Bystander

By: James Preller

Narrated by: James Fouhey

Eric is the new kid in seventh grade. Griffin wants to be his friend. When you're new in town, it's hard to know who to hang out with - and who to avoid. Griffin seems cool, confident, and popular.

But something isn't right about Griffin. He always seems to be in the middle of bad things. And if Griffin doesn't like you, you'd better watch your back. There might be a target on it.

As Eric gets drawn deeper into Griffin's dark world, he begins to see the truth about Griffin: He's a liar, a bully, a thief. Eric wants to break away, do the right thing. But in one shocking moment, he goes from being a bystander...to the bully's next victim.

©2009 James Preller (P)2019 Tantor

Middle school bully..

Liked the story, and plan to read it with my middle school classes. It’s a hot topic and addressing it through literature is a great way to open up conversations.

Has potential but ending falls flat

Most of the book is pretty good, but the ending rendered it all pointless. It felt like a waste of time.