Upstander Audiobook By James Preller cover art

Upstander

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Upstander

By: James Preller
Narrated by: Caitlin Davies
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Girl bullies, internet bullying, and substance use are themes in this James Preller middle-grade stand-alone companion to Bystander.

Mary O'Malley is tired of keeping secrets. Secrets like her older brother Jonny's drug use. Starting seventh grade is tough enough without the upheaval her brother is bringing to their family.

It seems the only person who might understand is Griffen Connolly, whose older sister runs with Jonny in the wrong crowd. Mary thought Griff was too cool, too popular for her. But now he wants to hang out with her, and listen.

When two girls Mary thought were her friends decide to slam another girl online, Mary tries to look the other way. Then the girls turn on Mary, and suddenly, she doesn't have a safety zone. Her brother is out of control; her family's energies are all spent on him. There is only one person she can turn to. But can she trust Griff? Or is he one of the bullies?

©2021 James Preller (P)2021 Tantor Difficult Discussions Family Life Growing Up & Facts of Life Literature & Fiction Social & Life Skills
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This story captures the unique pain and challenges of being a sibling who is terrified, angry, and eventually empathetic to her older brother with substance abuse disorder. I recommend it to any young person trying to navigate this journey.

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I so wanted to love this book as I absolutely loved and promoted “Bystander” to my colleagues and even made it part of our required reading for 6th grade. “Bystander” continues to be one of the best novels on bullying. My students loved it, were happy to write about it, and even made their own movies. However,
“Upstander” does not even come close. I appreciate the realistic issues, but the character development was weak. And why did Mary never speak up for her friend?! This would have been an incredible lesson for middle school readers to read & learn. What a missed opportunity.

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