I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Wow. That is the first thing I will say about this book is wow. This is one of those books that is going to stick with me for awhile. This is a story of mental illness, abuse, neglect, bullying, family, and a whole lot more. This book is dark and unfortunately it is a very real depiction of how life is for many children. I have two teenagers myself and I can tell you that the bullying aspect of this book is no exaggeration. It happens every day and seems to be especially worse with social media as this book shows. As dark as this book is, I love how real it is. I like that in the end it talks about the fact that bullying isn't the only thing generally that leads to suicide - it is a factor but generally there are a lot of other factors at play. I also liked the wrap up at the end that told where all of the people are today. This is a sad story but it really opened my eyes to a lot of things.

Sherokee Harriman was only 14-years old when she committed suicide in a park in front of some of the kids who bullied her. She led an extremely troubled life – abused from the time she was only 3 years old, she also had a number of mental illness issues. When she plunged a knife into her belly on that day…

I think the subtitle of this one is a bit misleading, as I don’t think “social media” needs to be there. The author used social media in her research, as well as texts between Sherokee and her family and friends (in addition to interviews and plenty of other research). However, it is a sad story of a mentally ill girl who just couldn’t seem to get a break. Chapters near the end include some stats on bullying and suicide, so at that point it gets away a bit from Sherokee’s story, specifically. But, still interesting. ( )

Sherokee Harriman was 14. She had a family including an adoring older sister and a best friend Katie. She liked pink and teen stars whose pictures were all over her walls. She was also being bullied. Bullied so much that she took her own life one fall September day.

This book was heartbreaking to read. Sherokee had so much riding against her since the very beginning of her young life. Never meeting her father and having a dysfunctional mother and family, she really didn't have much of a chance. Sherokee just wanted what everyone wants. She just wanted to belong, have friends, and a boy to love her. She wanted her own room and nice clothes but they could never afford them.

"Bullied to Death" is well written and detailed. A lot of research went into the writing of the book giving us an understanding of Sherokee's life with no sugar coating. Her bullying was in many forms and went on for years. How does that happen? How was she bullied for years with no one putting an end to it? Reading the story of her short life from beginning to end is eye opening to the reality of what is happening with many children and making us aware of the damage bullying costs. Without that awareness, it will continue. While reading the book and getting to know Sherokee though, I am left with the question of suicide or was it something else?

This book should be one that is made available to school students and talked about in classes showing how bullying hurts and how devastating it can be; it isn't just kids fooling around.

Although this was not a happy topic by any means, it a good book, well worth the read. I received this book free from net galley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. ( )