Loneliness is why people hurt themselves. Exclusion is a subtle example of bullying, but often more painful than being pushed around. The turning point for me was when his newspaper friends gave him the survey and he started to realize that it was bullying. He accepted his treatment as normal, or just the way people are treated. It bothered me that Jensen didn’t realize he was being bullied. I was getting annoyed that it was just about this wussy kid who let others walk all over him. In the beginning, the book was kind of boring. What I didn’t like about this book isn’t something I didn’t like, exactly, but something that was upsetting when applied to students. I think seeing a situation with obvious examples of bullying (like Yanic) and less-obvious examples (like most of the Art Club) is good for students who are unclear. They are willing to be role models and help him make good choices for himself. Jensen has so douchey people in his life, but he also has some that are kind and strong and teach him to stand up for himself. I’m a sucker for a book with a good moral.

What I liked about this book is the message. Jensen has to learn about standing up for himself, and what it means to be a real friend. There are a few blatantly mean boys who pick on Jensen, and these are the boys the reader wants to squish between the pages. He is forced to do a group project, and doesn’t have a partner, until a jock volunteers to work with him, and eventually protects him from bullies. He is friends with several from the newspaper, but they really just ask him to do little projects FOR them. He thinks he’s a part of the Art Club, but his “friends” forget to include him in group texts and projects. Brave is about a seventh grade boy named Jensen who is an easy target for bullies- he’s overweight, he doesn’t have many close friends, he struggles in school, his mom is busy, he daydreams often, etc.

Brave by svetlana chmakova