We're Done Virtual Tour

We’re Done

by Judy Irwin

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BLURB:

What if it turns out that YOU'RE the bully - and you didn't know it?

Up until now, life has been good for 13-year-old Luke. He's good at sports, attractive, and he's a big wheel at Heyworth Academy, his private school. He likes to tease, and poke fun at the other kids, but that's just because he likes having fun. But things start to fall apart, six weeks into eighth grade, when Luke commits an act of 'goofing around' that ends up costing him his best friend and his beloved private school.

After he's expelled, Luke transfers to his local school, Carlyle. Now, he's on the outside looking in. His looks, and background (not to mention his Heyworth hoodie), make him stand out, and the tough guys zero in on him right away.

The upside-down world that Luke finds himself in at Carlyle gives him a whole new way of looking at things. Can he recover from losing his school, and his best friend, and find new friends and a way to fit in at Carlyle?

Luke looked at his mother. "So it's not — " He turned to look at Mr. Kennedy. "OK, now I get it." He pushed his hair behind his ears. "I was just trying to be funny," he said. "How can that be wrong? I mean, I'm sorry that Jill was upset. If you want, I'll apologize — "

"Luke, please let me continue," said Mr. Kennedy. "As you know, we introduced a new anti-bullying policy two years ago. We decided that, because we wanted Heyworth to be a safe, nurturing place for all students, that we'd have a zero-tolerance approach when it came to bullying."

"I know," said Luke. "You'd have to be a moron NOT to know about it. We hear about it all the time — zero tolerance, three strikes and you're out, yada yada, yada. I know all that. But having fun isn't the same thing as bullying — at least, not the last time I looked. I mean, we're kids. We're going to goof around. So I'm not sure what you're saying."

"Luke, this is what I'm saying," said Mr. Kennedy. "This is your third strike. I'm very sorry to do this, but I am asking you to leave Heyworth."

Luke's mom raised her handkerchief to her mouth, and she let out a muffled sob. "Luke, you see this is serious," she said.  

"This is nuts," said Luke. "I'm not going to leave Heyworth. This is my school. Mr. Kennedy, you can't do this. I'm on the swim team. I'm captain of the soccer team. And you know my parents are really involved in this school. Mom, don't you agree? This is not possible."

This book really grabbed me from the get go. We have all encountered bullying in one form or another. What is really funny to some is the straw that breaks the camel's back for someone else. Look at the cases of teen suicides because someone make cruel jokes about someone's sexuality or appearance. It could be anything. 

The interesting point in this book is-what if it was you? What if you were the bully? No way! Way. And it can take a pretty solid brick to the head to get it too. 

 We're Done takes you on a journey with Luke as he discovers things about himself that he never realized and as you read, you will see things in yourself and the people around you as well. The action was steady, the dialogue for the most part believable and the situations were spot on. 

Judy Irwin has done an excellent job capturing the feel of the joking bully and even touches on the cyber bully aspect that has affected so many kids today. Kudos to you Judy for an excellent read that will, I think, make a difference.

5/5

Judy Irwin writes books about kids dealing with everyday stuff, like parents and divorce, friendships and bullies, and figuring out how to handle different situations and circumstances. So far, she's written two books: We're Done, and What Did You Say? We're Done is about 13-year-old Luke and how he figures out what went wrong when he's kicked out of school for a bullying incident. In What Did You Say?, 12-year-old Tash tries to figure out what life will be like following her parents' divorce. In this book, which takes place at a trailer park up north, Tash first meets Luke, Jon and Polly.

Judy lives in Toronto, Canada, with a dog, a cat, and two hamsters, plus her husband and two children, ages 10 and 13. She studied English Literature at the University of Toronto. She always wanted to be a writer. She wrote her first book in fourth grade - it was about a boy called Japan, who lived in Japan. In addition to writing books, Judy is a freelance business writer.

For more info:

www.judyirwin.com

www.amazon.com/author/judyirwin

Judy will be awarding a $50 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.

An awesome movie.

Watching the preview for this movie, I knew I had to see it. Last night I rented it on Pay Preview and couldn't stop\laughing.

Olive, a fairly normal high school girl, tells her friend a lie about a date with a college boy and suddenly her reputation begins to spiral out of control. Meaning well, she helps a fellow student in detention and things get interesting.

Without giving away too much of the plot, I have to tell you that this movie totally fits in with a topic that is close to many of our hearts these days. Teen bullying and peer pressure. This movie will make you laugh and can make you cry. I loved it for it's wit, snap and truthful look at what being in high school can mean. A reputation can be made or broken in an instant, and often you never know which until it is too late.

Sometimes the people you think are your friends, aren't and the most surprising things can happen. Including finding yourself trying to get religious help from the father of your worst frenemy. Enough said.       

The other reason I liked this movie was for the references to the book, The Scarlet Letter. Yes, for those of you wanting to know. I did read it. A long time ago. In high school. We just won't discuss when that was. :) The references to Hester throughout the movie and the red A's she starts sewing on her clothes to prove a point really made it for me. Olive isn't going to take the crap Hester did, and she is going to kick the rumor mill right in the teeth. You go woman!!!!

Five out of five stars, ladies and gents. So get your popcorn and hit the Pay Preview button. You won't be sorry. You can find out way more cool things about the movie at the official website:
http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/easya/

Before I Fall

If you were to ask me which book every teen should read, I would tell you Before I Fall. The book came to me through the bn.com First Look program. I picked it up and couldn't stop reading. It was one of those books that you have to read just five more minutes when you know you should get to sleep because you are getting up really early for work. Like a hundred pages later, you look at the clock and totally cringe because it's 2:00 am and you have to be up at 4:00am. Not good for sleep, but wow, and excellent book.

Mean girls. Every high school has them, right? In this book, one of our mean girls goes to a party and ends up dying in an accident. When she wakes up, she starts to relive the last day of her life. She goes to bed again and wakes up to the same scenario. Again.  As I was reading, I kept waiting for her to just do some kind of Pollyanna moment where she feels bad for all the things she did, but that doesn't happen. She keeps making mean girl mistakes and stumbles through her days, slowly realizing that the smallest thing she does can have a ripple effect on the people around her.

The book is a little like the movie Groundhog Day, but a whole lot deeper. As our character goes through her days, she starts to get that her friends may not be the people she thought they were, and the girl who they had been bullying for years may have more worth than she ever knew.

The point I took away from this book is this: You never know how the smallest thing you do (or don't do) will effect someone. Events spiral out like a pebble on the surface of a pond, and everything and everyone is connected.

I think of this book as I watch the local news about bullying legislation and hope that changes can be made in the way bullying is handled in schools.

For my part, I will try to tell everyone about this book, and Jay Asher's 13 Reasons Why and hope my suggestion might be a pebble that ripples out to help someone else.

Wearing purple to stop the bullying.

Following the invitation I recieved on Facebook, I wore purple to show my support for the kids who lost their lives as a result of bullying. The news in my area (Houston) is full of kids who have been bullied at school for one reason or another. Maybe they aren't cool enough, or maybe they just don't wear new clothes or have a different religious belief. The lists are really endless. As a kid, I wore funny hand me down clothes because that was what my family could afford. Add the tendency to be shy and you had a walking target. I still remember how that felt.

Let me say that at that time, it was hard to see beyond the kid who used to chase me home every day after school, or the kids who took delight in stealing my jacket in graphics class, or goosing me in the stairwell. I hated it. Misery was my middle name.

Getting through school and into your real life is the best success. That is the message I have for kids. It does get better. The people that are around you now that make your life hell, won't be there forever. The light at the end of the tunnel doesn't have to be a train. It can be focusing on your dreams and seeing past it. Success is the best revenge. Let me tell you. You won't even remember those kids names, and if you concentrate on you and what you want, you will find your way past it all.