BookDragon Blog

Here’s proof that your questions really make a difference, at least to the imaginative Lisa Yee: “On one of her many school visits, a reader asked what happened to Marley from Stanford Wong, which inspired her to tell his story here,” Yee’s “About the Author” end-page reveals. And oh so thrillingly, not only does Stanford re-appear here, but so do Emily Ebers and Millicent Min!

But back to Marley … “I share my name with a dog, a dead guy, and a ghost,” he explains. “Is it any wonder my life sucks?” Marley definitely has it tough: He’s the bottom of the social rung in middle school, virtually invisible, except when he gets bullied. The local rich boy Digger Ronster terrorizes Marley into regularly doing his homework. Even worse, the Gorn (named “after the evil slow-moving beasts” from a Star Trek episode) shove, hit, punch, spit on Marley every day. His only way out is to run … which is something he finds he can do at warp speed.

In spite of the abuse, Marley’s pretty resilient. He and his best friend Ramen (named for the noodles he eats daily – flavors vary) keep their Star Trek vs. Star Wars rivalry well-fueled. New friend Max joins the dynamic duo, throwing Batman into the mix. And Marley is especially enjoying getting to know his new Home Sciences partner, the sweet, cheerful Emily Ebers!

In spite of the supportive adults around him – especially his nurturing parents who run the town’s historically-registered Rialto movie theater – Marley suffers in virtual silence … until he finally finds his own voice.

So as a parent reading this book, as swift-moving and entertaining as it is, my first reaction is head-in-the-sand-denial: are kids really so horrible to each other? Can parents truly be so blind? [Ironically, Marley’s mother is actually blind; while she can’t see his bruises, her mother’s heart certainly feels them.] Well-meaning moms and dads will make up “Be a buddy, not a bully” bracelets for every child, yet have no regard for battered Marley who happens to be setting up the AV equipment for their latest meeting to discuss “‘Understanding Your Middle Schooler: The Complicated and Confusing Lives of Our Precious Tweens and Teens.””

Decades ago, my younger brother and I were bullied – physical, emotional, racially charged – to the point our parents pulled us out of that school. Forty years later, how heartbreaking that not enough has changed. That said, realizing titles like this are readily available as resources for both the bullied and the bully (a child often learns bullying behavior tragically from direct experience) is definite progress; books like this send a strong message that today’s kids are not alone, that their stories are being told, that finally, firmly, their bullying days will be a distant memory.

Read this book with your children. Read other books like it. Share the stories.  Imagine and create solutions together. Then teach your children to be advocates for others. Peace … it really is the ultimate frontier.

Readers: Middle Grade, Young Adult

Published: 2011