Customer Reviews

The Truth about Truman School

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Butler's novel about bullying in middle school is so very close to the truth. From cyberbullying to flat out name calling, Butler offers an unflattering, yet true-to-life, view of middle school social trends. More to the point, Butler focuses on how cruel, self-centered, and uncaring many pre-teens and teens are. Butler also includes the fact that many adults either deny that such hatred occurs or blindly ignore bullying by looking the other way.

The novel's unique format will appeal to young adult readers; the novel is written as a series of blog-like entries from a variety of characters. Each entry is prefaced with the character's name and with an icon to identify the character. This is a fantastic format for struggling and reluctant readers. Also, the voice of the novel will appeal to young adult readers. The characters "sound" like real middle school students.

The Truth about Truman School is an excellent read and should be read by middle school students and anyone who comes in contact with them. The novel is a shout out as to how mean people are and can be.

After running into censorship issues with the school newspaper, a couple of students decide to start a website where students can speak freely. Unfortunately someone decides to use the site to get revenge against one of the popular girls. Things snowball and it turns into a case of cyber-bullying and the police are eventually brought in. By that time it's too late and friendships and lives have been changed forever.

The story is narrated by several students at Truman Middle School. Each chapter lists the student narrating and goes on to tell their involvement/reaction as the story develops. While it's an interesting way to read a story, it does get tedious--some entries are merely 2-3 sentences and then it jumps back to another student telling their side of the story.

While the story does involve a mystery (who is "Anonymous" that is posting such terrible things on the site?) I didn't find it to be one of the most intriguing books for teenagers I've come across. It contains all the usual themes (cliques, popularity, bullying) but just presents it in a different way. I did like the fact that it addresses the fact that just because parents think they are involved or protecting their children (limiting computer use for example), kids can still get access and/or be dragged into cyberbullying. Unfortunately I think many parents are oblivious to things that can easily happen now that never would have happened before the internet was around.

I was surprised at how much I liked this book. I read juvenile and YA fiction for a few reasons. One is to keep up with (or ahead of) my 6th grade daughter. Another is to gain insight into the tween culture, and a third is because it reminds me of what it was like to be that age.

This story takes place when a student-run website that is set up to tell "the truth about Truman school" (which can't be told in the school newspaper because of the mean, unsupportive teacher sponsor). The idea is that it's everyone's site, and that anyone can post comments, polls, or an article. However, the editors soon have to decide if they want to allow mean-spirited attacks on there or not. They decide to allow it, and it gets out of hand, with one girl being targeted by an anonymous user who posts a link to another site where everyone can post why they hate her.

Of course, eventually it's uncovered and the authorities are brought in to figure out who the anonymous user is, and the victim also wants to figure out why. The students each have to write about what happened for language arts, but the editor of the Truth About Truman School decides to have people write two versions - the school version with all the commas in the right place, and another version to appear on the website that tells how they really feel. This is how the book is constructed - short excerpts from a handful of students telling their side of the story.

When I was in 8th grade like these students at Truman Middle School, we had no cyber bullying, but there was still bullying - mean girls jockeying for position and spreading rumors or sending mean notes to others.

I found the characters to be real, although based on stereotypes, because they exist for a reason: mean girls, girls who aren't really mean but follow along to be popular, geeks, freaks, misfits, jocks.

Between the real characters (either likable or unlikable as they are written to be), and the mystery of uncovering who is responsible and why, it's a great read.

(Small Spoiler Alert)

At first I thought that this would be a good book for my daughter to read, but when I got to page 75, one of the ways the victim is targeted is when they create a false blog that comes from her, called her "L*sbian Love Site." The author handles this appropriately (even having one character think of his gay uncles and how he likes them), and it's true that being accused of being gay is devastating to a tween or teen, but it made me decide to hold off at least another year to share this with my daughter - when she's really in middle school.

Middle school, the nerds vs. the popular kids. The story has been told since "Rebel Without a Cause" and Hinton's "The Outsider." Doris Hillestad Butler puts a modern spin on the problems of middle school by adding in the real world: texting and the Internet.

Weird Zibby and her equally outcast friend, Amr, decide to launch a web site where kids can discuss the TRUTH about their school. They have idealistic hopes that their web site will get other kids to think about things like the new math curriculum. Amr is Moslem and must defend his faith and customs against cruel remarks and innuendos. Zibby chooses her blue hair, but has no one except Amr to share her love of newspapers and politics.

The web site quickly turns into a gossip repository and then a cyber-bullying web site. The results are not good for anyone, especially the target of the attacks.

Libby and Amr learn about responsibility, friendship, and what freedom of the press can mean in their age group.

This is a good slice-of-life novel with interesting, distinct voices. It would have been nice to add one or two smarter, more cautious adults to the mix!

'The Truth About Truman School' is a YA book about middle school, and cliques, and cyber-bullying. Two 8th graders - Zebby and Amr - start a website that is supposed to talk about the real things that happen at their school (Zebby is frustrated that the school newspaper is only allowed to publish puff pieces). Quickly, though, the site becomes a forum for bashing one of the 'popular girls' ... much cruelty and angst ensue.

The book is framed as bits of the story unfolding from the POV of a half-dozen or so of the people most involved in the prank (Zebby & Amr, the girl being bullied, some of her popular friends and one brief and hilarious entry from her jock boyfriend, and 2 social outcasts). The varying perspectives keep the book interesting, and there's a bit of a mystery as well; the reader does not know who the 'bully' is until the end.

Honestly, I was prepared for something trite and preachy about bullying, or some self-absorbed teenaged whining. I found neither in this book. While the concept (bullying) is nothing new, I thought the presentation was fresh and I found the mystery compelling enough to keep me intrigued until the end.

I'm 47 years old, and I wondered what ages this book would most appeal to. I gave it to my 15 year-old son, who read it very fast and really enjoyed it, though he did feel it was a little young for him. Then I gave it to my 12 year-old son, who also read it fast and loved it. I would say that Middle Schoolers are the most appropriate audience here; I disagree with the '9-12' advice given in the book description here.

I would have given the book 4 stars, but my kids both gave it a 5 star rating so I went with their advice, since this is a YA novel and I am unfortunately no longer Y.

Bottom Line: A fast compelling read that takes a realistic look at bullying; it should appeal to most Middle Schoolers.

I've tried reading this book several times. No luck. There just wasn't enough plot to draw me in, nor was there enough character differentiation so I could really get hooked. The structure of the book (postings) was just a cheat. Not recommended.

As an adult I can still appreciate well written young adult fiction and even remember my youth and beloved authors like Judy Bloom and R.L. Stein. "The Truth about Truman School" is original, though maybe not so unique, in the fact that it plops us right into the mainstream of what is on kids minds today: The internet and how it affects them. The internet was just getting started when I was in High School, so clearly today the kids have no knowledge of anything before Twitter, MySpace and Pandora.

This revolves around a select few people, Zebby, Amr, Brianna, Lily who decide that in order to get the truth about their school they need to start a website and put it all out there. The writing is sharp and cute, certainly you can tell it's from a teen's perspective. The trials of this website progress throughout the book and only get more out of control as the gossip mill runs rampant and more people discover The Truth. Cyberbullying, cliques, and sex are just a few things that go overboard here. My rating is because this is really an interesting read for younger readers, and I can see anyone between the ages of 10 and 15 really getting into it. It definitely speaks to their way of life.

The Truth about Truman School is told from the perspective of 6 fictional middle school students. Like most books, I started reading without knowing much about the plot. It wasn't until 50 or so pages later that the book is about cyberbullying.

Not satisfied with the school newspaper, Zebby (teacher's pet) and Amr (geek) start an underground school website. Much to their dismay, the website turns into a school gossip website, eventually becoming an epicenter for cyberbullying Lilly, once unpopular-turned-popular girl.

Comprised of a series of mini chapters, the book is a quick and fun read. It is educational without being preachy nor boring. Although many of the characters are 1-dimensional (my only real criticism), most should be able to relate and sympathize. Most importantly, kids and parents will learn something while being engrossed with the story.

The Truth About Truman School is a timely look at how "cyber bullying" can take on a life of its own. Two middle school students are feeling censored by the school newspaper advisor, so they create a website where all students can report the "truth" about the happenings at their school. An anonymous poster targets one of the popular girls, and soon other students join in the bullying, and it spirals out of control.

The story is told in first person, through quite a few viewpoints. It's a great way to see how the developing situation affects everyone - from the well-meaning students, to the targeted girl, to the popular clique, and the traditionally-bullied members of the school body. The characters are sort of cliché - but it works well. I particularly enjoyed the viewpoints of the popular students. It was clear that popularity isn't necessarily a great thing - the popular kids must constantly worrying about maintaining their status.

This book is targeted at the middle school readers, but it's not inappropriate for about 10 years and up. The bullying in the book centers around weight, and accusations of homosexuality. The accusations of homosexuality are very middle-school (Ewww! She's so gay!), and not at all explicit. There are some boyfriend-girlfriend issues, but they are very mild and innocent.

The reading level is about fourth grade. The story is interesting enough that stronger readers will eat it up, but it's very accessible to the more struggling readers.

The Truth About Truman School approaches the subject of Cyberbullying in a a unique manner by presenting the story as an an amalgam of many points of view woven together by the fictional website's editor, Zebby Bower. Zebby tells us at the beginning of the presentation that her website had unintended consequences and that she's asked everyone involved to volunteer their side of the story in their own words and that she will stitch together a complete account from all submissions, changing names where necessary to protect people. Therefore, we don't really know if any of the names given are real or pseudonyms assigned by Zebby. However, none of that matters once the story begins and picks up speed.

The narrative is quickly paced and even though we are told from the outset that something terrible resulted from the experiment in free speech that was TruthAboutTrumanSchool.Com, there are some surprising twists and turns. From time to time the author slips up and breaks out of her self-imposed structure by introducing unnecessary novelistic flourishes of detail you would not expect a teen to include in a retelling of their story but this doesn't detract from the building tension. In fact, the turn-taking in the telling of the story helps to illustrate how gossip at the Middle School builds on itself and takes on a life of its own.

Also commendable is the fact that while adult points of view are reported by the narrators, they do not swoop in and "save the day" by telling the kids what to think. The kids in this story are forced to face the reality of what they have done and come to their own conclusions about it. The reader may be pleased with some of those conclusions and disappointed by others but they can't deny the realism represented by the narration. The fact that the author doesn't tie everything up with a neat little bow makes this book an excellent choice to share with book clubs.

In a time when some kids are committing suicide because of taunts from a MySpace Account this book is a great way to open a dialogue with your teen or even your tween about the issues of bullying and taunting as well as the real responsibilities they face for what they say and do in cyberspace. You might want to read the book yourself before you give it to them so you know what issues are raised.

In summary, this is a breezy read with a message that will surely get kids talking to each other about the issues represented in the story. The author has hit upon a narrative style that is perfect for the internet age and I am eager to see more from her in the Young Adult category. She has a unique talent for expressing the every day challenges teens face in our new tech-oriented society.