Angels & Bullies of St. Aelred High

by Dan E. Arndt

Librarian Note: This is an alternate cover edition of ISBN-13: 978-1492373902.

High school stinks. One minute you're riding the express train to ultimate popularity and the next minute you plummet to the ranks of the school outcasts. Alicia wanted to start her first year of high school off by not bullying others, but pressure from friends and her own need to be the most popular girl in the new school overtakes her self-control. Just like the misconceptions that tore her friendships with Nia, Grace, and Lelia apart in middle school, her actions of flirting with the most popular girl's boyfriend and sending out a sexting picture turns her life from bully to bullied leaving Nia, her former friend and bane of her existence, to rise back up as the popular girl in school. Meanwhile, her other former friends Grace and Lelia head in two different directions. Grace retreats to her faith as Lelia dives deeper into depression and suicide. Is one girl's sacrifice enough to mend the relationships in time to save another?

"Both my school formal dress and JV cheer uniforms, neatly pressed, hang on the doors to the walk-in closet. I get goosebumps when I think about tomorrow and the first football game of the season on Thursday. Throughout summer vacation I’ve waited patiently for school to start. Dreams about my high school years danced in my head every night. From winning Prom queen to senior class president, I’ve planned every aspect of the next four years. This will be a new beginning. This year I will not step on others to remain popular. I’m letting the real Alicia Thayer out—the Alicia who cares. I want people to like me for who I am and not the person others want me to be. Without Nia Johnson at St. Aelred to ruin things, I may be able to reach the top." ~ Alicia

170 pages, Paperback

First published October 3, 2013

About the author

Family

I have two brothers and one sister. My sister is the oldest of the family. She is married, two great kids, and works as a Kindergarten teacher (my inspiration for becoming a teacher) in Florida. My older brother works with computers. He had a heart attack and subsequent heart transplant back in 2005. He has been a HUGE inspiration in my life and quite the "role model." My younger brother is married, two great kids, and works as a toolmaker in the tool & die industry.

My mom is probably the biggest part of my life (other than my wife and daughter). She is always there for me when I need her. My father died from a heart attack when I was only four years old. I never knew him, but I always learn more about him with countless people who did know him. Other than my Grandmother who died last year, I didn't know my grandparents either because they died either right before I was born or shortly after.

I have some awesome aunts, uncles, cousins, and extended family.

My wife and daughter are the biggest part of my life. I cannot imagine a day without either of them. My wife, Ruth, works as a nurse's aide. My daughter, Brianna, is quite the artist/cheerleader. She cracks me up daily and I would do anything to make her happy.

School

School has been a BIG part of my life and continues to drive me toward meeting my goals. I always did well in school. My best subjects during middle and high school were math, science, and art. I loved art the most because it allowed me to be very creative daily. Because I wanted to go to vo-tech and follow the path my brother took, I ended up into Drafting & Design because Commercial Art was only a two year program. Vo-tech at the time had limited seats for Commercial Art, so it was easier to get into the program if you were already a student at the school. I loved Drafting so much (class and awesome teacher Mr. Paul Brenneman) that I decided to stay with it until graduation.

I graduated from McDowell High School and Erie County Vo-Tech in 1993.

I went back to college in 2003 after being laid-off as a mold design engineer. I got my Bachelor's Degree in Secondary Education Comprehensive English in 2007. I graduated with Summa Cum Laude Honors along with recognition as a Dr. Robert C. Weber University Honors Program Graduate.

I continued my education at Edinboro University and obtained my Master's Degree in Reading with PA Reading Specialist Certification in 2010. I had a perfect 4.0 GPA and did my Master's Thesis on using the Concept Oriented Reading Instruction (CORI) method to increase reading competency for male middle school students.

Currently I am finishing my latest education pursuit, Post Masters Certificate Program in Education Leadership, this December. I am presently working on an Elementary School Principal Internship at a local school. I love this internship and the ability to work with some amazing teachers, staff, parents, and students.

This January I will also begin another degree - Special Education with PA Certification K-8.

In between all of these, I have also taken other classes in Life Space Crisis Intervention (LSCI) and most recently Literacy Through Orton-Gillingham for Improved Competency (LOGIC).

Work

My first career was with Mold Design Engineering. I loved the challenge, but it did get boring over time.

I continue to search for the "perfect" fit school to work at in the future.

Writing Influences

There are so many that it would take forever to list. I'm partial to a number of British Literature greats - Shakespeare, Mallory, etc. I also love Poe, Twain, and Frost.

Music

I love all types of music. My favorite band right now would be Fireflight. They have a great sound and positive message in their songs.

Volunteering

Part of my nature is that I love to help others. I often volunteer for different organizations. In the past, I've volunteered for Boy Scouts, SkillsUSA, and

Reviews

[Jennifer Dennison · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very well written book about the struggles of bullying in high school. A good friend of mine suggested the book after reading it for the first time after her sister committed suicide four months ago. She, and I, both agree that the author really captured the essence behind bullying in high school. While I normally prefer fantasy books, I do enjoy young adult fiction that deals with situations teens face each day. This book not only covers bullying, but a whole host of other situations. The flipping of narrator voices was okay. I think the author could've done more to distinguish the two main characters. I did get lost because of being so into the book. I would've liked to have seen a different font to separate the two, but that's just me. I also think that the other situations in the book could've been left out. Sometimes I thought that there was too much going on.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book. I think that anyone who has suffered through bullying or has lost a loved one because of bullying should read this book. I am definitely recommending it to others.

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

My high school English teacher got a copy of this book through a Kindle free promotion and suggested that I get a copy to read. I can't believe how realistic the characters and situations are in the book. I've struggled in the past with bullying and self-harming and the author got the emotions of how I often felt perfect! It was a great read and went quick so I'm definitely recommending it to others.

[Isabella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gah! I love this book soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much! My favorite book of the month! I could not put this book what so ever, my dad had to literally pry me off so I could eat dinner. I really enjoyed the characters and how they were portrayed. Also, the writing style was amazing.

I won this book in a good reads contest.

[Ellen Frank lajqi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book in a goodreads first reads giveaway; and I'm glad that I did. This is not a book I would have picked up on my own, but from the time I received it in the mail until the time it was finished I could not put it down. It was a very quick read, and I enjoyed the layout of the book and that it covered the school year month by month through the eyes of the two main characters. I found it to be a very realistic portrayal of bullying, especially that the initial victim became the bully when circumstances changed. It seemed as though almost every horrible thing that could happen during the school year did, and that made it even more heart wrenching while reading through the eyes of the narrators. At one point while completely engrossed in the book I did lose track which of the narrators was speaking and had to check back to the chapter title, but that minor inconvenience was greatly outweighed by how much I enjoyed this book. I would definitely recommend it.

[Kelcie Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book through a Goodreads first reads giveaway. I really loved this book. It was different from most of the bullying books I have read. Most books about bullying don't about God, but I think that He would be very important to me if I were in this situation. I also like how roles reversed. The book was very relatable to me because I am an eighth grade girl that goes to a Catholic school. It kinda scared me for the future, but also prepared me for the things I will face. I really loved the book but there were a lot of characters and I had a hard time remembering who was who. The ending felt a bit like insta-love, and I wish we could've had more buildup and detail around that. Even with its faults the book was amazing and I will defiantly be reading it again and recommending it to all my friends.

[Panterapaca · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a heart felt book with so much meaning behind it. You become so caught up in the feelings of the characters and what they are going through in their lives. The fact that it captures how many teens feel when they are bullied brings awareness to the reader how it affects their peers and the problems that bullying truly causes in society today. This is not the typical book about the bullied over coming their bully, its more factually in how bulling becomes a cycle and the strength of one trying to break this cycle between her friends. The story is amazingly told and I will be recommending this book to other readers.

[Yuiko · Rating 3 out of 5]

i won this book free , on goodreads.com


The front cover is ok , could be better , the shape of the book , kinda hurts my hands to hold it , cause im not used to holding that shape of book , its basically an everyday school type book , where the kids go to school and the kids getting bullied , but its not a good type of book , but I liked the story so I read through it , its not a bad book but its not good either , I wish the one girl wasn't just wimpy and stood up for herself instead of hiding it .

[Rayna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book through a free Kindle download day last month and just finished it today. This was a very moving story. I liked how the author showed both sides of the issues. The switching between characters would've been difficult if it weren't for the warnings used in the chapter titles. It is well written, especially for a self-published book. I've gotten ones before where the author should've stuck to blogs or not writing at all. It's definitely a worthwhile read.

[Michelange · Rating 5 out of 5]

i cant wait to read this book my friend read and she said it was a heartfelt book that brought her to tears.

[Stefanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I won my copy on Goodreads FirstReads. The story is told in alternating narratives by the two main characters Nia and Alicia, who were once friends but are now bitter enemies because of something from their past. While the story tries to convey a message about the realities of bullying, the oddly robotic and formal way the characters spoke irked any realism from the story. There were too many "I have not", "I will not", and "I cannot"s that made it impossible to imagine that these are teens talking. Also I was disturbed when blatant bullying took place and teachers were in the vicinity they did nothing but "chuckle", and basically ignored it. Also at the start of the story Alicia is a vegetarian but by the end she's not and claims she was "starving" until she ate a cheeseburger, which is very narrow minded and unrealistic! I've been a vegetarian for 17 years and I'm not "starving"! The story was preachy and way over the top, and not in a good way.