Sticks and Stones

Mature readers book in that it contains language that may offend. Jujube is asked out by Brent. When she snubs him in the back seat of his car, the next day he spreads rumours around the school about how "easy" she is. Soon it gets out of hand and there is graffiti on her locker and in the toilets. Jujube and her best friend decide to do something to stop it by filming it all and creating a powerful presentation in front of the school. Slightly dated because there is no mention of phones anywhere in the text, but still an important story about standing up for yourself.

This book starts off in a high school dance and goes out into the parking lot in the back seat of a car. That is where the stories begin to occur. Everyone thinks that Trudy and Brent had relations togther and the talking begins. Everyone calls Trudy easy and a slut because they think she gave it up. Trudy knows the truth and she does not like the name calling and the looks. She uses the rumors that were written on the bathroom stalls and uses them to make people aware of how words can hurt people, but it does not mean that those words are the truth.

Booktalk: Reputation. How does one earn a reputation? Sometimes you earn it on your own. If you're the kind who gets good grades, always helps people or is cool with everyone, no matter who they are, then you've probably got a good reputation. Sometimes though, people give you your reputation, whether you like it or not. It's like Jujube's friend tells her: "It's a power rush sort of thing. They know they can turn you into anything they want. Unfortunately, Jujube finds out people at school have turned her into something she's not. How will Jujube fight a huge lie that everyone else wants to believe?

Bright yellow lockers with red graphitti shouting "SLUT" on the cover will cause teens to pick up Sticks and Stones. The high interest content in the book will keep them reading. Jujube is a freshman in highschool. On a Friday, she attends a dance with a guy from school. When she returns to class the following week, rumors had been spread about just how far Jujube goes on a first date. The book describes the evolution of her feelings from embaressment to anger to fighting back. The Orca Soundings series is written for low-level readers. Although younger children might be able to read the book, the concepts are appropriate for teenagers. Recommended ages: 13+.

Quick read for girl who doesn't like to. STory line is that a high school student on her first date with a boy, goes into the backseat of his car with him to get some equipment out (she thinks) when he starts forcing himself on her. She explains that she is interested, but it gets around that she is "easy". Graffiti around the school about her being a slut is very hurtful. She finds a creative way to make the situation better.

Sticks and Stones was an interesting book.
It was about a girl who was with a guy one night and everybody at her school found out and started calling her names and wrote her name all over the bathrooms.
The girl got really upset and told her mom. Her mom then went to the school's principle and told him to erase everything in the bathrooms but the principle said they didn't have enough money so the girl herself, went into the boy's bathrooms and looked at all the names in there and gathered together the girls whose name was written down and they made a little club and erased it themselves and that was the end. I thought it was an interesting book while i was reading it but i thought it had a bad ending.

After developing an unearned reputation as a slut, Jujube finds a novel way to take on her tormentors and help a group of girls win back their self-esteem.