I knew I wanted to read Bullies and Peeps written by J.D. Suhre the first time I came across it, but I never knew I’d be touched the way I am right now. If there is one word I could use to describe it, I’d pick this one with no hesitation: beautiful. It was just beautiful and heart-warming it made me cry.

Yes, it can make you cry but not in a melodramatic way. I don’t even know if the author meant it to be that way. But sometimes, it is the simplicity and the innocence of it all that can move you and surprise you. There is no barrier to resist and you just enter a world where you’re like a child again. You begin to see from that perspective again and you simply get carried away.

Nostalgic and reminiscent of days gone by, the book invites you to recall, albeit in an indirect way, your childhood memories. Who were your friends when you were young? Who were your enemies? Who were the people who helped you become a better version of yourself?

In a way, you transcend two worlds that are so much alike. The world of your present life and the world of past years when you were smaller, and life seemed simpler, though not necessarily easier or less frightening.

Both adults and young ones can enjoy this book. It has a lot of lessons packed within the story itself, not preached nor imposed upon anyone.

I found it particularly helpful that the author used the alternating points of view of the two main characters in the story. We could enter the perspective of Meg, the girl who was being bullied by a group of girls in school. We could also enter the perspective of Hannah, the girl who bullies Meg. What were her motivations? What could stop her from continuing to torment Meg? And what could Meg do to overcome this crisis in her young life?

The characters were well fleshed-out, even the supporting ones. You can almost imagine the teachers and the classmates Meg and Hannah had.

The pacing of the story was also just right. It wasn’t too fast, but it wasn’t dragging either. It was slow enough to linger at a particular scene yet fast enough to move the plot and look forward to everything that could happen next.

This book is a must-read, especially for those having trouble with bullying. Parents and educators can also learn more in handling similar situations.

Good job and congratulations to the author of this story! I wish it could be turned into a movie so I can experience it all over again.

This book review first appeared in Reedsy Discovery.