‘Pottymouth and Stoopid’ by James Patterson

An entire community creates the environment where bullying is condoned. Case in point: Michael and David, protagonists of James Patterson's novel, Pottymouth and Stoopid.

It only took one person, in each case, to saddle the boys with cruel nicknames, but then those nicknames stuck.

Those names gave rise to a collective attitude about who these boys were, and what they had the potential to become.

I take stories about bullying to heart, because I myself am its survivor. I was called names, I was physically abused, and I was shunned by my schoolmates.

Today I work around students, and I worry about the ways that bullying can manifest. Am I observant enough to catch them? Are there behaviors that slip by me? Do I contribute to a problem, or am I part of the solution: an entire community that, instead of condoning, unites in support of the victims?

Patterson and co-author Chris Grabenstein have my enduring gratitude for crafting a book that, while entertainingly funny, conveys a serious message about the hurtful effects of bullying.

Disclosure of material connection: My taxes support local libraries’ acquisition of this and other resources. I consider the access I enjoy to be a “priceless” return on my investment.

‘The Burning Maze’ by Rick Riordan

It felt as though we were being chased by fire in October 2017, as we traveled Highway 29 -- away from the Napa Valley floor, up Mount Saint Helena, and into Lake County, Calif.

The complex of fires that raged that month has been called the largest in California history. I could readily imagine them as the earthly manifestation of an ancient Titan’s wrath.

Well, raging fires and other "natural" disasters form a backdrop to the action in this latest adventure in Rick Riordan’s Trials of Apollo series. Traveling through the Labyrinth, Apollo, Meg, and Grover the satyr emerge in southern California where new perils await.

‘Restart’ by Gordon Korman

Restart tells the fascinating story of a bully who has lost his memory and has to rediscover who he is. When the protagonist, Chase, awakes in a hospital, he doesn’t know who he is. Supposedly, he’d fallen off the roof of his house, but he doesn’t know why he’d even been out there.

When Chase returns to school, he doesn’t remember anyone.

Chase learns he’d formerly played football for the school; his father — formerly a football star himself — seems to seek replicating his own glory through Chase’s football career. But because of his head injury, Chase is barred from playing.

For the first time, Chase is free to explore new interests and, essentially, reinvent himself.

But other students’ reactions, and his own resurfacing memories, present a disturbing picture: Chase had been a bully, one of three who terrorized the school.

After one particularly destructive event, Chase and his two cronies were sentenced to community service at a local senior-care facility. Chase doesn’t remember what he did to earn the sentencing, and has been excused because of his injury, but voluntarily goes back to work at the senior-care facility.

Multiple viewpoints tell the story through first-person narrative. Gordon Korman does an excellent job of bringing all these characters to life. His former targets are conflicted: the “new” Chase seems likeable, but they weigh that against their memories of who he used to be.

And Chase himself: Korman really captures the range of emotion Chase feels as he learns about his past, and struggles to reconcile that with the person he’s becoming since he had his accident.

Disclosure of material connection: My taxes support local libraries’ acquisition of this and other resources. I consider the access I enjoy to be a “priceless” return on my investment.

‘Rock-Stars’ purchase prizes in SRCSA library

Students earn “Rock-Stars” at Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts by being safe, respectable, and responsible. Well, a “Rock-Star” ticket mini-store has begun serving customers in the library. A selection of bookmarks and novelty-patterned pencils each cost one “Rock-Star” apiece. Community members may have noticed similar items for-sale during Scholastic Book Fair; using sale proceeds, the organizers gave me some bookmarks to use as “Rock-Star” prizes. I do ask that student-browsing times be limited to when I’m available in the library, so I can get out, and put away, the collection.

DirecTV commercial normalizes abuse

If you’ve examined my posts, you might know one of the things I care about is to speak out against bullying. I’m a survivor of childhood peer abuse — and as such, I’m concerned when society makes light of ANY kind of abuse.

Well, right now, there’s a DirecTV commercial that seems to air non-stop whenever I stream shows online. Maybe you’ve heard it? That “letting-go, sorry-not-sorry” thing. Accompanied by this voice-over, it shows a young woman in an upper-story residence throwing a man’s belongings out of a window.

She doesn’t just throw them, either; it appears as though she is actively trying to hit him with the heavier objects. If something like that occurred in real life, it could cause injury or death.

Put simply, this commercial is disgusting! It normalizes domestic violence and I find it reprehensible. Moreover, the intended tone of the commercial clearly seems to be that the viewer is expected to relate to this woman, to take her side and exult with her as she threatens to harm another living being.

The look on the actress’s face is utterly revolting when she prepares to chuck the man’s guitar out the window; I find it difficult to read facial expressions but in that moment whatever she is communicating non-verbally, I find the character she is portraying to be completely malevolent.

If DirecTV were hoping to appeal to a female demographic, it has instead thoroughly repulsed this member of its target audience. Every person who “greenlighted” this commercial should be thoroughly ashamed.