Anna has no family except her friends and the shelter dogs she walks. Rae-Rae communicates only through old rock-and-roll lyrics. Piper is terrified of her boyfriend. Sunny wants everyone happy but doesn't know how. Dareen wants to battle the world into being a better place. Jade is so withdrawn she has all but disappeared. Charity keeps showing up to school black-and-blue. These teenage women could be your own friends. The difficulties they face are hauntingly familiar. With the shared strength that only true family of choice gift each other, they set out to take on bullies ... only reluctantly recognizing that the worst bully of all is their teacher. This is their story of coming of age, of learning not to be powerless, and of healing each other's hearts.
Anna has no family except her friends and the shelter dogs she walks. Rae-Rae communicates only through old rock-and-roll lyrics. Piper is terrified of her boyfriend. Sunny wants everyone happy but doesn't know how. Dareen wants to battle the world into being a better place. Jade is so withdrawn she has all but disappeared. Charity keeps showing up to school black-and-blue. These teenage women could be your own friends. The difficulties they face are hauntingly familiar. With the shared strength that only true family of choice gift each other, they set out to take on bullies ... only reluctantly recognizing that the worst bully of all is their teacher. This is their story of coming of age, of learning not to be powerless, and of healing each other's hearts.
Sad would come later, right after angry. But for now I was happy. Iâd stayed true. Thatâs who I am. The people who love me will be proud. The rest â I wonât care.
...
Mrs. Harbinger had been apologetic: âIâm sorry Anna. I made a mistake.â I wondered if she meant saying âyesâ when Iâd first asked, or saying ânoâ now. I thought to myself: I get it. Teachers have bosses. But we all believed you were different. Better.
It had started in the girls bathroom. Our lovely Piper in tears, her perfect makeup streaking down her face. Lance had scared her ... again. We heard him outside the door. Three knocks, then three again, then four. Piper had told us once it was his code for âyou are mine.â Soft, sweet-hearted Sunny abandoned a failed attempt to hug Piperâs hurt away. Lots of us are angry but Sunny ... we didnât expect her to be the one out of all of us whoâd had enough: âIâm tired of this. All of it. I donât know why I thought people would be different now. Or why I thought junior year would be better. But even though everything changed, nothingâs changed. Yesterday Mr. Beemer made Ethan cry in class. Last week that new girl, she came back from the weekend more black and blue than she was on Friday. I know somethingâs wrong with you, Jade, but you wonât tell any of us what it is.â
We all held our breath, but Jade only looked down at the floor. Except for a heated red flush, you couldnât tell sheâd even heard. I had to say something to take the spotlight off her. Thatâs when I came up with the idea. Weâd start an I-Hate-Bullies campaign right here at the school. A million possibilities â I now think are weak â popped out in a rush: Instas. Artwork. Poems. The list kept getting longer. Anybody could join us.
Mrs. Harbinger let us announce it in our creative writing class. More people signed up than I expected but that was in front of their friends. Weâd see who really showed up for the first meeting.
That was in third period. Just before the final bell I got a message to report to the language arts classroom. Even while Mrs. Harbinger was saying her donât-blame-me words like âadministrationâ and âgoing through channels,â it was obvious I was going to hear some final, permanent ânot happening.â
Iâm no techie. I got some help. Now thereâs a Facebook page called OBaaT. It stands for One Bully at a Time. I was going to go the good-girl route but they wouldnât let me. Their rules prohibited it. Now, thereâs no rules.
Alice Vachssâs OBaaT is a wonderful, deeply moving story of friendship, resilience, and the power of chosen family. Each member of the diverse group of teens has their own personal struggles, and through those struggles and their interactions Vachs gives us a raw, empowering narrative.
Our characters are Anna, Rae-Rae, Piper, Sunny, Dareen, Jade and Charity. These are not superheroes or crime solvers or hidden royalty; they are normal teenage girls, going through normal teenage girl things. Vachss keeps them distinct by giving everyone realistic feeling ticks; Rae-Rae uses rock and roll lyrics to communicate, as one example. These are perfectly normal teenagers, struggling with bullying and the system trying to force them down. Even at school they arenât safe, as their final adversary turns out to be their own teacher. I always try to review spoiler free, so I wonât describe how the story ends up, but I was very satisfied!
Iâve made it sound like a very heavy read, but there are plenty of moments of hope and lightness as well, as the girls find strength and support in their friendship. This balance keeps the novel from being too heavy to keep reading, as Vachss skillfully keeps the tone even, never tipping too far to one side or the other. This shouldnât be a triggering read for anyone, as everything is handled very carefully. Watching the girls reclaim their power was absolutely amazing.
Found family is one of my favourite tropes and this is a fantastic example. Though theyâre hesitant at first, the girls come to depend on each other very deeply. The bonds between each individual girl varies depending on her personality, but they are all clearly very important to each other in different ways. Having each other to lean on makes each of them stronger and more able to cope with life and its ups and downs. This is a wonderful picture of an amazing, empowering relationship.
Why You Should Read It:
Unforgettable Characters: These girls arenât tropes or stereotypes, they feel like real, living girls.
Themes of Empowerment: A wonderful story of healing and found family.
A Powerful Message: It has some darker moments, but theyâre balanced with hope and fun as well.
If You Liked This, Try:
Book: Speak by Laurie Halse Andersonâanother powerful story of finding one's voice in the face of trauma.
TV Show: 13 Reasons Whyâa gripping exploration of the struggles faced by modern teens, highlighting the importance of empathy and understanding.