Second book I've read in the hi/lo Surviving Southside series. I am impressed by how compelling the author made the story given how simply, and briefly it's told. The Lexile is 600. The story concerns a teen who sees a boy being bullied at school for being gay. When the teacher who also observes the bullying does nothing to support the student, the teen, whose name is Bella, becomes angry and decides to get involved. The dialog rings very true to the kind of conversation I hear around school every day. I think this is a good choice for a reluctant reader who is sympathetic to, or identifies as LGBTQ. ( )