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Three reasons you should read this Middle Grade Novel:
- Diary of a Fifth Grade Bully by Beth Riwa takes a long look at how grade-schoolers see themselves and each other.
- Bullying in schools is a hot topic, and I feel like the author did a great job of showing how not all bullies mean to be bad – some do, but some may not understand.
- Dewey is a complicated character, and his friends really showcase the power of friendships and how they can help people be better.
About Diary of a Fifth Grade Bully by Beth Riwa
Title: Diary of a Fifth Grade Bully
Author: Beth Riwa
Series: The Inside Story #1
Genre: Middle Grade, Contemporary Fiction
If you like Diary of a Wimpy Kid or Dork Diaries, you’ll love Diary of a Fifth Grade Bully! Meet the newest bully on the block, Dewey Shoemaker. Except according to Dewey, he’s not a bully at all.
In book one of this debut series, Dewey Shoemaker is anything but a normal ten-year-old kid. After all, it’s hard to be normal when your dad has a million and one demands, and your mom collects creepy porcelain dolls. It doesn’t help that Dewey can’t seem to stay out of trouble at school. He’s pretty sure his teacher Mrs. Stapleton has it out for him. Worse still, somewhere along the way Dewey was called a bully, and it stuck.
Dewey’s mission, if he chooses to accept it, is to prove them all wrong. But it’s a lot harder than he thought, especially when his best friends—Stinky, Slinky, and Zora—aren’t always there when he needs them. Not a lot of people are interested in hearing a “bully’s” side of the story.
Until now.
A diary is the perfect solution! As Dewey writes in one entry, “If they won’t listen, I’ll write it instead. People are more willing to read books than to hear someone talk.” At least that’s how he feels when he’s sitting in Mrs. Stapleton’s class.
Will Dewey be able to convince everyone he’s not the bully they think he is? Diary of a Fifth Grade Bully introduces a new type of hero who embodies the challenges of being a kid in today’s tough environment. With a little understanding and a lot of self-awareness, readers will learn from Dewey how to identify and deal with bullying in this humorous, relevant, entertaining series that will keep young readers hooked on books.
My Review of Diary of a Fifth Grade Bully:
Diary of a Fifth Grade Bully by Beth Riwa was a much deeper story than I expected it to be. I highly recommend that you read this with your child. It does have some pretty heavy topics. Bullying (intentional and unintentional), abuse, and poverty. I think Beth Riwa did an amazing job of approaching these in a respectful way. But some children may have a hard time relating or understanding.
Dewey was not what I expected at all. At first, I didn’t feel bad for him and wholeheartedly agreed with the assessment that he was a bully. But then I got to know him a little better. He’s one of the deepest characters I’ve read in a middle-grade novel. As I learned more about him, his friends, and his school, I started to understand him a lot better. He’s more than what he seems at first, so you’ll have to give him a chance to show you.
Diary of a Fifth Grade Bully is written in the popular style of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, which was the perfect way to present this story. Getting to see into Dewey’s mind and hear his thoughts and feelings in his own words was incredibly impactful.
Dewey learns a grows lot in this first book. And he doesn’t seem to be afraid to look at himself and see what he’s doing well and what he’s doing wrong. He has some amazing friends that help him along his journey to proving he isn’t a bully.
My only real complaint about the book was the cartoons in my digital copy were incredibly small and couldn’t really be read easily.
**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**
