Bullyville

By Francine Prose

Book Overview

My father was killed on 9/11.Everybody in town knows we lost him forever when the North Tower collapsed.What they don't know is that he was gone long before that day.What they don't know is that a scholarship to exclusive Baileywell Academy only made my life worse.What they don't know is that my mentor at Baileywell is my own personal terrorist.Everybody calls me Miracle Boy.What nobody knows is that it's a miracle I'm still here to tell you the real story about the worst year of my life.From nationally acclaimed author Francine Prose comes an unforgettable novel about disasters, both public and private, and the aftermath of tragedy.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060574992
• ISBN13: 9780060574994
• Release Date: July 2008
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.1" x 7.1"
• Age Range: 13 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 8 and higher

Customer Reviews

Courtesy of Teens Read Too

When Bart Rangely's absentee father is caught in the North Tower and killed on September 11th, he thinks that life can't get much worse. Unfortunately, he thinks too soon. Because of the public nature of his tragedy, Bart is offered a scholarship to the exclusive Baileywell Academy, an institution better known to its students as "Bullywell" for the rampant bullying that takes place behind its expensive doors. Upon his arrival, Bart is assigned his own personal tormentor, Tyro Bergen, and his life descends into hell. But when he tries to retaliate, and is assigned volunteer work at a hospital for punishment, he finds a friend in an unlikely place, and discovers that sometimes a bully is hiding more from the world than his venom, and that things are not always precisely what they seem. The idea most compelling to me in BULLYVILLE is the world of the bullied, a world all but invisible to the adults responsible for the safety of its inhabitants. It is easy to imagine the story descending quickly into darkness and remaining there for the duration of the book. Instead, Francine Prose presents a story that is at its core violence and personal disaster while still maintaining an uplifting tone. Bart Rangely is a funny, charming protagonist who keeps the story light even when dealing with its most serious concepts. I enjoyed Bart's tale immensely, and anyone who has been touched by bullying will identify with his dilemma. Reviewed by: Rebecca Wells

Private School bullying

An extremely accurate portrayal of the bullying endemic in private schools, as well as the length the schools go to cover up the problem. How can we address the terrible issue of private school bullying, when anyone who speaks out about the issue is bullied? Great book, would like to see this issue addressed in the media.

Feed me a cliche--no, don't!

If you have ever read a human interest story about someone you knew, and said to yourself, "That reporter either got snowed or wrote the story before meeting the guy," this is a book for you. Bart's mother's life is saved because he's home sick from school. "Miracle boy," as the papers call him, gets a mercy scholarship to an elite school and life is perfect forever. Well, no. The papers don't tell (and Bart doesn't want them to) the icky other side of the story, of how and why his father was not saved, of the long and horrible grief of Bart's mother, of how prep school is a living hell. Without giving too much away, every time the author has you set up for a tired old cliche, she pulls the rug out from under you in a cynical, realistic, refreshing way. But speaking of cliches--I really felt as though Bart were a real person, and one I'd be proud to know. What a great book.