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We're Done

by Judy Irwin (Goodreads Author)

3.54 of 5 stars 3.54 · rating details · 13 ratings · 11 reviews

What if turns out that YOU'RE the bully - and you didn't know it?

Things aren't going very well for thirteen-year-old Luke Mitchell. He's been kicked out of his posh private school, Heyworth Academy; his best friend Jon has just dumped him; and the tough guys at his new school have chosen him for their next target.

For a guy who used to be the king of the campus, it's hard...more

Paperback, 98 pages

Published May 1st 2012 by Judy Irwin

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Nov 27, 2012 Diane Mulligan added it

In We’re Done, a realistic, young adult novel, Judy Irwin explores the issue of bullying from the perspective of an eighth-grade bully. Luke Mitchell seems to have everything: wealthy parents, good looks, athletic talent, and popularity. But when he violates his private school’s three-strikes policy on bullying, he finds himself in the unfamiliar world of public school where his reputation from his former school only hurts his social status. Thrust from the role of Mr. Popularity into the positi...more In We’re Done, a realistic, young adult novel, Judy Irwin explores the issue of bullying from the perspective of an eighth-grade bully. Luke Mitchell seems to have everything: wealthy parents, good looks, athletic talent, and popularity. But when he violates his private school’s three-strikes policy on bullying, he finds himself in the unfamiliar world of public school where his reputation from his former school only hurts his social status. Thrust from the role of Mr. Popularity into the position of outsider, Luke has the opportunity to reflect on his behavior and his friendships. But will he turn over a new leaf at his new school or revert to his old ways?

Irwin shines a light on the complexities of the issue of bullying, how children understand it, and how schools define it. Luke’s perception of his behavior, even though he’s been warned about bullying the past, is that he’s just been funny, that the kids he teased or made fun of liked the attention he bestowed upon them. As the reader learns what some of his prior offenses are, though, the reader can hardly sympathize—how could he honestly think kids liked being the butt of his jokes? And yet we believe him in his assertions that he didn’t realize how his comments and actions were hurtful to others.

In his privileged world where he’s always been given a pass thanks to his good looks and his parents’ money, Luke has never had to consider the feelings of others. The punishments he’s faced for bully in the past did not provide him any lessons in compassion or morality. To their credit, Luke’s parents support his school’s decision to expel him, but they do not have any serious conversations with him about his behavior, nor do they impose any punishment on him themselves. In fact, they seem pretty out of touch. In this way, Irwin helps us understand Luke’s self-centered perspective, making him an interesting, sympathetic character, despite his faults.

In any book for young adults, authors have to make difficult choices about how to represent the speech of teenagers. Writers have to walk a line between realistically reflecting teenaged speech and providing dialogue and narration that challenges young readers to develop better comprehension, writing, and speaking habits. The writing must engage young readers and ring true to them without talking down to them. In We’re Done, Irwin does a fine job crafting an engaging story that will both interest kids and enhance their literacy skills, although at times the dialogue seems a bit too articulate for such young characters.

As a teacher, I can picture We’re Done fitting in nicely to a seventh or eighth grade English class because it offers opportunities for discussion of important issues, especially bully and perceptions of social class. It’s the sort of books kids can both enjoy and learn from. Parents will also enjoy this glimpse into the mind of a good kid who makes some bad choices.(less)

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Oct 23, 2012 J.C. Martin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Luke is a big fish in the private school he attends. He's captain of the soccer (or as we Brits call, football) team and popular with the girls. He likes having fun by teasing the other students -- what harm can that cause? If they take his jokes the wrong way, they just don't have a sense of humour, right? That doesn't make him a bully, does it? But when his latest 'prank' gets him expelled, and loses him his best friend, Luke is transferred to his local school, where he ends up on the other en...more Luke is a big fish in the private school he attends. He's captain of the soccer (or as we Brits call, football) team and popular with the girls. He likes having fun by teasing the other students -- what harm can that cause? If they take his jokes the wrong way, they just don't have a sense of humour, right? That doesn't make him a bully, does it? But when his latest 'prank' gets him expelled, and loses him his best friend, Luke is transferred to his local school, where he ends up on the other end of bullying. As he tries to settle at his new school, he begins to see bullying in a new light.

I feel this is more Middle Grade than Young Adult fiction. For someone who's not read much MG before, I enjoyed the story from Luke's perspective: how he initially interprets his teasing as just having a bit of fun, and how his mindset changes when he transfers to a new school. As a former schoolteacher, I can relate to how sometimes children just don't realise that what they say and do in jest can actually be very hurtful, and it just never occurs to them that their actions can be construed as bullying.

Like teenage boys often do, Luke shows little emotion throughout the story, despite being expelled from his old school, losing his best friend, being subjected to the bullies at his new school, living with a mother battling depression, and having a father who's always too busy at work to be around. OK, perhaps Luke seems a little unemotional at times, so the scene with his dad near the end of the book was a welcome change.

While I found this a largely enjoyable read, with believable characters and very real current issues, I felt the story ended rather abruptly, with little resolution apart from Luke finally seeing the error of his ways, and making peace with some of his past victims (An example of a big loose end: Luke's older sister continues to torment fellow students via cyber-bullying). Perhaps it is the author's way of showing that bullying is a persistent problem that cannot be solved in one fell swoop, but I still felt a little unsatisfied by the ending.

If you enjoy MG fiction dealing with real-life social and domestic issues, if you enjoy stories with a strong underlying moral theme, then you may enjoy We're Done.(less)

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Oct 21, 2012 Ruth Hill rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: e-books

Bullying has become such an issue amongst youths today, and this is a book that addresses this young adult issue in a way that teens and preteens can understand. Yes, this is a book that I believe youth and adults alike should read and discuss. I say this because no matter what has been said about the dangers and intolerance of bullying in schools, it still happens on a regular basis.

Luke is one of those kids that is very likable, but he has a problem. Possibly, it is a problem of which he is no...more

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Oct 20, 2012 Books Mom rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary, young-adult, middle-grade

We're Done is a timely book considering the tragic news stories I see, time and again, of kids killing themselves over bullying.

This book takes a different tack, though, and casts the bully as our hero. It was a bit difficult for me to like Luke at first, and that's a brave thing for an author to do: give us a protagonist we don't care for.

Luke isn't mean on purpose, he just doesn't realize what he's doing is really hurting people. He's got it all: he's popular, cute, smart, captain of the socce...more We're Done is a timely book considering the tragic news stories I see, time and again, of kids killing themselves over bullying.

This book takes a different tack, though, and casts the bully as our hero. It was a bit difficult for me to like Luke at first, and that's a brave thing for an author to do: give us a protagonist we don't care for.

Luke isn't mean on purpose, he just doesn't realize what he's doing is really hurting people. He's got it all: he's popular, cute, smart, captain of the soccer team at a ritzy private school. What he needs is a kick from reality right in his rear. And he gets it.

His "goofing off" gets him expelled from school. Worse, this last incident involved a family member of his best friend, now ex-best friend. He loses everything: school, friends, status. More, his parents are pretty well unavailable. His mother spends most of her life sleeping, and his father travels for work. His sister is a worse bully than he is, and the little we see of her is just horrible.

He's plunged into the foreign world of public school and it's a big awakening. Suddenly he's not the cool kid anymore. He's the one made fun of. He doesn't fit in anywhere, and he can't even play soccer. The one person he knows is someone he hurt the summer before, and she wants nothing to do with him.

Luke doesn't undergo an immediate transformation, for which I am grateful. It takes awhile, and a few virtual slaps to the head, for him to see what he'd done in the past was hurtful. He observes some kids doing the same stuff he used to do to another kid, and it all slowly starts to come clear. The author paints a very realistic picture of school and kids and it's both a little sad and encouraging.

I enjoyed this book. It was a quick, enlightening read with a snappy plot and clean, descriptive writing. My only complaint is that not all the ends were tied up. I really wanted to see Luke take a stand with his sister and her behavior. I'd have like to see at least a little of the problems with his parents cleared up (Luke does confront his dad, though nothing much really changes). Even so, the book does have a satisfying ending with Luke and his growth. And it left me wondering just what came next. I was attached to this kid I hadn't liked at first, and I want to know he succeeds.(less)

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Oct 16, 2012 Judy Thomas rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book is written for the middle school age group and has an important lesson. The good thing about it is that the lesson isn't preachy--Luke sees the issue from the other side, and it's a wake-up call to him.

We're Done is the second book in the series, but the first book does not need to be read to enjoy this one. They are set in the same world with some of the same characters, but can each be read as a standalone.

My only complaint with the book is that issues were left unresolved (the cyb...more

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Sep 25, 2012 Redheaded Bookworm rated it 3 of 5 stars

Have you ever been bullied? Been the bully? All of us have come into contact with some form of bullying in our lifetimes. This book has a really important message. And the good thing about this book is that you get to experience it through the eyes of the bully. This book is not "hard or dark". The bullying is rather quite calm, but still gets the point across. Not that any bullying is "calm". I give the message 5 stars!

Now about the book. I ended up liking Luke, after he had his epiphany that b...more

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Oct 25, 2012 Carrie Ardoin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: tour, middle-grade, i-own-this

Luke is a 13 year old who attends a prestigious private school. He's a great athlete, loved by the girls, and hangs out with his best friend Jon. The problem is, he's kind of a jerk. He says mean things to other kids all the time, but one day he goes too far and gets kicked out of school.

Luke then transfers to a public school, and he quickly learns that while he may think the things he says are funny, other people rarely do. He must learn to think before he speaks, and think about how his words...more

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Oct 13, 2012 Leah rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

We're Done is a really quick read. No surprise there since this is a book about young kids for young kids. It's pretty easy to follow and is perfect for teenagers and tweens. The book tackles the subject of bullying very well from the perspective of a bully. Luke, the supposed bully, doesn't realize how his actions and words affect others until he finds himself on the other side of the fence.

The main character Luke comes from a well off family. Not a lot of details go into how well off they are,...more

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Oct 06, 2012 Heather rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: own, teen

Luke Mitchell had everything going for him. Great friends, popular, good looking, athletic and great parents who have sent him to a prestigious private school. But Luke is a bully, though he does not realize this till he is kicked out of Heyworth Academy and sent to a regular public school where he is a nobody. Luke at first thinks that him being kicked out to due the strict policy Heyworth has on no bullying, he was sure that his dad would be able to fix it. His dad, however, is not able to fix...more Luke Mitchell had everything going for him. Great friends, popular, good looking, athletic and great parents who have sent him to a prestigious private school. But Luke is a bully, though he does not realize this till he is kicked out of Heyworth Academy and sent to a regular public school where he is a nobody. Luke at first thinks that him being kicked out to due the strict policy Heyworth has on no bullying, he was sure that his dad would be able to fix it. His dad, however, is not able to fix it nor does he want to. Luke's dad realized his son needs to grow up and this is one way for him to do this. Luke starts at the new school and finds that he is not so funny anymore and that now he is being picked on because he is of money from Heyworth Academy. Luke finally is able to see the world from the other side. He realizes why people just kind of laughed and shrugged him off when he picked on them, he realizes why he lost his best friend, and he realizes the other people do have feelings and are hurt when they are picked on. Luke finally realizes who he was when he was at Heyworth and who he is now at Carlyle. He realizes the change that he has and needs to make, and through this change he gains better closer friends.

This is a good book about teen bullying. This happens each and every day in schools all around the world. It is a sad truth, and many kids are resorting to extreme means to get out of being bullied, going as far as killing themselves. This book did not go to those extremes, but the pain of bullying could be seem throughout the book. My only problem with this book was the way in which the characters talked to each other, it at times seemed forced and unrealistic of teens today to talk in this way. The rest of the content of the book of very well written but I am not sure the author was able to capture how teens really talk to each other these days and also at times how they really act towards each other. Otherwise it was a very good book and a great book for teens to read about bullying, I believe there should be more about this in the schools to be proactive to help stop the cycle of bullying.

I would like to thank Goodreads and Judy Irwin for my signed copy of this book.(less)

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Sep 24, 2012 Mandi Rushton rated it 5 of 5 stars

Good book! A great story of a bully changing his ways. I plan on giving this to my kids to read!

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Jan 04, 2013 Annika Paterson rated it 4 of 5 stars

Great book for tweens and teenagers. It deals with bullying which everyone has at some point experienced.

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About Judy Irwin

Judy Irwin writes books about kids dealing with everyday stuff, like parents and divorce, friendships and bullies, and figuring out how to handle different situations and circumstances.

She lives in Toronto with a dog, a cat, and two hamsters, plus her husband and two children, ages 10 and 13.

Some of her favorite authors are Judy Blume, Beverly Cleary, Edward Eager and Andrew Clements. Her favori...more

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