps including Stanza, Aldiko, Adobe Digital Editions, others) | Buy | Download sample |
| PDF (good for reading on PC, or for home printing) | Buy | No sample available |
| RTF (readable on most word processors) | Buy | No sample available |
| LRF (Use only for older model Sony Readers that don't support .epub) | Buy | Download sample |
| Palm Doc (PDB) (for Palm reading devices) | Buy | Download sample |
| Plain Text (download) (flexible, but lacks much formatting) | Buy | No sample available |
| Plain Text (view) (viewable as web page) | Buy | No sample available |
Reviews
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Review by:
calebblake
on May 15, 2011 :
A very topical book and a pretty quick read, eBully was dedicated to but not so much based on a true story where a teen bullied on the internet eventually committed suicide.
In this story, a recent nearly fatal case of e-bullying prompted a teacher to take a very unconventional course of action to prevent another incident with a different student. This leads to a juvenile defender being brought in undercover to try to find the culprit in exchange for his freedom from the detention centre. It's a pretty common opener, but interesting to see a generational twist.
The "ex-con" character in this is probably the strongest from an adult reader's point of view as I think he may be easier to connect with. His concerns about his life and his future (at least for me) were easy to picture. Additionally, he was quite adult in his outlook through much of the book. However, the victim of the crime in progress may well appeal more to a young adult reader as the "sticks and stones" assault might not register as much with an adult.
And this is where I, as a reader, had to shift my own perceptions a little. It's very easy for me to trivialise the attack. But this is why I believe the author has chosen his intended audience well. I think a young adult is going to empathise with Carly and I believe this empathy is important to the success of the novel as it's very much a cautionary tale.
Unfortunately, I also thought there was some clumsiness in this novel and I think one of the characters said it better than I could have at the end of the novel:
"It turned out to be like a Scooby Doo episode"
It really did feel a bit like Scooby Doo with the rampant 'deputisation' that occurred amongst students and the relatives thereof. As an undercover operation it was a complete failure.
Perhaps a young adult reader is not going to have a problem with it - but it was a little far-fetched to begin with and seemed to get sillier as it progressed. Maybe that aspect of the story was actually too young even for young adult.
There were some twists and I believe they added to the interest. I did see them coming (all of them), but it didn't stop me from enjoying the ride.
Overall this is a worthwhile novel that, while being a bit too Scooby Doo for me, delivers a relevant message about the internet and the new wave of anonymous bullying amongst school children that it has unwittingly facilitated.
(reviewed long after purchase)
Review by:
Becky Smith
on March 11, 2011 :
This book is very timely and a quick read, suited to its intended audience. I think it would be a great addition to a junior high reading curriculum, with a little bit of polish to clean up the rough edges and editing of some of the info-dump that happens early on in the book.
(reviewed within a month of purchase)
Review by:
Deb Jung
on Feb. 21, 2011 :
I'd love to use it with a reading group at some point because it is a digital format. The characters are easy to like and the pacing is good. Best of all, eBully has a surprise ending. It is a story that most kids can relate to.
(reviewed long after purchase)
Review by:
Anastacia Knits
on Jan. 17, 2011 :
eBully is a very quick read; I read this book in one day. It's a great book, that I very quickly got sucked into. I felt for the main character & her pain, and often relived my own, painful, tormented childhood, and wondered what anguish I might have gone through if I was a teenager today, instead of in the late 80's/early 90's, before anyone had heard of this thing called an internet. I admit, I didn't know who the eBully was until 3/4ths of the way through the book, which was wonderful because usually I figure out the "mystery" way too quickly (both in books & movies, which is why I don't often read mysteries). The heartbreak that everyone feels when the ebully is discovered & they realize that the person won't be punished felt very believable & real to me. And then there's a wonderful twist at the end that I absolutely HATED, but it's that you-love-to-hate-it vibe. And I hated how the book ended, but it worked so incredibly well, and was very well written.
The only reason why I gave this book four stars, instead of five, was I felt a few things were a little bit of a stretch of the imagination. I can't really see teenage boys acting quite as mature as they are portrayed in the book, not to mention what are the odds that all of these seeming coincidences that happen, all would really happen in such a manner? (I know, I'm very vague, but I'm trying not to give spoilers because the book is really excellent, but if I explained what I meant, I would completely ruin the book).
Great book, one definitely worth reading & discussing.
(reviewed long after purchase)
Review by:
Maria Rachel Hooley
on Dec. 04, 2010 :
Let me start by telling you what E-Bully isn't. It's not about vampires or other paranormal creatures. It's not Gossip Girl, either. It's not a love story at the core. Lacking those things doesn't mean it's bad It means it's geared toward a specific niche--ya issues, and if you enjoy books like Thirteen Reasons Why, Swallowing Stones, or Speak, then this book is definitely worth the read.
As a high school teacher, one of the things I appreciated most about this novel is that the characters were well-grounded, and every part of the story was cause-and-effect based. Kids are like everyone else. If they tell you they don't know why they did something, it's probably not true. More than likely, they just don't want to tell you. All of the characters in this novel are complicated and well-developed. While the characters thoughts definitely drive them, those thoughts and motivations aren't necessary out in the open for everyone besides the reader. There are even some motivations the reader doesn't get access to, but that's not a spoiler I'm willing to give away.
As far as the subject matter goes, I really believe this is important to kids. It can be difficult enough for some teenagers to understand right and wrong in a face-to-face situation. When they hide behind the computer, it becomes so much easier to blur that distinction, and Conifer never lets you forget there are real consequences for the characters.
(reviewed long after purchase)
Review by:
Angela Elkins
on Nov. 11, 2010 :
I wish I could give this book more stars. This book was a page turner from page 1. I think it should be required reading for middle and high school aged children both. Things are so different now for our children than they were for us. I've allowed both my 17 and 13 year old children to read this story. It's opened up some great dialogue between us. Highly recommend, especially to parents of teenage children.
(reviewed long after purchase)
Review by:
Candy Beauchamp
on Oct. 25, 2010 :
This is one of those subjects that you wish didn't need attention. In fact, the whole thing kind of makes you ill. I think bullying is probably one subject that nearly everyone can identify with. Whether it was in school, at home, at work or with friends, we have all known a bully or two, many of us up close and personal.
For those of us that are 30-something, our schoolyard bullies were much different. We knew their faces and we knew what the danger was. These days, bullies are faceless. They lurk in cyberspace where they feel braver. Brave enough to say and do things that we could only imagine. They don't have to face you during lunch and call you names, they can broadcast it to the entire school with a few keystrokes.
The author does a wonderful job handling such a difficult subject. He handles it in such a way that I would encourage those with teenagers to talk to your kids about the book and let them read it. There's nothing too graphic in here and it's a great young adult (middle school level) book. The only way to combat situations like this is to talk about them and talk loudly. Kids need to know that it's okay to "tell" their parents and it's NOT okay to let a bully get away with it.
The storyline flowed very well. The author didn't go off on any tangents where I felt the need to read through the pages and pull him back on track. He was able to keep the story going while still keeping the character development on point. I actually stayed up way too late one night trying to finish this one but ended up giving it up until the next day. Well worth the lost sleep though!
I'm giving this four stars, it loses a star because some of the dialogue was a bit stilted. Interestingly enough, I felt the adults were the problem. The kids seem to feel more true, but the adults - especially the vice principal seemed too rehearsed in parts. I realize the author wanted to get information to us with some of the dialogue, but it felt too forced.
Having said that, it doesn't detract from the story and I would recommend this to all middle and high school students AND their parents. In these days of every kid having a cell phone, I think it's an important subject to broach with your kids and this is a great way to start that conversation.
Note: The ending was changed in mid-October 2010. From what I read, I think it was for the better. I was completely okay with this ending, but not sure I would have been with the previous.
(reviewed within a week of purchase)
Review by:
Charles Brentner
on Oct. 08, 2010 :
I really enjoyed this book. The author keeps you guessing as to what's really going on til the last minute. There's nothing quite like a good mystery and eBully is that and more.
(reviewed the day of purchase)
Review by:
Tammy Keith
on Sep. 27, 2010 :
(no rating)
I was very interested from the first words. It catches the sad reality of what's happening now adays. The author captured the real mood and fear of what it must feel like. I felt at times like it was happening to one of my family members. Definetly a good read!
(reviewed within a month of purchase)
Review by:
GraceKrispy
on June 04, 2010 :
I think this is a great story following a case of cyber-bullying in a middle school. The story caught my attention from the beginning, I think the whole ending really clinched the five star rating, as it forces you to think a little more about the whole issue of cyber bullying. Great book!
(reviewed long after purchase)
Review by:
Brian Smith
on April 13, 2010 :
This book kept my attention from the start to the unexpected finish. The author does a fantastic job at bringing the reader into what it's like in school these days with the web, cell phone texting, Facebook, etc. I recommend this book to anyone with kids over age 10, anyone that teaches kids of that age or to anyone that just wants to get into a great story. :-)
(reviewed long after purchase)
Review by:
Paul Tarnuzzer
on Feb. 25, 2010 :
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I turned out to be a real page turner and a quick enjoyable read. I also found it to be eye-opening to the dark possibilities laying just below the surface of social networking sites! I highly recommend this eBook!
(reviewed long after purchase)