One day, something’s going to snap. . . .
Ernie doesn't have a lot of friends at school. Just Will. They have stuff in common&#... read full description
Ernie doesn't have a lot of friends at school. Just Will. They have stuff in common&#... read full description
reviews
Mar 07, 2010
Kari
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This is book is absolutely gripping, gut wrenching, and horrific. I've read bully stories, but this one is heartrending. It's different in the way its written, in that it isn't just Ernie, the character telling the story, who is being bullied and it isn't just him having to deal with it. Ernie is watching his best friend- his only friend and ally- slowly waste away with every torment thrown on them. Coupled with a horrible home life, Will deteriorates. Not only does Ernie have to deal with More...
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Nov 05, 2009
F.T.
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After hearing about it at FiveAwesomeYAFans, I read Catherine Ryan Hyde’s Diary of a Witness. The cover is really nice (you can see it here), simple and foreboding, which made me hope that maybe this was a mystery.
It was not. It was a real page-turner all the same though, so I thought I would tell you what this book is all about. Our main character is Ernie, who is an outcast in high school. His only friend is Will, and together, they manage to survive the bullying in their high sch More...
It was not. It was a real page-turner all the same though, so I thought I would tell you what this book is all about. Our main character is Ernie, who is an outcast in high school. His only friend is Will, and together, they manage to survive the bullying in their high sch More...
Nov 04, 2009
Shannon
rated it: 
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Sep 19, 2010
Kasia
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One day can change everything. One tragedy can break a person. One day, Ernie and Will, best friends, are living the day to day life of two high school students, with a few merciless bullies thrown in. The next day, they both come to school as two boys that have experienced a terrible accident that changes their lives forever. Will’s life is particularly changed as his world is turned completely upside down. The accident threatens to permanently divide his family, his friendship with Ernie More...
Jul 20, 2010
Izzy
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I was really disappointed with this book. Before I started reading, I heard great things about it - about what a touching story it was, what a tearjerker, that sort of thing - so I was excited to get to it. And even though I didn't like this book that much, I do have to say that the story itself was interesting.
I liked that Ernie was sort of a "sideline" character, because it was really his best friend Will who was going through most of the crap. Ernie had trouble too More...
I liked that Ernie was sort of a "sideline" character, because it was really his best friend Will who was going through most of the crap. Ernie had trouble too More...
Apr 09, 2010
Cornmaven
rated it:
With all of the recent stories in the news about bullycide, this is the book you want to read, to get a really good picture of what actually goes on. The adults who can do something are clueless, believing lies and tales, as is usually the case. The kids know if they fight back or tell, it will only get worse. The reality that bullying in school just extends out to the street, where school administrators can't do anything, is rather clearly spelled out.
The characters are so real an More...
The characters are so real an More...
Jul 04, 2009
Heather
rated it:
Ernie is kind of an outcast at his school. He's overweight, a frequent target for bullies and his only friend, Will, is as much of an outsider as he his. Ernie is with Will thru some really tough times, but how much can a friend do when the other friend is bent on destruction?
I didn't feel this was as hard hitting as "Hate List" which deals with the aftermath of a school shooting. This is more of a "what if" and how much can one boy take.I had two minor problem More...
I didn't feel this was as hard hitting as "Hate List" which deals with the aftermath of a school shooting. This is more of a "what if" and how much can one boy take.I had two minor problem More...
Jul 15, 2009
alexis
rated it:
Pub Date: August 25, 2009
Summary: They taunt you. They trip you. They break one.
One day can change everything. In one day, someone can snap.
Will and Ernie both don't have many friends at school, just each other.
They have a few things in common, but they have one major one: the school jocks.
The jocks must think that bullying is a new sport. It's all they seem to focus on lately.
Ernie and Will always walk the halls in together More...
Summary: They taunt you. They trip you. They break one.
One day can change everything. In one day, someone can snap.
Will and Ernie both don't have many friends at school, just each other.
They have a few things in common, but they have one major one: the school jocks.
The jocks must think that bullying is a new sport. It's all they seem to focus on lately.
Ernie and Will always walk the halls in together More...
Apr 22, 2011
Nick
rated it:
Other than one part of the ending that's a little too pat, I found this to be an excellent story about bullying and its effects. The central characters are two teen boys, both loners other than their shared friendship. The viewpoint character has a problem with his weight...he overeats, and he knows it, but his mother is the same way and sees nothing wrong with his overweight, since she's just as heavy. His friend is in what seems like a better situation, at first, but things go horribly wrong,
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Feb 08, 2012
Angee
rated it:
Wow! I love Ernie. He is such an amazing kid. What a great head on his shoulders. And his Uncle...ahhh, could he be real? He seems to know just what to say (or not to say) to help Ernie make the right decision. The Uncle is definitely someone who keeps Ernie on track. I loved reading this book. I was saddened by the events that happened, but lifted up by the way Ernie responded. It is nice to read about someone who has compassion. I feel that people today are generally lacking in compassion and
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Apr 07, 2010
June
rated it:
I was looking for a book about bullying. This book really filled the bill. Ernie, an overweight, ridiculed student only has one friend. That friend is Will. Will is a loner. Ernie has low self-esteem. The two boys join together out of a need to have a friend. They are not popular and are teased by the school jocks. The reader feels the pain of the boys through their emotions and reactions to events and people around them. Both boys come from a one parent family. The language was not te
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Nov 02, 2009
Beth
rated it:
I really need to quit reading books about bullying and school shootings or attempted school shootings. They are all starting to blend together. Main highlights, Ernie and Will are friends. They are being bullied. Will's brother dies in a fishing accident and the bullies don't care and keep on bullying Will. Will finally decides to fight back with a gun, Ernie reports him before he can do it and Ernie then becomes kind of a hero and is finally accepted by the jocks. I couldn't help but feel
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Sep 21, 2009
Molly
rated it:
I was surprised when this book came in for me- I usually avoid ya books about school violence and bullying- they just make me sad and they're always so predictable. But I guess I read a review of this and thought it sounded promising.
And it wasn't too bad- it was not as predictable as I thought, and the part that I thought the whole book was about was really only the last couple of chapters. It was mainly about being an outsider, being ridiculed, being in high school, and not kno More...
And it wasn't too bad- it was not as predictable as I thought, and the part that I thought the whole book was about was really only the last couple of chapters. It was mainly about being an outsider, being ridiculed, being in high school, and not kno More...
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Feb 02, 2010
Allison
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It was interesting to watch the downward spiral of Will, a teen who is very smart and a nice kid once you get to know him who has an awful family situation, bad acne, is a target of school bullies, and mourns the death of his recently deceased brother (Sam dies in an accident at the beginning of the novel). We experience the story through the eyes of Ernie, his only friend, also a target of the school bullies. It was sad and difficult to read at times, and Ernie makes one of the most decisions
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Jan 12, 2010
Jennifer
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Reviewed by Sally Kruger aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com
Ernie lives with his mother. She loves him dearly and provides well for him, but practically every day is a living nightmare for Ernie. He's a loner, interested in videos games and not sports, and at about 100 pounds overweight, he's the object of ridicule from his fellow classmates.
For Ernie school days are torture. Teachers seem to turn a blind eye when he is made the butt of every joke. There are More...
Ernie lives with his mother. She loves him dearly and provides well for him, but practically every day is a living nightmare for Ernie. He's a loner, interested in videos games and not sports, and at about 100 pounds overweight, he's the object of ridicule from his fellow classmates.
For Ernie school days are torture. Teachers seem to turn a blind eye when he is made the butt of every joke. There are More...
Oct 28, 2009
Katie
rated it:
Once again, Catherine Ryan Hyde has illustrated the emotional depth a YA novel can showcase. Although the narrator, Ernie, does all the right things at all the right times, he is somehow saved from operating as a two dimensional figure. On the contrary, he is so sympathetic and broken and normal that even his most heroic actions don't render him a hero in the readers' eyes. While "The Year of My Miraculous Reappearance" is my favorite Hyde novel, "Diary of a Witness" is a ver
Dec 03, 2010
Sarah-Greenbeanteenqueen
rated it:
Hmm...not sure what to say about this one. I liked it and I didn't. It was very much a middle of the road book for me. The story was interesting enough-the main character's friend begins to loose control after an accident with his brother and the bullying at school begins to push him to the edge. The story is told from the "witness" point of view-how he sees things happen and unfold. It just didn't really stand out to me, but I thought it was a book worth reading.
Sep 05, 2010
Sharon
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Jun 01, 2009
Amy
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I got this as an Advanced Reading Copy at ALA Midwinter. I knew nothing about the author, for all I knew this was her first novel. Turns out, she's prolific and the author of Pay it Forward (which I never read or saw the movie). Anyway, I liked it. It was suspenseful, but not just for the sake of being suspenseful, which generally annoys me.
Good pacing, good story, believable... only slightly didactic towards the end.
Good pacing, good story, believable... only slightly didactic towards the end.
Nov 18, 2011
Amy
rated it:
This book was heartbreaking for me to read. Maybe its because I work with kids from this age group, but it was tough. I did not expect the subject matter to be as heavy as it was, nor to cover as many topics as it did. Overweight teens, bullying, abuse, neglect, suicide, anger. Makes it sound so depressing, right? UGH. I was hoping for something less.... realistic? Perhaps that's too cynical to say. I'll admit it. For the most part, I read to get away from reality. This was what I see
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Mar 14, 2009
Nance
rated it:
I liked this story. I felt as thought I was truly living with Ernie as he struggled with how to help Will. I loved the fact that Ernie's sense of right and wrong was stronger than friendship. The Uncle Max character was the perfect adult for YA literature; he is around to help as needed but not breathing down the characters throats. A good read!
Jan 11, 2010
Kelly
rated it: 
Boring. Disappointing. The writing was nothing interesting and neither were the characters or story. Also, the font changing was annoying (the size changed from paragraph one of a chapter then through the chapter, but there were unintentional sections where it changed from the normal font to courier - poor editing).
Jan 17, 2010
Lorin
rated it:
In this young adult novel Hyde moves effortlessly inside the world of two outsider high schooler friends as they grapple with death and humiliation, right and wrong, guilt and anger. Each grapples with these issues and with their family situations, and finally with their friendship, in quite different ways.
Apr 21, 2010
Robin
rated it:
There was a lot of action/problems for teens in this book. I would like to think that this story is too far fetched because none of the adults CARED except for one who lived far away. Where was the empathy? Where were the teachers who should have intervened? School counselors?
Mar 04, 2010
Monica
rated it:
Diary of one of a pair of boys being tormented by classmates. As the narrator watches, his friend's life spirals out of control. Predictable, but solid writing and sympathetic characters had me enjoying this book. One I would recommend to a young teen looking for a quick read.
Nov 14, 2009
I don't think I can rate this book. I couldn't put it down, and it was a pretty quick read in that was so short. It was like a car wreck from which you just can't pull your eyes. However, all the injustices that these 2 boys went through were pretty tough for me to read about.
Sep 24, 2009
Mary
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Ernie and Will are the constant targets of high school bullying. They are each other's only friends and together experiences the drowning of Will's brother on a fishing trip. This is a very serious read about school violence and the hard choice Ernie faces at the end of the novel.
May 05, 2011
Marianne D.
rated it:
Ernie and Will are the kids in school who don't seem to fit in. There're good kids, just kind of geeky. But when Will thinks he's responsible for a tragic accident, Ernie must decide about the true meaning and responsibility of being a friend.
Dec 20, 2010
Cathy
rated it:
Okay wow does this ever give the perspective of the targets of bullying. I was scared for Ernie the whole time--for being the target of bullies and for hanging out with another target who had so many issues to deal with along with being bullied.
Aug 04, 2011
Bullying - not an easy topic. Ernie and Will have learned how to avoid the worst of it, but every day brings new challenges and changes. Great story of not only surviving bullying, but of friendship and courage.
