I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and Wildblue Press in exchange for an honest review.
This was a particularly tough read for me I was also bullied for a very long time just like Sherokee, luckily for me this way before the digital age.
This story is about a girl who is a victim of a broken system. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong. The school system with the so-called zero tolerance for bullying policy did nothing to stop it neither did they do anything to help her out on an educational level. The kids at school were absolutely horrible to her and the teachers weren’t much better. It’s no wonder Sherokee hated school so much.
Having gone through highschool while being bullied on a daily basis is an absolute struggle. It sure as hell was for me nobody helped me in fact I even got kicked out of school because it’s easier to remove 1 kid from the equation than to kick out an entire group of bullies.
This book is a well written account about the daily struggle that’s life for Sherokee. Sherokee didn’t stand a chance almost from the day she was born, her family did what they could to help her to no avail. Sherokee had many issues and was often misunderstood by family and friends. While I feel that the bullying added to Sherokee’s fragile mental state I don’t put the full blame on the kids who tormented her. Whenever a person commits suicide you can’t put the full blame just on one factor in the person’s life, often there are many issues that add to the situation. I totally understand her parents wanting to blame someone but you simply can’t all blame it on just the bullies. As you read this book you’ll understand why I have this opinion.
I can’t say much more since this a book you have to read yourself to fully understand the situation. This book is a must read for parents of kids that are being bullied and also for the bullies.
The author did some proper research for this book which I appreciate greatly. Judith is a gifted criminologist and true crime author. I’m looking forward to her next book!
http://www.judithayates.com/index.html
Below are some pictures of kids who shared a similar fate to Sherokee’s
Kelly Yeomans committed suicide at the age of 13
Phoebe Prince committed suicide at the age of 15. After her death kids still left hateful messages on her Facebook memorial page. Some of the kids who bullied her were sentenced to community service
Ty Smalley shot himself aged 11. His bully was suspended from school for 3 days but was allowed to return after 1 day. Ty’s dad is working with Stand for the Silent to help victims of bullying.
https://standforthesilent.org/
https://www.facebook.com/SFTSorg/
Montana Lance was 9 when he hung himself at school.
Bullying played a role in all these kids suicides and I wanted everyone to see their faces. There’s also a documentary about the subject that both parents and kids should watch
Dark Mondays 
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