Bullyville [Hardcover]

Francine Prose (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 18, 2007

My father was killed on 9/11.

When eighth grader Bart Rangely is granted a "mercy" scholarship to an elite private school after his father is killed in the North Tower, doors should have opened. Instead, he is terrorized and bullied by his own mentor. So begins the worst year of his life.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Bart is dubbed the "miracle boy" when his flu causes his mother to stay home from work on September 11, 2001, saving her from the attacks that kill his recently estranged father. This attention earns him a scholarship to a prestigious school, known for its intense hazing. Not wanting to disappoint his grieving mother, Bart enrolls. The hazing begins immediately and builds to an emotional crescendo. Bart finally retaliates by keying the ringleader's car, at which point the whole truth comes out. Assigned to community service, Bart keeps a young hospitalized girl company. When she dies, he realizes that she was his tormentor's sister, but this intensifies rather than softens the abuse Bart undergoes. The book addresses many important topics—bullying, grief, and illness—which make it useful for classroom discussion, and although some readers will wish for a more thorough resolution to the story, Bart is a sympathetic character that readers will pull for. Booth, Heather

About the Author

Francine Prose is the author of fifteen books of fiction, including A Changed Man and Blue Angel, which was a finalist for the National Book Award, and the nonfiction New York Times bestseller Reading Like a Writer. Her latest novel, Goldengrove, was published in September 2008. She is the president of PEN American Center. She lives in New York City.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: HarperTeen (September 18, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060574976
• ISBN-13: 978-0060574970
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,331,812 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Francine Prose is the author of sixteen books of fiction. Her novel A Changed Man won the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, and Blue Angel was a finalist for the National Book Award. Her most recent works of nonfiction include the highly acclaimed Anne Frank: The Book, The Life, The Afterlife, and the New York Times bestseller Reading Like a Writer. A former president of PEN American Center, and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Francine Prose lives in New York City.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Feed me a cliche--no, don't!, December 11, 2007

By 

Maria Beadnell "gotlips" (NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bullyville (Hardcover)

If you have ever read a human interest story about someone you knew, and said to yourself, "That reporter either got snowed or wrote the story before meeting the guy," this is a book for you.

Bart's mother's life is saved because he's home sick from school. "Miracle boy," as the papers call him, gets a mercy scholarship to an elite school and life is perfect forever.

Well, no. The papers don't tell (and Bart doesn't want them to) the icky other side of the story, of how and why his father was not saved, of the long and horrible grief of Bart's mother, of how prep school is a living hell. Without giving too much away, every time the author has you set up for a tired old cliche, she pulls the rug out from under you in a cynical, realistic, refreshing way. But speaking of cliches--I really felt as though Bart were a real person, and one I'd be proud to know.

What a great book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, October 9, 2008

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bullyville (Paperback)

When Bart Rangely's absentee father is caught in the North Tower and killed on September 11th, he thinks that life can't get much worse.

Unfortunately, he thinks too soon.

Because of the public nature of his tragedy, Bart is offered a scholarship to the exclusive Baileywell Academy, an institution better known to its students as "Bullywell" for the rampant bullying that takes place behind its expensive doors.

Upon his arrival, Bart is assigned his own personal tormentor, Tyro Bergen, and his life descends into hell. But when he tries to retaliate, and is assigned volunteer work at a hospital for punishment, he finds a friend in an unlikely place, and discovers that sometimes a bully is hiding more from the world than his venom, and that things are not always
precisely what they seem.

The idea most compelling to me in BULLYVILLE is the world of the bullied, a world all but invisible to the adults responsible for the safety of its inhabitants. It is easy to imagine the story descending quickly into darkness and remaining there for the duration of the book.

Instead, Francine Prose presents a story that is at its core violence and personal disaster while still maintaining an uplifting tone. Bart Rangely is a funny, charming protagonist who keeps the story light even when dealing with its most serious concepts. I enjoyed Bart's tale immensely, and anyone who has been touched by bullying will identify with his dilemma.

Reviewed by: Rebecca Wells

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Dull, Lifeless, and Grossly Underwritten, January 10, 2008

By 

FrankyShepherd (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bullyville (Hardcover)

Francine Prose has been one of my favorite writers of adult fiction, but this book is a weak novel that seems to write down to young readers. It's dull and downright silly. I have been TRYING to finish this book and I have never had to work so hard. It's an "easy" read, too easy in fact, but it's just so damn uninteresting and cliche that I can't bring myself to finish the last 50 pages.

The main character has a sad and unique (I guess) backstory, but that is not enough to carry this plot. This is a slow-moving bore that really disappoints. I really believe that Francine wrote "to an audience" instead of "for an audience" and she missed the target entirely.