On Your Side

After the death of his mother, Carlton, a quiet 15-year-old computer gamer, moves in with his uncle. But this is no ordinary uncle-this is Ricky McNeil, the recently retired hockey megastar, who lives for his stardom and meeting his endless fans.

When Carlton starts at the prestigious Delis School, he becomes the next victim of the class bullies. Carlton is a loner who likes to handle his problems by himself. But when the bullying gets bloody, like it or not, Ricky gets involved.

Ricky becomes fed up. Fed up with the bullies. Fed up with the school's unwillingness to do anything about it. He's ready to transfer Carlton to a different school.

Carlton refuses to leave. He has fallen for Emily, a free-spirited Goth student, and believes being with her is more important than anything those bullies can dish out.

HOW ON YOUR SIDE SPEAKS TO TEENS FACING PEER BULLYING:

1. BULLYING CAN HAPPEN TO ANYONE: Like many students who are loners at school, the protagonist, Carlton, and his girlfriend, Emily, are brutally bullied by other students. However, On Your Side goes even further. When Carlton's uncle Ricky, a former megastar hockey player, takes a sports commentator job, he is repeatedly humiliated on live TV by his colleagues. The take-home message is unmistakable: if even someone like Ricky isn't immune to being bullied, then truly anyone can fall victim.
2. SPEAK UP: After the incompetence of one school official, Carlton believes that the school as a whole wouldn't do anything to prevent the abuse he is undergoing. This belief almost cost him his life. However, when the dean discovers what is happening in his school, he takes the appropriate steps to handle the problem. It is of the utmost importance that teens learn that being bullied is serious and they should never be silent about it.
3. YOU'RE NOT A COWARD: At the end of the book, Carlton has an epiphany, where he finally realizes that he's not the coward he had convinced himself he was-he's simply a non-violent person seeking a non-violent solution. The book is demonstrating that matching violence or stooping to any of the other tactics their oppressors use against them is unnecessary and counterproductive.