Please Stop Laughing at Me
By: Jodee Blanco
Summary
Jodee Blanco struggles to fit in at school. With all the other people her age dreaming about first kisses and going to their first dances, she is dreaming about her freedom from the torture her classmates put her through. Jodee is constantly bullied in any school she goes to and her hopes of being free are slowly fading away. With no help from her parents, Jodee Blanco trudges through the massive hurdles she is facing. Her struggles are not all for nothing though. In the end she gets through all of it and ends up making friends with the people that had in fact bullied her all throughout high school. Jodee Blanco made it through those hurdles with all of her perseverance and hard work, and hopefully her words inspire others to persevere just as she had. Pg. 2-4
Conflict/Resolution
The main conflict of this novel is character vs. society. Jodee Blanco constantly deals with the threat of bullying almost ever day of her life. At one point, she'd pretend to be sick just so she didn't have to go to school to face her classmates. Though, since she's experiencing such bullying, she begins to wonder if it's her fault that the bullying is taking place. This leads on to a new conflict, character vs. self. Jodee continues to struggle and struggle with the bullying that she is experiencing, but after having new experiences with new people her spirits begin to lift. In the end she didn't let any of the bullying get to her, feeling confident after getting plastic surgery. During her high school reunion, her fears start to come back, wondering if they were going to like her. In the end, she faced her fears and walked into the high school to be given the warmest greeting that she'd ever experienced. Pg. 62-268
Theme
The theme of this novel is "A negative mind with never give you a positive life." I think this because due to the excessive amount of bullying that Jodee is experiencing she is beginning to think negatively. Thinking negatively will get you nowhere in life and that is probably why she had such a hard time being accepted in high school, because she wasn't confident in herself. If you think positively your life may not just be better, but it might affect the people around you.
Textual Evidence
My favorite quote in the book is probably "Agapi mou, my love, you must never be ashamed of any part of yourself," because explains that your body is your body and you should love it for what it is, now how it looks. I think this is a very meaningful quote because it is one of the very few uplifting moments in the book and it really helped to boost Jodee's confidence level, putting her back on track after the catastrophic events that she had been through.
Book Review
I would rate this novel with maybe 4.5 stars. I wouldn't give it a perfect five stars because over time it started to get a bit repetitive. I gave it the amount of stars I did because I thought it was a very emotional and moving book. This novel got the message across that bullying is not okay and needs to be stopped. I believe that this book is very inspirational to people who are going through what Jodee had gone through during her high school years. This book can make a difference.
Jodee Blanco gives presentation on bullying at Onekama Schools
Multi-Media Sources
"It's NOT Just Joking Around! - A Survivor's Guide to Joking and Peer Abuse :: Jodee Blanco." It's NOT Just Joking Around! - A Survivor's Guide to Joking and Peer Abuse :: Jodee Blanco. Web. 05 May 2016.
"Please Stop Laughing at Me One Woman's Inspirational Journey." All Reviews for Please Stop Laughing at Me. Web. 05 May 2016.
"Please Stop Laughing at Me."Google Books. Web. 05 May 2016.
Citations
"It's NOT Just Joking Around! - A Survivor's Guide to Joking and Peer Abuse :: Jodee Blanco." It's NOT Just Joking Around! - A Survivor's Guide to Joking and Peer Abuse :: Jodee Blanco. Web. 05 May 2016.
"Please Stop Laughing at Me One Woman's Inspirational Journey." All Reviews for Please Stop Laughing at Me. Web. 05 May 2016.
"Please Stop Laughing at Me."Google Books. Web. 05 May 2016.