Bluford High: The Bully

Langan, Paul. Bluford High: The Bully. Scholastic Inc., 2002. ISBN: 978-0-439-86546-3

Langan, who is also the series editor for the Bluford High series of books, tackles the issue of bullying in a very believable way, even drawing from the inspiration of another famous author, Gary Paulsen.

Darrell Mercer is small and skinny for his age. In addition to this, his mother is forced to take a new job two months into his freshmen year. He now has to attend a new school without the support of childhood friends, who had protected him in his rough Philadelphia neighborhood. Not surprisingly, he is almost instantly picked on during his first day of school.

Author Langan does a fine job of identifying with the protagonist, while not necessarily making excuses for him. Authority figures are mentioned, but the sole responsibility of overcoming the wrath of the bully is left on Darrell's shoulders. Inspired by the inner strength he reads about in Paulsen's The Hatchet, (which had been handed to him by a concerned English teacher) and taking the initiative to join the school wrestling team (even though he is the weakest and slowest new member) all attribute to his ability to overcome the bullying at school.

In a thoughtful move, Langan ends the book with a twist, and a point of view that will surprise the reader, particularly one who can identify with being bullied.