Rating: 
Summary: You're missing the point...
Review: I've heard Jodee speak to children of all ages about the issue of bullying. And while I would agree that her book is not overly well written and is somewhat overwrought at times, you should know that she is a gifted and effective speaker. I saw her audiences of elementary school kids, middle school students and parents enthralled. Her message is powerful.One of the points she is trying to make (granted, better in person than in her book) is that for kids who have been bullied, no matter who they become later in life, they continue to carry the pain of that time with them. She realizes fully that someone who can hang with Mel Gibson and arrange complex publicity tours for Jim Carrey should not feel inadequate. However, it's her past and her past pain that makes her still want to feel accepted by her high school peers. She knows how ridiculous it is, yet her point is that in children who are victimized, that pain and longing do not go away. They are not ameliorated by later success. Her message in schools is that children/teens must realize the power they have over others, and that teasing/bullying/ignoring may mean nothing to the bully (who is not necessarily a bad person but probably hurting also in some way), but that the hurt inflicted may well affect that victim for their whole life. I agree that the book doesn't give a lot of specific useful advice. The author does give great advice when she speaks. I'm not overly invested in the success of this book, however I think it's important that this author is trying to garner attention for a problem that is bigger and more important than many parents, educators and health professionals suspect. And I wanted to tell people that tell this author and others like her to "just get a life" do not understand the point she is trying to make.
Rating: 
Summary: Immature and Not Inspiring
Review: The writing of this book was so stilted and, well, just plain bad that I, like another reviewer, also checked to see if I had accidentally purchased a book for children or adolescents. Blanco's account is somewhat interesting, but there's nothing new and, like others, I don't buy the Mother Theresa act. Blanco comes off so sanctimonious in her accounts of her own behavior and language as a teen that it made me want to bully her, too! Trust me -- I know this is a serious subject. I was tormented from 4th grade through 12th; kids are horrible and horrifying to one another. Parents, educators and society in general need to find ways to prevent bullying and help children who are bullied. But there are no answers in this book. None. Blanco tells us her family kept giving her the wrong advice. Well, what was the right advice? I kept expecting, yearning, for some piece of wisdom. I'd love to have had some good advice during my own wonder years of name-calling and bus torture. I'm still recovering. Go ahead and read this if you want to know how kids act when adults aren't around - but you won't find inspiration or any suggestions on how to prevent the Columbines of this world.
Rating:
Summary: From a teens point of view
Review: The book that I am reviewing is called Please Stop Laughing at Me... by Jodee Blanco. This book was so inspiring that it invoked thought and action in me to promote change within my life and help with others. The book was written as an inspirational book to help others cope with bullying in schools, not to make the reader pity the main character, Jodee. It was amazing to see how a child's mind develops and what restraints are put on a growing mind and soul when a child is repetitively chastised. The best aspect of this book was that the outcome was positive. Although Jodee had endured so much growing up, she was able to transcend the pain, anger, and depression to become ultimately a better person. At Jodee's high school reunion she makes this comment, "The night is turning out to be so much different than I expected. I'm discovering that even though so many of the people here tonight caused me pain when we were kids, I actually like who they've become as adults (p. 262)." If only it were this easy to always forgive people, life for some would be a lot easier.
The theme of this book is do what you want to do if it makes you happy, regardless of the pain it might bring in the present, there are happier days in the future.
I agree with this comment because it has held true in my life. Unfortunately, not all cases of school bullying end up this way, that's why it is critical to understand the complexities of bullying. It is hard fathom the situations portrayed in this book as being real. It is amazing to see the severity of bullying that is happing everywhere in schools, and sometimes, ignored. After reading this book, I took a look around in my classrooms and in the hallways. Things that I saw made me realize how much pain people go through everyday.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for help, trying to make a difference or just care about the welfare of children in our society. When I picked up this book at the store and saw it categorized as self-help/inspirational I was reluctant to read it. At that time I was not looking for a book that I needed personally to guide me through life and save me from bullying. But having gone through it and seeing those victims everyday when I walk through school, I decided to read it. I recommend that my peers read this book because maybe it will force some of them to care. To care about others, life, and the future and maybe in some cases the past of others. Anyone who has been the recipient of bullying, to those who have given it, should take the time to read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Please Stop Whining
Review: This was probably the most self-induldgent and self-righteous "biography" that I have ever read. Yes Jodee, I feel bad for you that you were picked on, but because you stood up for a deaf kid? You were such a good person that people didn't like you? Come on, I grew up in suburban Illionois, and kids do get picked on, but not so relentlessly and pointlessly as this story indicates. Plus, how was anything in this inspiring? The end just shows her still insecure and afraid of what people she hadn't seen in years would think of her. If this book teaches kids anything, its how not to deal with bullying and how not to prioritize whats important to you. And on top of that, the book was boring and poorly written. By the end of the book I knew nothing about any of the characters (except, of course, the do-gooder narrator), and the descriptions of anything else were bland and obvious.
Rating: 
Summary: screw the popular crowd; they're not important
Review: Even though I'm very sorry Jodee Blanco had to go through it, I highly recommend reading this book, especially if you have children. It deals with a vital issue in schools; especially after Columbine. I don't blame Blanco for seeing a therapist about her memories of not fitting in at school, since it is understandable that she would still find these experiences upsetting. However, it bothered me that she went to her high school reunion, and STILL desperately wanted her classmates to like her. For example, she greeted a classmate in this reunion thinking: "Please like me." Why would Blanco even CARE how her classmates feel about her now, especially since she has a fabulous publishing career and works with big celebrities like Jim Carrey and Muhammad Ali. Aren't they the true in-crowd?? If I was her, I'd be grateful I fit in with the likes of Ali and Carrey and not some dull suburban hick classmates from the middle of nowhere; especially since none of them are now doing as well as she is. I would have just written off her classmates. Why care about them if all they did was gang up on you? From the way Ms. Blanco describes them, they don't just sound like bullies, but they also sound like very boring, mediocre people. Believe me, I know what it's like to be ostracized. Like Jodee, I also had my share of being teased and ganged up on when I was in school; although I was never beaten up. Yes, kids in school can be really nasty. But I also believe that these types of experiences can only traumatize you for life if you allow them to. One valuable lesson I learned from those experiences is that you feel much better about yourself if you don't care so much what other people think of you; especially if their opinions of you aren't worth respecting anyway. Sadly, I don't have the impression that Jodee Blanco ever learned this herself. I guess I just can't understand why even after all these years, Blanco still seemed to consider her classmates the be-all and end-all when she went to her high school reunion. This ingratiating attitude, this chronic need to suck up to them, bordered too much on the obsequious for my taste. It saddens me that Blanco, especially when she's now so successful, still yearns to be liked and accepted by a bunch of ignorant yahoos that hated her so much. They're clearly not worth it.
Rating: 
Summary: required reading for anyone dealing with kids
Review: PLEASE STOP LAUGHING AT ME is a heart-wrenching look at one girl's abuse at the hands of her peers. If this book doesn't provoke strong emotions in you, it is not the fault of the writer. Though some have faulted the writing in this book, that is merely nit-picking and tends to ignore the worth of the bok as a whole. My only complaint that she changed the names to protect the guilty, and that she forgave her abusers (who were still oblivious to the pain they had caused her) at a high school reunion. Those who "don't get it" should consider these things: 1) Blanco had a strong family life which counter-balanced the abuse she suffered at school, 2)the fact that she has become a success in life does not invalidate her story; those who have suffered abuse often feel the need to overcompensate for their feelings of inadequacy; 3) success does not necessarily heal the wounds; victims of trauma invariably find themselves re-enacting stressful incidents in order to deal with them, 4) though the abuse she suffered may not have been as extreme as that suffered by others, it should be remembered that those who have suffered the most would not have been able to write something like this; teen suicide rates are very high, as is drug use and criminal behavior (perpetrators of school shootings are invariably the victims of long-term abuse). Sadly, as recent events have shown, things are only getting worse.
Rating:
Summary: Required reading
Review: This book is required reading for all. Never before have I said that about a book - until now. The book is straightforward and easy to understand - but at the same time, it will shock and move you. Most importantly, the author has the courage to confront the subject of school harassment - something that has been ignored by others. The fact is, bullies rarely stop - not 5, not 10, not 20 years later - and it is refreshing to see the topic dealt with as honestly as the author tells it. When you pick up this book, you won't want to put it back down.
Rating:
Summary: to hell with school and the in crowd
Review: I am very sorry that Jodee Blanco had to go through all the teasing and being ostracized that she did. It is a problem that should be addressed by parents, teachers, school officials, etc. What bothers me, however, is that after all these years, she hasn't seemed to have gotten over it. Here she is, with a successful career in publishing and a life that's probably much more interesting than those of her ex-classmates, and she still seems to want very much to be part of the in-crowd in her high school. For example, she actually went to her high school reunion. If I was in her shoes, I wouldn't have bothered going at all. Why care about a bunch of snotnose ex-classmates that made you so miserable - let alone get together with them? They're not worth it. High school can be very difficult. But it doesn't have to be the be-all and end-all of existence - especially when you don't go there any more. To the reviewer who said he runs into ex-classmates that still torment him 25 years after they graduated, I say: They sound like very sad, insecure people with a pathetic case of arrested development. If they're really giving you a hard time, tell them to piss off, grow up, and GET A LIFE.
Rating: 
Summary: Well, ummm....
Review: This was a good historical account of one woman's traumatic experience going through the school system while being tormented at the hands of the "cool kids". That is not, however, what this book purported itself to be ("inspirational"). It was a sad story, but there was nothing particularly striking about it. The author never shares with her readers what exactly helped her to "rise above it all", what inspired her to become ultra-successful, or for that matter WHY she truly wanted to attend her high school reunion. It's hard for me to be critical of this book considering the subject matter, but I'm unsure as to the point of Blanco actually publishing this. I agree it's important that the topic of bullying be kept in the forefront of social concerns, but books such as this that offer virtually no critical analysis of the situation seem to be merely spinning their wheels.
Rating:
Summary: Please Stop Writing About Yourself
Review: Here is what publicists, some like Jodee Blanco, do: They write suggestively misleading back cover copy like "You will be shocked, moved and ultimately inspired by this harrowing tale of insurmountable odds. This vivid story will open your eyes to the harsh realities and long-term consequences of bullying -- and how all of us can make a difference in the lives of teens today." (I'm not suggesting that Blanco wrote this copy -- it's too concise and well-written to be from the same person who wrote the guts of this mess.) I was not shocked, moved or inspired by Jodee's tale. I agree that it's sad that she was bullied throughout her school years, and that she had to deal with some physical challenges, but what part of that haven't we heard (or lived) a thousand times before? How does this help kids being bullied today? And if the odds are truly insurmountable, are we to believe she succumbed to a life of miserable failure? Doesn't insurmountable mean it can't be overcome? For God's sake, by all definitions of success in the sleazy world of publicity, Blanco's not only beaten the odds, she's on top of the world! Heck, she's worked with Muhammad Ali! And "the harsh realities"? Yep, her experience is an example of the harsh reality of bullying. That's the point. It's reality. It happened. It's happening still. But does she provide any solutions or suggestions (besides asking us not to laugh at her, oh right, "please" don't laugh at her -- we must be polite when addressing a bully)? No, just write a book like it's another publicity event and people will fall all over themselves saying, "Yes, that's how it was for me too (or is for my child). Thanks for sharing. Now what time is Dr. Laura on?" I do pity her, just not in the context she would hope. Some things this book does illustrate are the "long-term consequences of bullying." Obviously being bullied ensures you'll become a self-righteous, self-absorbed, insecure adult who measures success by how many celebrities she knows. Yes, I'll stop laughing at you. As soon as you quit writing such hilarious tripe.
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