Lady Reader's Bookstuff: Millie talks about bullying (with a Giveaway!)

Today I'm going to spotlight Karen Pokras Toz an author who has a fabulous middle grade novel getting ready to release called MILLICENT MARIE IS NOT MY NAME. Karen has given us a story from Millicent's point of view. I hope you enjoy!

About Millicent Marie Is Not My Name:

Twelve-year-old Millicent Marie does not like her name. After all, she was named for a woman who died more than fifty years ago and was not the most loveable member of the Harris family. Her friends call her Millie, but when she writes in her diary she refers to herself as Amanda – the name she always wished she had.

When Millie’s younger brother finds her diary on her computer, he decides to publish it as a blog for the entire world to see, including the boy Millie has a crush on. In the midst of all the mayhem, Millie/Amanda discovers she is suddenly Springside Elementary’s most sought after sixth-grade mystery gossip and advice columnist.

But not all is fun and games, as Millie quickly learns, once she realizes feelings are at stake. Nobody, least of all Millie, expects things to turn out as they do in this tale of friendship and respect.

Hi! My name is Millicent Marie, and I’m twelve years old. I’m here to help kick off National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month, and I’m really excited to be here. You see, I know all about bullying. Not only have I been a victim of bullying, but also I’ve been a bully myself. It’s not something I’m proud of, but I learned a huge lesson. Let me back up a little...

It all started when I was just a little kid. There was this girl named Haylee, and she was always picking on me. Then she got her friends to pick on me, too. I guess they all thought it was funny or cool or something, but it really wasn’t. It hurt my feelings. In fact, at the start of sixth-grade, I decided not to join the soccer team just because Haylee would be on it too. It all sort of worked out though because I wound up joining the Drama Club instead, and Jordan is also in the Drama Club, and he is just so cute and . . . I’m getting off subject aren’t I – sorry. The point it, I was bullied, and I didn’t like it one bit.

I know I should have told a grown-up about all the stuff Haylee and her friends did to me, but I didn’t. Instead, I wrote it in my diary that I keep on my computer. It sort of made it feel better even if it didn’t make the problem go away – that is, until . . . Well, my annoying younger brother thought it would be funny to publish my diary on the Internet as a BLOG! Do you believe that? Lucky for me, I never signed my diary entries with my real name, because let’s face it – Millicent Marie doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. Instead, I chose the name Amanda. So the entire school had no idea I was the one who wrote all that stuff.

I was going to delete the blog, but all these people started emailing me asking for advice, and I thought that was pretty neat. No one had really ever cared about what I had to say before. Except – I went a little too far, and may have said a little too much. To me it was just harmless gossip – at least that’s what I convinced myself, but I hurt people’s feelings and that made me a bully too. I know now that what I did to other people was just as wrong as what Haylee and her friends had done to me. I feel really bad, and I hope everyone can forgive me.

There’s a lot more to the story, so I asked my creator, Karen Pokras Toz, to put it all down in a book for me. I hope you’ll give it a read. I learned a lot about gossiping, bullies, friendship, and respect. If you ask me, bullying prevention awareness should be a year-long event.

About Karen Pokras Toz:

Karen Pokras Toz is a writer, wife and mom. Karen grew up in Connecticut and currently lives outside of Philadelphia with her husband and three children. In June 2011, Karen published her first middle grade children’s novel for 7-12 year olds called Nate Rocks the World, which won First Place for Children’s Chapter Books and the Grand Prize Overall in the 2012 Purple Dragonfly Book Awards, as well as placing first for a Global E-Book Award for Pre-Teen Literature. In 2012, Karen published the second in the Nate Rocks series, Nate Rocks the Boat, followed by middle grade novel, Millicent Marie Is Not My Name. Karen is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI).

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