Journal of a Schoolyard Bully

Farley Katz

Publisher: St. Martins Press

Publish Date: September 13, 2011

Version: print advanced copy

Series: none

The subtitle to this book is “Notes on Noogies, Wet Willies, and Wedgies.”  This book tells the story of Niko Kayler.  He is a bully in his school.  He likes being a bully.  One day he gets into trouble and has a meeting with vice principle Jones, his mom and his psychiatrist.  His vice principle informed him at that meeting that if he got into trouble one more time that he would be expelled from Checkers Nixon Memorial.  This causes Niko to evaluate his bullying and at the advice of his therapist, he keeps this journal to help him in this process.  What happens, however, is different than what Dr. Shaeffer had planned.  Not only does Niko describe his emotions when certain things happens, which gives insight into why he bullies in the first place, but he also describes the process of bullying and tricks of the trade.

In the tradition of the mega successful DIARY OF A WIMPY KID and DORK DIARIES comes Niko Taylor, a school bully who must keep a journal to right all the wrongs he has done, but Niko, being a habitual trouble-maker, has other ideas.   Niko Kaylor, the terror of his middle school, doles out wedgies and collects money he doesn’t need. When he is forced to begin keeping a journal of his activities to curb his bullying ways, he secretly turns his diary into a how-to guide for bullies.  Now, against the wishes of his peers, Niko plans to conquer his middle school and teach everyone a lesson in bullying, including his teachers.

•The Bullying threat levels.  It explains how to manage your expressions of anger using five different levels.  The levels explain when to use each level and have pictures to show what the levels mean.

•Bullying Hall of Fame.  Six famous bullies are listed in this entry of the Hall of Fame.  It tells a little about the bully and his actions that gained him the nomination.  

•Stages of grief.  Niko is forced to spend the weekend with Dr. Shaeffer and he describes the stages of grief he went through.  The comics that were included in these descriptions were spot on and hilarious.

•The drawings in the book.  I love the way the drawings depicts emotions and help you to better understand what is happening with Niko and his peers.

•The changes Niko goes through throughout the book and the understanding he gains.

•The Print.  It was just a little weird.  I didn’t have trouble reading it, but it wasn’t the most comfortable print to read.  This seems to be the consensus amongst the reviewers on this blog.

Katz’s book is compared to Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Dork Diaries.  Since I haven’t read either of those books, I enlisted some people who have, my guest reviewers aka my nieces and nephew.  

Alex (Age 13)
Likes	Dislikes
•everything	•The font he used

Ilana (Age 12)
Likes	Dislikes
• How Niko sees how bad he treats others.	•The Printing of the words in the book
•The inventions Niko makes.

  

Isabel (Age 10)
Likes	Dislikes
•Did not finish book.  Said the print in it was too hard on her eyes to read.