SuitabookBrutal
Michael B. Harmon
- Reading
- Because bullying and family disruption appear central, consider reading alongside the book and pausing to discuss power, bystander choices and how the characters respond to harm.
- Themes
- Bullying and institutional power: Velveeta is repeatedly targeted, and Colby Morris’s behaviour becomes dangerous while Poe seeks to challenge the system. The framing presents the bullying as a problem requiring intervention, rather than as harmless popularity or entertainment.
- Displacement and family relationships: Poe leaves Los Angeles, lives with a previously unknown father and begins making friends at a new high school. The book?s stance on this remains unclear.
- Worth knowing
- The story includes a mother’s absence, family upheaval, repeated pranks, a vulnerable student being targeted, and behaviour described as becoming deadly; the emotional effect and ending are unclear.