Rating: 
Summary: Yes, some people do deserve this.
Review: A fantastic read, riveting...unfortunately the characters are not likeable or redemable at the end of the story...their actions are disgusting and antisocial...I wonder what the people involved in the murder would say today about their actions.
Rating: 
Summary: Fact or Fiction?
Review: And by how much? I'm not sure you can call a book with no Works Cited reference section or sources listed for most of the statements and information within it as being a "True Story"...unless you're willing to group it in with the TV movie of the week. More like a crime novel, than an academic case study...and the publishers are indeed calling it a case study. He gets in the heads of the "characters" in a way that reads like fiction, plain and simple. That's not a good thing. And Schutze really has created characters rather than presented objective information on the real people. He certainly didn't talk to the participants, because we know from them that very little planning went into the murder. It was premeditated in the sense that Marty had supposedly talked about wanting Bobby dead to Lisa, but several of them, including Alice, had no idea until the weapons were brandished. That's from actual court information and interviews with the convicted. And the homoeroticism and kiddy porn aspects led me to believe that the author might be trying to draw a connection between delinquent behavior and homosexuality. Are these facts, and if so how relevant are they to each other and the larger events, or is the author trying to impress upon us a religious ideology? You see, we don't know because he doesn't reference or source most of his information and he presents it all in a charged novelized form, and I got this sense of there being this fabricated theme that everything was being slanted around. Real life usually just doesn't work like that, no matter how much we'd like it to. I first saw the film and was assuming the director had Kids-ified the book (Kids was the director's first film and he has a habit of making things "raw" for the sensationalism of it), but it turns out it's a faithful adaptation of this questionable work. Neither strikes me as being a likely realistic depiction of the actual events. I think the public is better off reading the news journalism articles on it or, god forbid, the actual court documents. I honestly haven't gotten around to all the reputable sources, yet, so I can't say with absolute certainty just how much of this book is bogus. But that's the whole point. If Schutze had done his job there'd be little room for doubt as to how factual his account is.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating and disturbing story, strange narration.
Review: I am sort of in the middle on this book. I find the story absolutely fascinating...apparently I am not the only one, they are filming a movie on it right now. But the actual narration and author comments seem a little off base to me.Many times in the book, we read of the characters of the book as affluent, normal, high school kids. But in truth, the group described here is in no way representative of the typical high schooler, especially ten years ago. Prostitution rings, beating up retarded people, filming pornography, dropping out of school, and finally, immediately joining in on a casual murder--none of this is representative of the typical teenager. At least from what is written in the book , the truth stands that these are kids joined together by the fact that they have rejected typical adolescence and have chosen to be bad kids. More than once, Bobby is seen as the one with the brightest future ahead of him simply because he didn't drop out of high school. It's a sad, tragic story. All these questions run through your mind as you read it. How come murder came before any real attempt to confront? Why did Bobby beat up his best friend who he obviously cared about on a constant basis? The answers are hinted at but never really fully explored in this book. Another good question is how much of Marty's erratic behavior was Bobby's influence and how much was just him? This is an interesting, compelling book. But it is not a story of high school revenge. When this murder took place, it had been quite a while since any of the people involved had been in high school. This is really a story of group of people who have seemed to go out of their way to make the worst decisions possible in shaping their lives...and taking others.
Rating: 
Summary: A Good Book
Review: I picked up this book immediately after being disturbed by the Larry Clark film adaptation. I wanted to know more about this case and dive headlong into the ugliness of America. The book should be read with a grain of salt. Having seen the film first, what struck me most about the book was how much of the staging and dialogue comes directly from the book. It's some kind of interpretation of the events; the book is really a true-crime novel, not a straightforward document of the case. There are many scenes between the teens themselves, with extensive dialogue and interaction that only the 'characters' were privy to. Schutze also neglects to cite any sources at all, so we don't know who he interviewed (if anyone) or exactly what material he had access to. Since Schutze is primarily a journalist, his book is successful at gripping the reader like a good news story, but it shouldn't all be taken at face value. This book, the film, the whole case, is a fascinating and disturbing one. A half baked (in every sense of the term) murder scheme by these teenagers, the mind-crushing stupidity just floored me again and again. I can't point to any one thing that caused this crime. Yes, Bobby Kent was despicable, and maybe he deserved to die, but by the end, you may decide they all deserved to die. This is proof that wilful stupidity should be a crime. That's part of the manipulative element of the book and the film--first, you're galvanized against Bobby Kent, then you want to condemn everyone else. I was even disappointed to learn that Marty Puccio's death sentence (in the chair, no less) was commuted to life. Perhaps what's most remarkable is that there were a million times when this murder could have been avoided. Say one of the kids just chickens out. Or one of them suggests they just stop hanging out with Bobby, or maybe confront him, since he seems so sad and pathetic every time Marty does stand up to him ("You know you're my best friend, Marty.") Or maybe the Mafia 'hitman', nothing more than a mixed-up punk who chickened out of a street gang, takes one look at these kids and tells them to get lost. Or maybe the stoner, Donny, wakes up for 10 seconds and realizes what's going on. Or maybe the kids pool their (small) brains and realize that if you DO want to kill someone, it's probably not a good idea to involve SEVEN people who can't keep their mouths shut. I would have had more respect for this bunch if they came up with an ingenious idea to make Bobby 'disappear', but no. The combined idiocy had me wishing they all got fried. I stress that Schutze's approach is very novelistic. The main facts of the case are known, but the author really embellishes it here with dialogue and scenes of the teenagers living their ultimately empty lives where boredom has become a science. Also note that the film disregarded the ethnic angle (Bobby Kent was Iranian-American), the gang angle (Marty may have been associated with a Florida gang), and even the physical angle (Bobby had bulked up with steroids which contrbuted to his raging). Getting Nick Stahl to play Bobby was key though, so some of the above was jettisoned in favor of a good actor. There is a gallows humor to the story; at times the whole thing is so demented you don't know whether to laugh or cry. The film disturbed me. It was one of those movies you see that ruins your life for a good week or so. After being thoroughly disturbed by it, I ran out to read the book, then returned to the film and was able to contextualize it better. I can now laugh at the absurdity of the whole thing while still being disturbed. It's great. Interesting that no less than three of these people are out of prison and walking the streets again. Nice. I highly recommend this book and the film if you want to stare straight into the horror, like Colonel Kurtz, and embrace darkness. It will give you at least eight reasons not to have kids, or move to the suburbs.
Rating:
Summary: Pathetic Parenting & Obnoxious Teens: A Rivetting Read!
Review: Rarely do you read a book that captures the sheer selfishness & pointlessness of the modern mallrat teen. Shultz has successfully painted a picture of teens with no place to go, no ambition & no purpose for living. They get up in the morning only to go trawling for more drugs & banal sex, whilst maintaining a stanglehold on their parents' over-indulgent wallets. Thus, it is only natural when people who have had everything handed to them, & have never had to strive to achieve any ambition, start to look inwardly for the source of the void within their souls. Finding nothing inside their hearts but a great gaping hole, like kills like as they strike out at a reflection of themselves. However, the teens are tormented by continuing feelings of worthless & invalidity. The reason for the uselessness of their collective existences couldn't be themselves...could it? Not a single teen in this book has anything remotely admirable about them: Marty, a whingeing, steroid-fuelled follower who can't do anything without his best friend holding his hand. Lisa, whose mother has indulged her, pampered her growing sense of victimhood & quietly condoned her childish tantrums. Ali, whose family figured that throwing credit cards & a car at her were good substitutes for active parenting - even when they learned of her drug habit, they continued to do nothing. Bobby, whose father continued to feed his overblown sense of ego, crticize other kids & other parents in racist, culturally-ignorant attacks, & yet conveniently ignored the vicious, cruel streak his son bore across his heart. It was only natural that such over-indulged, soulless creatures would become predators of their own kind. And yet, the victim is probably the person who you would LEAST feel any kinship or even sympathy for. Far from being a kid who was destined to be the pillar of his community, the victim is simply an over-indulged, misognist brat whose overtly-homosexual tendencies were hidden behind a mask of menacing masochism. These teens had so many chances to turn themselves around, so many opportunities to build themselves as worthy people, & yet had so little commitment to doing anything with their lives. Jim Shultz has detailed vividly the sense of pointlessness & 'Look at ME!' attitude that colours these banal teens lives, & beggars the question: Yes, these kids are obnoxious monsters... but where are the parents when the mud is being flung? Written in clear, crisp prose & maintaining a cracking pace, Jim Shultz has achieved an admirable feat in finding motives for this pack of hopeless fools. Perhaps his greatest talent is in making the reader feel like they are really in the scene of the moment. I'll admit it - I've read this book 6 times, & will probably continue to re-read it occasionally as it is a story that never loses its sting. Every parent should read this book & take heed.... Final verdict? Put down anything else - read "Bully" NOW!
Rating:
Summary: Victim, perpetrators equally unlikeable
Review: The book held my interest, but as much as I hate to say this about a murder victim, I didn't have much sympathy for Bobby Kent. This guy would've wound up dead or in prison sooner or later. The perpetrators were equally worthy of contempt. These kids are totally lacking in morals or ambition. It's depressing to think that they represent the future of this country. The parents of these perps are just as guilty. They allowed their minor kids to drop out of school and not work, while they continued to support them, bought them cars and looked the other way as they used/sold drugs, prostituted themselves, etc. Ali Willis' parents were unbelievable: they let that girl do whatever she wanted because they were afraid of her tantrums...please! I'm willing to bet that it wasn't Lisa Connelly's weight that boys found unattactive, but her lousy attitude, her slovenliness and her temper tantrums. I would like to have a dollar for every time she was described in the book as "sullen." She came off as pathetic, willing to stay with someone who abused her both physically and emotionally (and who let his buddy do the same). I guess when you get down to brass tacks, no guy really respects a girl who doesn't respect herself. The fact that Connelly (and her family) didn't seem to grasp what she had done made me wish I could reach into the book and slap her. She should have gotten the death penalty as well. I cannot believe that Marty Puccio's death sentence has been commuted to a life sentence. It appears that the lives of people like him (and Rod Ferrell, the subject of Aphrodite Jones' "The Embrace") are deemed by the Florida courts to have more value than than those of their victims.
Rating:
Summary: The Result of No Parental Control
Review: The murder of Bobby Kent is a good example of what happens when parents do not perform the principal job of parenting; raise children to be responsible adults. None of the parents, including Kent's, can escape the blame for the death of Bobby Kent. This is a well written book that maintains an objective stance when describing the events that led to Kent's murder. Though Kent did not deserve to die, his years of bullying Marty Puccio obviously pushed Puccio to a deep hatred that was brought to the surface by his friends and the right place and time. The most disgusting part of the book was the domination of Ali, Bobby, and Lisa over their parents. I cannot understand any parent who allows a child to disrespect them and make decisions as if they were providing the income to pay the bills. An update for this story was recently provided by A&E's 'American Justice'TV series. Heather got out of prison in 1998, Ali, now known as Alice, can get out in 2003, Lisa had her life sentence reduced to twenty-five years and comes up for parole in 2006. Marty had his death sentence reduced to life. Lisa maintains that she knew nothing about a plot to kill Bobby, she thought Marty was just going to beat him up. Marty must have been eating his Wheaties since Bobby routinely whacked him on a daily basis. Ali (Alice, she's grown up) states she had no idea that Marty planned to kill Bobby(she doesn't talk about the previous night)and was in a state of shock after Bobby was killed. These girls should have to exchange their sentences with Marty because they were the prime movers by the killing.
Rating:
Summary: Is This Really The Truth ?
Review: This Is A True Story.... Thats what the first page Of Bully.. Does Anyone Deserve To Die says. Shouldn't it be This Is BASED On A True Story ? This is just Jim Shutze's version of the Truth and The events leading up to the murder of Bobby Kent. I was a bit dissapointed with this interpertation of facts that Shutze claims to be the real story of Bullying,Torture, Rape and Homicide. I believe that this is only one verison of what really happened. I seem to get the notion that whoever told Jim Shutze this tale that they were being unfair to some of the central charecters that fill this unnerving story. If you are going to claim that this is the whole truth , shouldn't you write all the charecter's verions of the story and not just what you believe to be the True Story?
Rating:
Summary: A Good Book
Review: This book really makes you think. It is so great. I can see the story from both sides of the spectrum. Although I truly believe that no one no matter what ever deserves to be killed, but in that same respect no one no matter what deserves to be treated the way Bobby Kent treated those people. I do believe that they should have went to the police, especially the girls who he raped. I do feel bad for these kids almost, they had no parental supervision, no goals, no ambition they were basically floating around with no where to really go. You can see in the end of the book how the parents blame everyone but there kids for what happened, maybe because they relized that if they really sat and looked at the situation, they themselves were also to blame for the death of Bobby Kent.
Rating:
Summary: Hard to take
Review: This writer is excellent at describing the atmosphere these kids lived in. He's so good that I despised the seven murderers, yet I could feel sorry for things that had happened to them in their pasts. I wondered why the defense attorneys, all of their clients being tried separately, didn't use a bully defense. They focused on the poor little white kids alienated in society defense, even though Florida doesn't allow dimished capacity as a defense in capital murder. In reality, jurors can still be reached by feeling sorry for the defendants. The story made me feel sorry that all of the kids had access to drugs and steroids. It's too bad that the dealers are able to keep pushing that stuff.
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