Please Stop Laughing at Me
by Jodee Blanco
Summary
Please Stop Laughing at Me is a nonfictional book written by Jodee Blanco. The events that occur relate to her life. She starts off at preschool where everything is going fine until she starts doing things "differently" than everyone else and people don't take that well. Even her friends turn against her. she switched schools a couple times and it always would start off great but something will happen and it ends in a disaster. In the end she decides to stick with one school no matter what happened and she eventually finds a group of friends and they and their families all become really close. So after all the pain it has a happy ending."For the first time in years, i'm not ashamed of how I look. That makes a big difference." (p.235)
Character Analysis
Jodee Blanco, who is the author, is also the main character. Jodee is kind of shy around new people, however she is very thoughtful of others and mature for her age. She has a hard time keeping friends because of her maturity. However she does find a group where she fits in the end. She had a condition where one breasts was bigger than the other but was eventually fixed with plastic surgery. Her and her family were very close and cared a lot about each other."what if that terrified teenager I used to be, the outcast who came home with cuts and bruises, is still hiding inside me?"(p.3)
Conflict/Resolution
I believe the conflict would be character vs. society. I think this fits well because it's not just her against one or two bullies, almost all students at each school eventually hate her so I think society fits better. The way she resolved it was to stay strong and stick with her school and things eventually worked out in the end."I escaped those bullies at school."(p.2)
Theme
I think a good theme for Please Stop Laughing at Me would be "perseverance comes through" because the amount of it Jodee showed was incredible and in the end it all fell in line."It's quitting and I won't let you do it. Besides I'm looking forward to rooting you on!"(p.162)
Textual Evidence
"For the first time in years, i'm not ashamed of how I look. That makes a big difference." (p.235) I know I used this quote but it was also my favorite quote. I think it's so meaningful because it shows how much she's been through and it makes you smile because you know things have gotten better for her. I also think it goes well with the theme.
Book Review
I give this book a 2-5 stars. I feel it deserves this rating because I'm not a fan of depressing books. It almost seemed unrealistic what she went through so it was hard to imagine it. I just wasn't a fan and wouldn't really recommend it. However the dialogue was pretty good and it's definitely not the worst book i've ever read.
Anti-bullying video at JFK Elementary School
Citations
Jodee+blanco - Google Search
Bullying - Google Search
Bullying+survivor - Google Search
YouTube
What Is Bullying
It's NOT Just Joking Around! - A Survivor's Guide to Joking and Peer Abuse :: Jodee Blanco