Letters to a Bullied Girl: Messages of Healing and Hope – A True Story with Practical Advice from Bullying Expert Barbara Coloroso for Young People

by Olivia Gardner, Emily Buder, Sarah Buder

Olivia Gardner, a northern California teenager, was severely taunted and cyber-bullied by her classmates for more than two years. News of her bullying spread, eventually reaching two teenage girls from a neighboring town, sisters Emily and Sarah Buder. The girls were so moved by Olivia's story that they initiated a letter-writing campaign to help lift her spirits. It was a tender gesture of solidarity that set off an overwhelming chain reaction of support, encouragement, and love. In Letters to a Bullied Girl , Olivia and the Buder sisters share an inspiring selection of messages that arrived from across America—the personal, often painful remembrances of former targets, remorseful bullies, and sympathetic bystanders. Letters to a Bullied Girl examines our national bullying epidemic from a variety of angles and perspectives, and includes practical guidance from bullying expert Barbara Coloroso, author of The Bully, the Bullied, and the Bystander . Though addressed to Olivia, the letters speak to all young people who have been bullied, offer advice and hope to those who suffer, and provide a wake-up call to all who have ever been involved in bullying.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Psychology

201 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2008

Reviews

[Runa · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a good book, but just like with Dear Bully, the letters are mostly optimistic and read along the lines of "I'm older now, and I have a successful career and I'm happily married with kids", and it's like, what happens to the rest of us? Those of us who were bullied and don't have successful lives and are still living with the pain as adults on a daily basis? There are a lot of empty platitudes thrown around in this book, and those have a place in providing people with hope and inspiration, but there weren't many real solutions offered. It's still just really hard for me to read books about bullied kids, honestly, so my thoughts are probably coming off as unnecessarily harsh.

[Sammy Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Letters to a bullied Girl; the cover tells the book. The whole book is just letters about people being bullied and sending letters in to tell their story. Some have happy endings, while others are gut-wrenching and horrible. It was a very easy read. Some of the stories really hit me, as if I was there.
I liked the book because it had many stories that were entertaining and from all sorts of people. It had stories from the victim and the bully so I could hear both sides of the story. It was sad because most of the bullies were simply jealous and regret what they did. I liked it especially when people would pour all their emotion into their story. It just made the story so much better.
I didn't like it because their was not one specific story, but many mixed together to make a book. It was somewhat annoying after reading about 100 pages in because it all got to be the same story. It got to be either about the victim or the bully and how it is not okay and should be stopped or they regret what they did.
The book makes you want to stand up and punch bullies in the face. It also makes you want to hear both sides of the story and try to relate. I don't know if I would recommend this book though. It was good but definitely not a conversation-worthy topic. If I were to recommend this book I would probably give it to a younger person maybe in middle school. So they know that bullying won't last forever and how they can stand up to it.

[Emi Yoshida · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciated the cohesive explanation given in the foreword by Barbara Coloroso, author of The Bully, the Bullied, and the Bystander: Bullying is a conscious hostile activity that includes three elements: imbalance of power, intent to harm, and the threat of further aggression. Bullying is all about contempt: a powerful feeling of dislike toward somebody considered worthless, inferior, or undeserving of respect. Nothing justifies treating another person with contempt, least of all a child; we all must honor each other's humanity. (I'm looking at you, current US political administration.)

I'm sure my 12-yr old daughters were more interested by the letters to Olivia that make up the bulk of this book, which is brilliant. They come from former bullies (but tellingly, none from Olivia's school) and from others who have been bullied or whose loved ones have been, and from bystanders. Every letter expresses admiration and support for Olivia.

FYI There remains an entry in the Urban Dictionary for Olivia Gardner:
1. Similar to English phrase "whiny bitch" it is used when a female goes online to put her ex down, rather than saying it to his face.

2. Also called a "leech" because an Olivia Gardner gets attached very easily and doesn't want to let go.

3. Olivia Garder can also be called the English slang "stop sign thot" (see: stop sign thot)
Stop being an Olivia Gardner you anorexic cunt!!!

[ahava]

Honestly I read about half of this then skimmed the rest. You can’t put a rating on a book like this. Letters to a Bullied Girl is basically a project where a girl was bullied and two sisters who set out to help. There are several letters from older/grown bullies resenting what they did when they were younger and younger students who were—at that time—still being bullied themselves. The majority of the letters say the same thing albeit a different story. It also includes some drawings too. This book would definitely benefit a student who is being bullied because it is a book full of hope.

[♥MRS. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I CHOOSE THIS BOOK BECAUSE I REALLY LIKE TO READ OTHER PEOPLE PROBLEM AND WHAT THEY GONE THOUGH. AND SEE IF I HAVE SOMETHING ALIKE... PEOPLE HAVE HAD SAME HARD TIME IN SCHOOL AND AT HOME BUT GETTING BULLED IS NOT RIGHT AND THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE IF OTHER PEOPLE HAVE THE SAM PROBLEM.

THE SETTING IN THIS BOOK IS NOT REALLY IN LIKE IN OTHER BOOKS. IT TALKS ABOUT THIS GIRL NAMED OLIVIA GARDNER. AND SHE TALKS ABOUT HER LIFE AND SHE HAS BEEN BULLIED. SO SHE WRITES LETTERS TO THESE OTHERS GIRLS NAMED EMILY& SARAH BUDER THIS GIRLS ARE SISTERS AND THEY SEE OLIVIA'S STORE AND TALK ABOUT IT BY SENDING EACH OTHER LETTERS. THEY TALK ABOUT HOW SHE HAS BEEN BULLIED IN HER LIFE. AND OTHER PEOPLE JOIN IN BECAUSE THEY ALSO HAD THAT SAMEM PROBLEM IN THIER LIFES.

OLIVIA TALKS LOT ABOUT HER LIFE BEENING BULLIED AND BEEN CALLED NAMES AND ALL OF THAT MEAN STUFF SO SHR FINDS THESE NICE WILLING TO HELPM OUT PEOPLE WITH THIER PROBLEMS. HOW BEENING BULLIED FEELS LIKE. THEY TALK ABOUT HOW NOT TO LET OTHER PUT YOU DOWN DONT THEM THEY CALL YOU FAT OR UGLY. BECAUSE YOU ARE WHAT YOU ARE AND NO ONE IS GOING TO CHANGE THAT OF YOU. YOU AS A PERSON SHOULD KNOW WHO REALLY YOU ARE AND PEOPLE CAN SAY WHATEVER THEY WANT, BECAUSE THEY WANT TO FEEL STRONGER AND FEEL LIKE THEY ARE COOL AND CAN CONTROL EVERONE ELAS....

THE REAL THING IN THIS STORE IS THAT THIER IS NOT A GOOD OR BAD. THE THING IS THAT YOU NEED TO BE YOUR SLEF AND BELEIVE IN YOUR SLEF TOO. AND STOP THE BULLING AND DONT BE A BULLY BECAUSE THAT WONT BRING YOU ANYTHING GOOD AT ALL AND TELL YOUR STORE SHARE IT AND YOU WILL SEE THAT YOU ARE NOT THE ONLY ONE THAT HAS THAT PROBLEM AND SEE HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE SOOOO MANY OPINIONS ABOUT THIS....

[Corinne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is like reading pages from diaries describing the worst and best of human behavior. Each page of the book is a letter written to Olivia, a bullied teenager who received 4,000 of them when two other teens started a project to support her and take a stand against bullying.

I read some reviews disappointed that the book did not detail Olivia’s story. I think this may have been an attempt at keeping the focus on bullying and its lifelong impact on people all over the world, not just Olivia. I think that is quite selfless and humble. The more I learned about this project and Olivia, the more I think she would want the spotlight on the problem and not herself.

This is not a book to read seeking entertainment; it is a toolkit for awareness and taking action against vile behavior that no one should endure, especially children. Read it together with yours. Make sure they are not being bullied, nor bullying others.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a wonderful campaign set up by the sisters for a complete stranger and the letters could be really helpful for someone currently in need to have as a reference.

In terms of my reading, I think it could have meant more if there was some of the story included.

[Maddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Letters to A Bullied Girl is an inspiring book. It shows people that they are not the only ones, and to keep their head up high thought out everything.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this when I was in high school and I myself was a victim of bullying. It got to the point of me to me having anxiety and depression but I did get help. What helped me most though was having family, a few good friends, dance and mainly journaling. As an adult, I can say I’ve succeeded in life. I’ve graduated college three different times, working a great job, built some confidence and so forth. This book’s worth reading!

[Kyla Belvedere · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't believe I read this entire book. Beyond the intros and a couple interesting letters, it was so repetitive, saying 5 or 6 things over and over and over. I'm using an excerpt, but I wouldn't recommend anyone actually read all the mundane letters written for a 12-year-old unless you enjoy the chaff of the wheat.

[Alexandria Steyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who went through a lot of bullying throughout my childhood I only wish I had this book back then. I have every intention of keeping this one on the bookshelf at home just in case, God forbid, one of my future children deals with bullying. I am so grateful for the impact these young girls campaign made everywhere.

[Kascia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strangers send kind words of encouragement to a girl who was bullied. The foreword explains a lot, I recommend reading that first before starting the letters.

[Julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

i had to read this for psych. not really a book but im counting it for one as i spent time reading it anddd my reading goal for the year must be met<3

[Jack Ziegler · Rating 4 out of 5]

i liked it. but make sure you read the introduction or you will not know what the heck is going on.

[Haylie Staggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Olivia Gardner, a northern California teenager was severely taunted and cyber-bullied in school. When word got out about the abuse, two sisters, Emily and Sarah Buder decided to help Olivia out by getting people to write her letters to make her feel better. This book, which is not your typical book, is a series of letters from people all over telling their stories to encourage Olivia to embrace life.

The author showed multiple sides of the story. The letters in this book are not just thrown on random pages but instead organized by the type of letter. The letters are peoples own stories to Olivia to try to help her understand her situation will get better, and that it is not just her getting bullied. The letters are in separate chapters including letters about the bullies and the bullied. The bullied chapters include being bullied for looks, being different, being bullied by girls, being bullied to the brink, and then finally about those who stood up for themselves and were bullied no more. This helped me understand and separate the letters, but without an understanding of Olivias stories, its hard to understand the comparisons that people are trying to make to Olivia.

The book did not live up to my expectations mainly because there was no background information. They didn't tell exactly what happened to Olivia and why she was bullied. Instead, they gave a brief statement that she was bullied on the Internet and taunted at school. When reading all the letters in the book it was hard to understand when the letters were comparing themselves to her. Some would say "I had the same disease, and was teased for it." The only problem is, I had no clue what this disease was until I looked it up and found out she had seizures. The topic of this book, bullying, is a worldwide problem. I feel that a lot of people are getting bullied and because we didn't know specific details about her individual story, it was harder for me to feel for her like the sisters did because I've seen bullying before and didn't seem as severe as Olivias is being portrayed. Therefore the content was not complete without this information about Olivias story.

I think that the writing could have been better if Olivia had the time to write to tell her own story. We would have gotten a lot more detail on her story to then better our understanding of the letters. I also think that there would have been more rhetorical strategies used because we would have felt more for her by hearing it directly from her. Another way the writing could have been better is by hearing it from the two sisters to understand why it effected them so much and why they found it so important for people to write her letters. They could have gave us more in detail view on Olivia. The letters did though, give a point of view from a lot of different people which helped us learn about them but not about the main topic, which was Olivia being bullied. The book was more of uplifting letters than an actual story or memoir. The many different authors in this story all had different stories of their own to tell, including advice for Olivia.

The most striking feature of this story was how similar the letters from older people were to the letters of younger people. Although the letters from younger people told somewhat different stories then those that were older, they all connected in the way the person was bullied or how the person bullied someone. They all led back to a similar reason why they were bullied and why they bullied. Every single person who was bullied is still effected by it but got past it and have great lives. Every single person who was the bully now regrets it and think they would have been a better person now if they would have known the damage it caused back then.

Although there were many things in this book that I didn't enjoy or understand, I think the book was well organized and written to represent not only Olivia but all people that have been bullied. It told stories that people have been involved in that connect to Olivia even when shes doesn't know them. The book sends an uplifting message to people everywhere. I would recommend this book to people because the organization of the letters is easy to understand and the stories told not only show us different types of writing but similar stories that everyone can relate to.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

My bullying story is from eighth grade, when I was thirteen years old. I grew up in a very small town, and I had always known and gone to school with the same kids. My town, my school, my friends - this was my world. My school divided classes into sections by a rough measure of academic prowess, and there were about a dozen girls in my section. We had all our classes together, ate lunch together, and were the best of friends. One day, everything changed, and I had no idea why. Suddenly, no one spoke to me. I was shunned everywhere. I was an outcast with nowhere to turn, and no one would even talk to me to tell my why they “hated” me. I was beyond miserable. I was terrified. And I was trapped. I spent a lot of time soul-searching, trying to figure out what I could have done, but I had no idea. Months later, the girl who had been the ringleader apologized to me and told me it was because of a conversation she and I had had in which I impulsively asked her to be my best friend. Since she was best friends with another girl, this made her mad, and she rallied the other girls to punish me for it. There were, thank goodness, some girls who stepped up to help, most notably a girl who lived across the street from the ringleader. She came out of her way to walk to school with me, tried to intercede for me with the bullies, and gave me friendship and someone to talk to. I still had to face the classrooms alone every day, since we weren’t in the same section and didn’t have classes together, but it was the salvation of my soul in every other way.

I can trace the onset of my lifelong problem with anxiety attacks to this months-long bullying episode. I also made some very important life choices based on my fears and anxiety from what happened to me then. I will never be the same person I was before. I will never trust friendship the way I did before. I will always see those girls – even post-apology – as people who were capable of that kind of cruelty. I eagerly forgave them at the time, desperate for my life to return to normal, and I maintain relationships with them through social media even now. (Some live nearby, but I see them only when we run into each other in public, as you so often do with old friends.)

Letters to a Bullied Girl begins with the story of Olivia Gardner, bullied by her classmates because of her epilepsy. Sisters Emily and Sarah Buder heard about her and organized a letter-writing campaign in which people could write to Olivia and express support and offer help. Adults, children, even whole classrooms responded, and this book is a compilation of some of those letters.

I admire Emily and Sarah for their compassion for Olivia. I admire Olivia’s strength and resilience. I understand the comments of those who say “what good is this?” but I can only point to my friend Beth whose single compassionate presence gave me hope. You never know how much kindness like that means until you really need it. I hope the letters helped to give Olivia hope, and I hope that this book gives other kids hope.

[Lan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book I read about the state of being bullied at school.The title of the book I read is Letters to a bullied girl. The main characters in this book is a girl name Olivia Gardner, she live in northern California, she lives with her her mother and sisters Emily and Sarah Buder. The book write about the people live in around the world sent her a lot of letters and to make her feel better.
This story can only just occurred so they do not indicate the time when the story happened. The author writing this story to summary all the letters from other people send to her. In the book after this people writing something for her and the next page is a different people write for her a different letter. The author want us to know more about being bullied and don’t doing that to other people. But I know this book is a nonfiction. If you want to read something more easy or if you don’t know a lot of English then this book it’s so easy for you to read. The audience in the book knew about her story because she spoke up all what is happening to her. I think she could not handle it that’s why she talk about it on the internet to get the way out. I don’t know where it take places. But I think it’s may happening in United States.
This is a good book for you to read. If some people had the same problem like Olivia so they can read it, include generations.I don’t recommend this book to you but if you want to try something new. That make you feel so much better, if you interesting to those book like that, you probably will like this book.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very important book for people who work with children or have children in their lives in any way. I read this based on my interest in issues involving teens, as someone who formerly worked with them in a professional capacity as a librarian. This is a title I would have purchased in triplicate for my collection.

Former bullies should read this book. Adults who were bullied as children should read it as well. Those who were fortunate enough to have avoided being bullied but who stood by and did nothing to help will also find some soul searching moments in this collection. In other words, no matter what your station in life was when you were going through your school days, there is a reason to address the ramifications of brutal and relentless teasing, physical intimidation and ostracizing (all too often being excused as "kids being kids")

As background, Olivia Gardner was viciously abused at school and also via the Internet. She went public with her experience and two other girls, the Buder sisters, read of her plight and immediately became inspired to reach out to Olivia and befriend her. They began a project called "Letters to Olivia" hoping to gather together letters from others who had been bullied, but had overcome, or from those who simply wanted to show support and kindness. The project touched a chord with thousands of people around the world and the Buders received a flood of responses from all age groups...the bullied the bystanders and the former bullies.

Anyone who did time in a middle school, high school (or, sadly, even a preschool) will confront some painful memories here. But that is all to the good. Although you cannot legislate compassion, kindness and maturity, it certainly seems that we should strive harder for a baseline of civility and safety for our kids.

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed by Ace for TeensReadToo.com

In May 2007, you may have been watching the news when a story aired about Olivia Gardner, a 14-year-old epileptic girl from California. She was bullied for two years in three different schools. You may have heard about two sisters, Emily and Sarah, who started a letter campaign for bullied teens and others. It had begun as small town campaign but grew to be worldwide and sparked websites, other campaigns, and now a book.

The book contains more than 150 letters and emails from others that have experienced what Olivia has or now regret participating in the bullying of others. This book is something everyone should experience. It is a sad book filled with firsthand accounts of verbal and physical abuse.

It even contains letters from parents who participated in the bullying of others. A common response among these adults is that they don't know why they did it. They say they regret it, but that is no excuse. Bullying is considered horrific when directed at kids and teens, but does anyone ever grow out of it?

The book has a positive message--that there are people who care and want to help others even if they don't know the person they are helping. Emily and Sarah didn't even know Olivia. They just saw a teen in need and then showed her that she wasn't alone, that even strangers care. They changed her life forever.

LETTERS TO A BULLIED GIRL should be a wake-up call to everyone everywhere. There are signs that everyone should be aware of. I consider it an excellent resource for teens and others who are being bullied or just watching it all happen. Everyone should read this book because it will help others realize that bullying should never be allowed to happen.

[Crystal Gomez]

Olivia Gardner is a northern California teenager who was severely cyber-bullied by her classmates for more than two years. News of her bullying spread, eventually reaching two teenage girls from a neighboring town, sisters Emily and Sarah Buder. The girls were so shocked by Olivia's story that they initiated a letter-writing campaign to help lift her spirits and make her feel better. It was a good gesture that set off an overwhelming chain reaction of support, encouragement, and love to many people and readers of the book.

In "Letters to a Bullied Girl", Olivia and the Buder sisters share an inspiring selection of messages that arrived from across America most of them were often painful remembrances of former targets, and remorseful bullies "Letters to a Bullied Girl" examines our national bullying epidemic from a variety of angles and perspectives, and includes practical guidance from a bullying expert. The name is Barbara Coloroso, she is the author of the book "The Bully". The letters that were sent to Olivia speak to all the young people who have been bullied, offer advice and hope to those who suffer, and provide a wake-up call to all who have ever been involved in bullying.

I recommend this book to many people not only to people who have been bullied but to those who like to read about what goes around the world and we never know. This book has left me a really big impact to see how many people sent the bullied girl Olivia Gardner letters but that does letters that were sent to her were mostly from people who have been bullied.

[Debbie Johnston]

This was the book that I received from Dr. Slick on the first night of class... I was particularly interested in it because of my own son's experiences with bullying, which led to his death by suicide in 2005. How I wish that someone had reached out to Jeff in such a way! This book is composed of the photographic copies of letters written to Olivia, a young teenager that was bullied relentlessly by classmates after having an epileptic seizure at school. It is difficult to comprehend why some people are moved to cruelty rather than compassion by the suffering of others, but this is an all-to-common occurance. These letters illustrate that bullying is not an innocent phase that all children go through, and puts an end to many of the myths that those that defend these behaviors cling to... Bullying does not build character, and it is not something that is grown out of or forgotten. It can have devastating consequences that can haunt both victims and bullies long into adulthood. With their simple act of compassion, Sarah and Emily Buder have done what many adults and professionals have sworn was impossible. They have turned the tables on the bullies, and shown them the error of their ways. Easy reading at any level, this should be in every class library and on every counselor's desk!

[Marywilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I started reading this book I thought that I was going to cry and I was right, to hear everyone's story's and to show how much hope is actually out there just hit a nerve. I could defiantly not choose one part of the book as my favorite because everything about this book I enjoyed. There are many people who contributed to this book but my favorite person would have to be the Buder sisters Emily and Sarah because they were angles to Olivia Gardner. They helped her through probably one of the toughest times of her life. I loved how there wasn't just one author in this book, everyone who wrote a letter became and author for there letters were so inspirational to Olivia and anyone who read it. I defiantly agree with everything in this book. Bullying is a heartless crime and nobody should ever have to feel pain like all these people felt especially when they did nothing wrong to deserve this treatment. I learned that there is also hope in the world and to never give up because there is so much more to life, and that things do get better. Everyone should read this book no doubt about it. Everyone would benefit from reading this. Its is a sold 5 star in my opinion.

[Katrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know why I picked this up, but I'm glad I did. Its a collection of letters that was written to a girl named Olivia. She was bullied in her middle school, because she had an epileptic seizure. People wore "I Hate Olivia" bracelets and there was a "I Hate Olivia" club made on Myspace.

Two teenage girls from another town decided to write her letters of encouragement and they inspired others to write as well. The letters are written by bullies, those bullied, and people that watched others being bullied and felt guilty about not doing anything.

The forward states that if even one person stands up against a bully, it can break the cycle. Letters to a Bullied Girl inspired me to commit to stepping forward if I ever witness bullying. I was also inspired by the young teenagers who started the letter writing. They are an example of how a small thing can make a world of difference.

[Nicki]

This book is a collection of letters written by random people to a 13-year-old girl who was bullied in school because of her epilepsy. I stopped reading this book before I finished. The idea is inspirational... but it was hard for me to pay attention to letter after letter saying the same thing. Plus, all of the letters sort of hinted that the girl didn't want to hear from these people, she wanted "support from people she knows." I think the book would have been better off telling the story of how the girl got bullied, how she came to be featured in the newspaper, how the two teenaged sisters decided to start a letter-writing campaign in support of the girl, and what happened after that. Instead, it was many pages of letters basically saying, "Bullying is bad. I was bullied/was a bully/am the parent of a bully/am the parent of a child who was bullied. Don't worry, you'll get through this, and you'll be a better person for it. Good luck." I just couldn't pay attention!

[Rachel Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Letters to a Bullied:Messages of Healing and Hope by Olivia Gardner is amazing and inspiring. One of my favorite quotes is: "be the change you wish to see in the world". These sisters show this very well by reaching out to Olivia, who they didn't even know, and being a friend to her and by helping her get through her tough times.

Olivia Gardner is bullied, because of her looks, the way she acts, everything. No one at her school would even reach out and help her. All she wanted was a friend, someone to talk to. One day two sisters, Emily and Sarah Buder, reach out to Olivia by writing her a letter. Then they encouraged all of their friends to write to her Their action lead to more and more people writing encouraging letters to Olivia.

If you are being bullied and need some inspiration, you should read this book, or if you just love biographies. This book is pointed more towards females, but I am sure males would love this book too.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Olivia Gardner is a victim of bullying at her school. She is singled out by her classmates for the fact that her epilepsy causes her to have seizures. Two girls living in a neighboring town, Emily and Sarah Buder, read a newspaper article about Olivia's treatment and decide that they must do something for her. They begin a letter writing campaign to help lift Olivia's spirits. The letters they received were from those who had been victims themselves, former bullies, and bystanders who had witnessed bullying and done nothing to stop it. The foreward by Barbara Coloroso provides a powerful overview of the nature of bullying and the effects of bullying on the bullied. The majority of the book consists of copies of the letters that Olivia received and reveal the long-term effects of bullying both on the victim and the bully. Highly recommended.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave this book five stars for the content and message more than anything else. Especially with the recent bullying of the girl in Mass. who ending up committing suicide. It is a very fast read since the whole book is compsed of letters to Oliva. Olivia is a young girl from CA who has epilepsy and was teased and bullied because of it. Two sisters heard about her story and were compelled to begin a campaign to have people write letters of support to Olivia. When they began, their hope was for 50 letters, what they got was much more. As a mother of a student in Middle School, and one soon on the way I will be encourgaing my own children to read this story. It is so hard to believe that such cruelty can go on so young, but it does and I hope that this book can give hope to those who may be bullied, maybe change a bully or in the very least help people see how powerful words can be!

[Madison Laliberte · Rating 2 out of 5]

Olivia Gardner, a northern California teenager, was extremely taunted and cyber-bullied by people from her school for more than two years. News of her bullying spread around the U.S., and somehow it reachedtwo teenage girls from a nearyby town, Emily and Sarah Buder; sisters. The girls were so affected and moved by Olivia's story that they started a letter-writing to help lift her spirits. It was a sweet gesture that seemed so small...but made the world to Olivia. It set off an overwhelming chain reaction of support, encouragement, and love for not only Olivia, but to many all over the U.S.
It was a very inspiring story that showed me that you can make a difference in someone else's life, just by being there for them, even if it's just through a letter. Very heart-felt and emotional at moments. But the message was clear- help whenever you can however you can.

[Vanessa]

This book was about letters to a bullied girl. The bullied girl being Olivia Gardner. She was bullied in school because of her epilepsy. This book shows a whole bunch of letters from random people in three perspectives. The bully, the bullied, and the bystander. Each letter is different. Ones are shorter than others, some tell their stories of the ways they were bullied and others what they've learned from being a bully. It really gives the reader an idea of being a bully, bullied or a bystander. This book was alright to read. I thought it was a bit repetitive. I chose to read this book because I know someone close to me who was being bullied and someone recommended this to her. I do recommend this book to anyone who is being bullied.
Bullying is a serious issue in our society and it needs to stop. It's horrible knowing that people are being bullied everyday.

[Maria Contreras · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this book was just what I expected, it's basically what the title is. What I was really surprised is that so many people in the world face bullying like more than I expected. The letters were all about being bullied, the bully, or a bystander of a situation of bullying.Most of the people who were bullied had similar stories of feelings and such. After all, everyone has a different story not everyone is the same but all should be treated equal. The people who actually were the bullies when they were younger finally realized what they've done to those kids while they picked on them. It's such a cruel thing to see and to experience throughout life, but there's no way to stop a bully because they'll always be a bully somehow. In my opinion, there's always a situation of bullying throughout anyone's life. It's either you're the bully or you're the one actually getting bullied.