“Blubber is a good name for her,” the note from Caroline said about Linda. Jill crumpled it up and left it on the corner of her school desk. She didn’t want to think about Linda or her dumb report on whales just then. Jill wanted to think about Halloween.

But Robby grabbed the note and before Linda stopped talking it had gone halfway around the room. There was something about Linda that made a lot of kids in her fifth-grade class want to see how far they could go…but nobody, Jill least of all, expected the fun to end where it did.

In an honest exploration of childhood bullying, this story is told from the perspective of the bully. While she's not the worst in her class, Jill still participates in bullying Linda, and it takes a drastic turn of events for Jill to understand the consequences of her actions. Written in Judy Blume's celebrated candid style, Blubber is a story of bullying, self-discovery, and what makes a true friendship.

Atheneum, 2014.
ISBN: 9781481410137. 208 pp.
Softcover. Very good.