Reccommendations: books, movies and more

RECOMMENDATIONS: Books, movies, tv shows, musicals on the theme of bullying or discrimination - Melody Z.

Books:

Où est passée Alice?

Dans cette petite histoire policière publiée en 2020 par la Préfecture de Police de Paris, Juliette et Sacha mènent une enquête pour retrouver leur amie Alice. Au cours de leurs aventures, elles seront introduites aux thèmes du harcèlement, du cyber-harcèlement et des risques sur Internet ainsi que le respect de la diversité.

Becoming Nicole

For this heart-wrenching novel about identity and acceptance, written by Amy Ellis Nutt and published in 2015, the author did extensive research to translate this true story to text in the most accurate way possible. A couple lives serenely with their adopted twin boys until they start to notice a deep difference between them. One insists that he is actually female. Will this new reality tear the family apart?

Face

Face written by Benjamin Zephaniah and published in 1999 is a novel about a boy named Martin whose face was badly burned after an unfortunate accident. He struggles to accept his new appearance and has to deal with problems from his friends and relatives.

Six contre un

Dans ce roman écrit par Cécile Alix et publié en 2018, Ludo est victime de harcèlement scolaire. Il ne sait pas comment s'en échapper, il ne sait pas à qui et comment demander de l’aide. Ses proches se mobiliseront-ils pour lui venir en aide?

Cat’s Eye

Cat’s Eye was written by Margaret Atwood and published in 2011. In the novel, Elaine returns to Toronto for an art exhibition in her honor. On her journey, she reminisces about her tough childhood full of betrayal and trauma. Will she accept her identity and work through her issues?

The art of being normal

This novel follows the unlikely friendship that blossoms between David, a closeted trans teen, and Leo, the new kid in town who doesn’t want to attract any attention, when the latter defends David in a school fight.

Ruby tête haute

Cet album a été écrit par Irène Cohen-Janca et publié en 2017. Une maîtresse raconte à ses élèves l’histoire de Ruby, première enfant noire à intégrer une école de blancs en Louisiane dans les années 60. L’auteure souligne l’hostilité des blancs envers les noirs et la lutte continuelle contre la discrimination.

Les Petites Reines

Les Petites Reines est un roman écrit par Clémentine Beauvais et publié en 2015. Trois adolescentes, Mireille, Astrid et Hakima, partent pour Paris à vélo après avoir été publiquement humiliées par les élèves de leur lycée.

Sweet sixteen

Dans ce roman publié en 2013, Annelise Heurtier s’inspire des “Neuf de Little Rock” et décrit la première rentrée scolaire de neuf élèves noirs dans un lycée de deux mille cinq cents blancs en 1957 dans l’Arkansas.

Ma réputation

Écrit par Gaël Aymon et publié en 2013, ce roman suit Laura, collégienne qui préfère traîner avec les garçons que les filles. Mais elle est repoussée et isolée par son groupe d’amis lorsqu’elle n’accepte pas de devenir la petite amie de Sofiane. Sa rencontre avec Joséphine la sauvera-t-elle de ce harcèlement injustifié?

Proud

Proud is a collection of stories, poems, and art by members of the LGBTQ+ community compiled by Juno Dawson and published in 2019. Each piece gives a unique, thought-provoking, sometimes emotional, sometimes funny, perspective on the broad theme of pride.

Books + adaptations:

Matilda (novel & movie & musical)

Originally written by Roald Dahl, illustrated by Quentin Blake and published in 1988, this fantastically comedic children’s novel was adapted for the screen in 1996 by director Danny DeVito and finally brought to the world of musicals by Dennis Kelly and Tim Minchin in 2010. It tells the story of a young girl, intelligent beyond her years, who is quite literally surrounded by idiots. Threatened by her wondrous mind, her relatives mock and shame Matilda. Will she find herself an ally on her first day of school?

Stargirl (novel & movie)

Stargirl is a coming of age novel written by Jerry Spinelli that explores the hardships of fitting in and figuring out who you are. It’s recently been made into a movie by Disney, directed by Julia Hart and released March 13th, 2020. In this story, we follow Leo who’s understood that to live in peace you must not stand out, but when Stargirl arrives, defying every rule of the high school hierarchy, can he continue living his life in the shadows?

The Hate U Give (novel & movie)

Starr is a sixteen-year-old who lives in a poor neighborhood but goes to a prestigious high school when she witnesses the shooting of a childhood best friend. Relevant as ever, the novel was written by Angie Thomas and published in 2017. In 2018, the movie adaptation by George Tillman Jr. was released.

Marion, 13 ans pour toujours (roman & film)

Cette pseudo-biographie publiée en 2015 retrace l’histoire de Marion Fraisse, victime de harcèlement scolaire. C’est sa mère, Nora Fraisse, qui se donne comme mission de partager les horreurs qu’a subies sa fille, comme un hommage, dans l’espérance que des mesures plus strictes seront enfin prises dans les écoles. En 2016, cette tragédie est mise sur écran par le réalisateur Bourlem Guerdjou.

Bridge to Terabithia (book & movie)

In this story of friendship and imagination, twelve-year-old Jess meets Leslie on her first day at school. They quickly become friends and together they create a fantastical world of which they are the king and queen: Terabithia. But in the real world, they repeatedly receive unwanted attention from the school’s notorious bully, Janice. Written by Kathrine Patterson and published in 1977, the novel was brought to the screen for Disney by director Gábor Csupó.

Holes (novel & movie)

Holes was written by Louis Sachar and published in 1998. The film adaptation directed by Andrew Davis was released in 2003 by Disney. Fourteen-year-old Stanley Yelnats is cursed like every generation of Yelnats since time immemorial. This inescapable curse gets him unfairly sent to a juvenile correction camp where a very threatening warden forces her inmates to dig holes, supposedly to build character. There are really three narratives to the novel, the prior, the story of how the curse came to be, and one of a late 19th century teacher whose Afro-American lover is killed, sending her on a criminal revenge quest.

Wonder (novel & movie)

In this novel, written by R. J. Palacio and published in 2012, Auggie, a sixth-grader with a severely disfigured face, goes to school for the first time after being homeschooled for most of his life. He is introduced to the harsh and cruel realities of middle school under brutal conditions. Auggie and his family must learn to navigate this unfamiliar, unpredictable world. Over the years, there have been many accompanying books published and, finally, in 2017, a film adaptation directed by Stephen Chbosky.

Simon v.s the homosapiens agenda (novel & movie)

This novel was written by Becky Albertalli and published in 2015 and its film adaptation, titled Love, Simon was directed by Greg Berlanti and released in 2018. In this story we follow Simon as he navigates the social minefield of high school. whilst dealing with the pressure of coming out of the closet and entertaining a digital conversation with the mysterious “Blue”. What will he do when someone threatens to reveal everything?

Carrie (novel & movies)

Carrie is a novel written by Stephen King and published in 1974 about a young high school student, Carrie, who was an unwanted child abused by her mother. She’s fiercely bullied at school but discovers she has telekinetic powers and decides to use them to enact her revenge. In 1976, a first adaptation was released, directed by Brian De Palma and a sequel titled The Rage: Carrie 2 directed by Katt Shea was subsequently released in 1999. David Carson directed a re-imagining of the novel in 2002, and finally, in 2013, the most recent version was released, directed by Kimberly Pierce.

Diary of Wimpy Kid (novel series & movies)

Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a fifteen book long series, with a number of supplementary books and spinoffs, written by Jeff Kinney which was first published online in 2004, then in print in 2007. It follows the daily adventures of Greg who deals with a dysfunctional family at home and his unconventional friends at school. Four movies and an animated short film were released depicting the events of four different books. The first was directed by Thor Freudenthal and released in 2010, the others were directed by David Bowers and released in 2011, 2012 and 2017.

Legally Blonde (novel & movie & musical)

Written by Amanda Brown and published in 2001, this novel was adapted for the screen in the same year by Robert Luketic and was made into a musical by Heather Hach in 2007. Elle Woods, a blonde sorority president, is left alone and heartbroken after her boyfriend, Warner, goes to law school. She decides to follow Warner to win him back and prove that blonds can be smart. Will her peers’ judgement and criticism break her spirit, or will she eventually win over their hearts?

Noughts & Crosses (novel series & play & TV show)

This novel series by Malorie Blackman, first published in 2001, details an alternate 21st century where the crosses (people of colour) are superior to the noughts (white people). In this world of discrimination, we follow Callum, a nought, and Sephy, a cross. They’ve been friends forever but what will happen when a Romeo-and-Juliet-esque love starts to blossom between them? In 2008, the first book of the series was adapted for the stage by Dominic Cooke who retitled it Black & White. It was readapted by Sabrina Mahfouz in 2019. A TV show was released in 2020 for the BBC, titled Noughts + Crosses.

Thirteen Reasons Why (novel & TV show)

In this novel written by Jay Asher and published in 2007, Clay receives a set of 7 cassette tapes retracing the events that led to one of his classmates, Hannah’s, suicide. Each tape names one person and their part in Hannah’s story. The first season of the TV show of the same name is loosely based on the novel. It was produced by Netflix and released in 2017. The show gives the story a dark and thriller-like spin.

Petit Pays (roman & film)

Publié en 2016, ce roman de Gaël Faye se passe pendant les mois avant le génocide rwandais. Gabriel vit au Burundi avec sa famille quand les tensions entre Tutsis et Hutus commencent à s’accentuer. Il voit le comportement de ses proches changer et sa famille se désintégrer devant ses yeux. En 2020 est parue l’adaptation cinématographique réalisée par Éric Barbier.

Movies, TV shows and musicals:

Moonlight

In this powerful Golden Globe, BAFTA and Oscar-winning movie directed by Barrie Jenkins and released in 2016, we follow Chiron through childhood, adolescence and adulthood as he navigates life in Miami with aggressive bullies and a drug addicted mother, all while struggling with his sexuality.

Wicked

In this musical by Stephen Shwartz, first performed on Broadway in 2003, we explore similar highschool bullying problems in Oz. From the moment she was born, Elphaba was different and her father hated her for it. When she goes to university for the first time she must deal with discrimination from her peers and popular girl Galinda. What will her move be when she discovers she has magical powers?

Hubie Halloween

This heart-warming Halloween comedy follows Hubie Dubois on his favourite night of the year, Salem’s renowned Halloween night. Since he was a kid, Hubie’s been the town’s laughing stock despite having the purest intentions and kindest heart. Will things finally change when people start disappearing on Halloween? Released in 2020, the movie was directed by Steven Brill.

Mean Girls (movie & musical)

Directed by Mark Waters and released in 2004, Mean Girls tells a tale of high school drama and cliques. Cady is new in school and struggles to make friends. When she’s unexpectedly accepted into the most popular girl group, she quickly realizes that they’re toxic and takes this opportunity to bring their leader, Regina down. This only worsens the situation as the students all turn on themselves. The musical by Tina Fey was first performed in 2017.

The Karate Kid (franchise)

The Karate Kid Is a pentalogy consisting of five movies and two TV shows. In the first instalment, directed by John G. Avildsen and released in 1984, Daniel and his mom move to LA, where he quickly falls prey to his new school’s infamous star student and bully. He finds an Ally in Mr Miyagi who teaches him karate to defend himself. 3 sequels were released in 1986, 1989 and 1994. The first two were also directed by John G. Avildsen and the last one by Christopher Cain. In 2010, a remake directed by Harald Zwart was released. An animated series directed by Larry Houston was released in 1989 and, more recently, Cobra Kai was released by YouTube in 2018. It takes place 34 years after the first movie.

Easy A

Easy A was directed by Will Gluck and released in 2010. High school student Olive releases a series of videos filmed on her webcam detailing the events that led to her sudden rise to popularity and just as sudden downfall and public humiliation brought on by high school cliques and rumours.

The Babysitter

In this comedic horror movie, twelve-year-old Cole, who is relentlessly bullied in school, is left in his babysitter, Bee’s, care for a weekend. Thinking she’ll use this opportunity to have fun with some older friends, he stays up to spy on them but what he discovers may change his life forever. In the sequel, Cole deals with the fact no one believes his story which brings on more bullying from his peers. The first movie by director McG was released in 2017.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Anti-bullying

consult a recording of the November department’s book recommendations

the special page on the EJM additional links and resources 5th webinar can be viewed here

the official Education Nationale website against harassment contains advice and resources to help victims, witnesses and even the English can be found here

view the Library’s special page with anti-bullying resources here

website for perpetrators of bullying

Le Bilingue past issues of Le Bilingue can be found here

our website contains a variety of articles, some from past issues and some exclusively online

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