The author’s description; the story revolves around three main characters; Alice, Kieran and Jenny and a group of bullies known as the Popular's. Alice Turner is a year eight pupil at Stowton Middle School who has become a victim of bullying by the girl gang – the Popular's. Deeply unhappy, Alice finds herself wandering into a cafe called OTOLI that she has never noticed before. There she meets Jenny the mysterious waitress who always seems to be scrubbing the same table clean. Alice is initially excited to have a friend, but she soon realizes that this friendship may come at a price.
At times we depend upon one another and our life "depends upon" another, enough to manipulate someone into convincing you to make bad choices and live with regret. Accept your intuition and go with the thought that this is not right and everything has to be done to stop it. This reader believes the author is trying to alert the world that bullying is very destructive and has severe consequences and it should become a priority to stop it from continuing.
What if you found a friend who accepts you unconditionally but then begin to realize that something is not right here? We've all been there, question do you continue the friendship or walk away? It is hard to make choices when you're a teenager, events and challenges arise and an individual is on the outside looking in and needs to choose between being morally right or immorally wrong and go with the peer pressure or rebel against it. This is such a story about bullying and how each character, Alice, Kieran and Jenny decides to deal with the emotional consequences of being bullied.
It has a dark tinge with light humor to balance out the drama. It speaks about friendships and some that aren't what they seem to be, causing little flickers of doubt to creep into the victim's conscious as the Popular's , the high class girls of the school target the weaker students and taunt them to the point of desperation of becoming anti-social, and losing their dignity or pushing them over the edge to become obsessed with revenge. The plot thickens as the tables are turned and the torturers are bullied; and strange incidents begin to happen. The story is complete with suspense and mystery and "what if'" questions.
Alice, the main character and Kieran find that one special friend, Jenny who does not seem to judge them, just accepts them for themselves; as time passes they sense slight gestures and words from Jenny as strange and start to think twice about their friendship; does she, out of desperation and loneliness, accept her intuition run as far away as she can or deny the lies and overlook the slight hints of something more sinister at play. She is caught in a cat and mouse game and will have to make tricky decisions. So will Kieran, their maturity will decide their fate.
I am an American and this book is set in the United Kingdom but bullying is increasing throughout the world through social media outlets; Facebook, cell phones and other devices and to some it is a torture to be targeted and constantly whipped emotionally and physically, it erodes all self-confidence and destroys a bright future. The statistics for suicide and other things escapes these victims, sufferers though are rising and this story is a realistic perspective that other teens and adults should read and utilize to open up a community discussion on how to became an advocate and look for the warning signs of someone being bullied. All ages, diversity and genders are chosen as victims and it is only increasing.
This story is short, realistic and touches on the realities of bullying and describes a sensitive topic with a unique style.
I choose this statement off the internet for I believe it sums up the description of OTOLI.
This book is quite short, so I don’t want to give anything away. However, OTOLI will leave you realizing the shocking effects that bullying can have on people’s lives; both for the victims and also for the bullies. I also loved the supernatural twist to this book; it gives a whole new element to an otherwise very serious story. It is a YA book, a supernatural and fantasy book for all ages and a portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to the organization 'Bullying UK' which is a valuable reason in itself to buy the book and help stop bullying and save someone's life.
Read more: http://www.greatmindsthinkaloud.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=childrens&action=display&thread=1188#ixzz1pxxzH34G
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