I didn't dislike this book, but it was definitely not my favorite. The writing style was very bland, but the story was interesting. The first portion of the book, too, was good, but then about a quarter of the way in or so, it just completely dropped off and became more like I was being fed information without much feeling behind it. This book could have been so much better if there was just a little more feeling behind it.

On September 5th 2015 at a public park in LaVergne, Tennessee, 14 yr old Sherokee Harriman drove a kitchen knife into her stomach as other teens looked on and watched her do this. Despite the many attempts to save her, she died... The coroner ruled her death as a "suicide" But was it?? Or was it a crime that was lead on by other teens who had bullied her?

This story looks into Sherokee's life, it looks at many aspects of her life, different things that had happened earlier in her life that made her struggles even more difficult, along with so many other things that they had tried to help her. This book is a wake up call for parents. Sadly she didn't live a long life, her life was cut short due to the pressure of bulling along with others things that have happened on in her life..

There are so many was that Sherokee was bullied for her peers at school, to her life at home, even the educational system failed her. This author has done a wonderful job, going into details to help us understand all the aspects. In the end we never really know if it was actual suicide, or if the teens who bullied her, hand a hand on that knife, causing her to take her own life. Her family believes that it was the bullies that held that knife and pushed her to far..
Bullying is a huge problem in this world. The schools say zero tolerance, but they don't take it seriously when a person comes forward with their claims as to how they are being treated. It is shrugged off as it is just kids being kids..

I homeschool my daughter cause she was bullied for having red hair, and I refused to have my child placed in that situation, knowing that when she told her teachers, they just told her to stay away from the kids. Well. that's kinda hard when they come to you..

This book hits home for me, and I think that lots of kids and parents should read this book. to help them understand what it is like.. I am glad I have raised my kids to stick up for kids being treated differently and make them feel like they aren't alone..

Bullied To Death: A Story Of Bullying, Social Media, And The Suicide Of Sherokee Harriman by Judith A Yates

This is a prevalent story for everyone to read especially parents with all the bullying/cyber bullying going on nowadays. It's a very sad story of how everyone in Sherokees life failed her, her mother, grandmother/legal guardian and the school system.

Sherokee was your normal 14 year old teenager. She loved the color pink, doing her hair and nails, she wanted her own salon one day.
Her favorite thing to do was talk about boys with her friend. And of course fighting with her older sister.

Sherokee did not have it easy growing up by any means. She was removed from her mother's care at a very young age by CPS. Her grandmother was awarded full custody, which was not any better.
Feeling neglected and unloved she turned to anyone for attention, even if it meant a nineteen year old man

All she wanted was to have friends, fit in and most importantly be popular. Unfortunately she was constantly picked on, pushed, thrown into lockers, making fun of her looks. Until one day she couldn't take it any longer and took her life.

This book really points out the dangers of bullying and the consequences of the act. This book had a huge impact on me and I will not be forgetting about it anytime soon

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. I was disappointed in this book. It was impactful though.

Sherokee Harriman was 14 years old when she stabbed herself in the stomach and died in a Tennessee park. Sherokee had been bullied and taunted immediately prior to her death, and wanted to show the kids who called her names what affect their words had on her.

Judith Yates looks deep into the backstory of Sherokee's life and what led her to that fateful decision to take her own life in September 2015. The title of the book is a bit misleading. While Sherokee's family is adamant that bullying was the direst cause of her suicide, it is pretty apparent that it was only one factor in a long, tortured life. Sherokee was the child of an addict mother an absent father. She and her older sister had a myriad of diagnoses related to their upbringing. Their grandmother had legal custody and their lives were fraught with more trauma than any person should have to endure. It's really no wonder that Sherokee was unable to cope.

Although Yates was clear towards the end of the book that bullying was just a factor in Sherokee's suicide, I felt it was a bit disingenuous to imply that her suicide was the direct result of bullying. In saying that, I do believe that bullying is a substantial problem that young people face and I appreciate that this book is attempting to raise awareness. Sherokee did not know the children that bullied her on the day she died, with the exception of an ex boyfriend that was present. It is clear that these kids bore the brunt of a lifetime of sadness and hopelessness that Sherokee endured her entire life. Sherokee's family was outraged that none of the children present during her death were charged, and although I am empathetic with the death of their loved one, I'm shocked that none of them seem to bear any responsibility themselves for what Sherokee went through in her young life.

If anything, this book should raise awareness for how imperative it is for children to grow up in a loving a stable home, with a solid foundation. There are many circumstances that led Sherokee to do what she did, and bullying was just the tip of the iceberg.

I first want to thank Netgalley for giving me permission to read this title. The book was an amazing read. I think that I will most definitely be ordering this book to put on the shelves at our library. I believe that the teens will thoroughly enjoy it. This story was so sad. I felt really bad for the young lady and believed that more could've been done before her life was so tragically ended.

I am a sucker for the True Crime genre. As I read this, I pictured it as a Dateline episode. I did not know the backstory, so I expected to read about a girl who was solely bullied at school. The book gives more details on how her home life was tough and she was bullied in all aspects. It is an issue that so many face in this day and age. Heartbreaking story.

So this novel would be considered a true crime novel because it deals with a REAL crime and REAL people. I am a huge fan of the genre and normally gobble up these books in one or two sittings. Why? Because they are INTERESTING. I enjoy reading about how people become bad and how their childhood and adulthood play a part in the crimes they commit. Unfortunately, none of this was incorporated in this novel

So happy to be given a whole budget to replenish our senior shelves in the school library. The books in there are far from appealing at the moment and I have been delighted to find books here that will intrigue, captivate and engross my senior students.

This is a hard-hitting and shocking read that shows that brutality and cruelty can reach depths we could never imagine. True Crime is rising in popularity with our senior readers and I feel that this will definitely appeal to my fans of Serial podcast.

It's great to read a book that does not feel formulaic and gives some credit to their reader's intelligence too. Young people are very fussy about the books they choose to read and in this time-precious day and age it really has to be something above and beyond the ordinary to get them to put down their devices and get their noses stuck in a book.

I think this is one book that will keep them turning the pages until the end. This is definitely going onto my 'must-buy' list and I really look forward to seeing what the young people themselves think of this brutal, shocking and sobering read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Wild Blue Press for providing me a copy of this book....

I would say that the title is a little misleading. While the story does focus on some of the bullying that Sherokee endured, the story paints and tells a larger story of young, hard life that was cut tragically short. I don't want to reveal too much of the book for those who wish to read it but the author does a nice job of describing the hard life and formidable factors that were part of this child's tough and all too brief life.

This book is heart breaking, but it needs to be read. Bullying is an epidemic that needs to be stopped.

Wow. This book was an eye opener. I had heard of this story in essentially passing, but reading the details of this story was devastating. I hope having this book brings more awareness to the issue of bullying as well as mental health for all ages, including children.

I want to start off by saying this book is a wake up call to parents. The book starts off with a big bang with the death of Sherokee and those final moments surrounding it. From there the book dives into the entire back story of her life. And sadly, it's not a long life. This is my only issue with the book - it's a little choppy here. Not from the content or from what the author was trying to accomplish, simply the writing. Having said that, I believe all of this back story is incredibly important to seeing the bigger picture of who Sherokee was and all the baggage that was suffocating her. It's heartbreaking to read. This beautiful child was never given a chance in life.

The title Bullied to death is really an appropriate title for this book. There are so many ways Sherokee was bullied - from her peers at school, to her home life, even by the educational system. And the author does a great job going into detail of all of these aspects. By the end of the book we don't truly know if she committed suicide or if the peers who were bullying her had a hand in her death (as her family claims). For her family's sake I pray one day they get those answers. For the rest of us, Sherokee's story is not just a wake up call, but a learning opportunity. Bullying is a real thing and strongly prevalent in the life of today's kids. Bullicide is a real thing and we need to know the signs to look for. Mental illness in youth is a real thing and we need to know how to address it. Parents need to be involved in their children's lives. Teachers, social workers and extended family members need to read this book as well and learn from it. Everyone in Sherokee's life either failed her or missed the signs that there was a bigger problem or didn't know the right way to help her. This needs to change with our youth.

My heart goes out to Sherokee's family. They laid it all out there for the world to read and judge. That couldn't have been easy. I hope they know that Sherokee's story will make a difference.

My thanks to Judith Yates, Wild Blue Press and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a sad book. We have all experienced bullying in some ways - whether by being bullied, being the bully or seeing it. I am sad that so many people are not doing anything when they see someone being treated badly. It only takes a little courage and love to show someone they are cared for in this world. I hope someone who reads this book will be deeply affected
The book is a very detailed account of Sherokee's life, filled with texts and facebook posts (that sometimes made it confusing to read).

Firstly r.i.p sweet girl.
This is a a harrowing true story of a young girl who committed suicide by stabbing herself in the gut in a park in front of some of the kids that called her horrible names.
It seems she had an awful start to life...no father,being abused living with a big family and coping with loss of people she loved, and with that when she’s older Being constantly bullied by other kids ...being called horrible names at school and on social media look what it did.
She was a great poet from the poems she wrote such a vibrant girl who could have done anything she wanted to achieve ..if only she believed in herself more ...she just wanted to be loved and I guess in the end all the bullies made her feel worthless.
Such a tragic end and such a tragic loss.

What an intense, important and heartbreaking story. As someone that works with children in the school this book becomes so important to read. So much and so necessary to discuss and be aware of. Thank you for allowing me to read this.

'Bullied to Death?' by Judith Yates looks into the tragic case of Sherokee Harriman's death in 2015. Was she bullied to death or was something else going on? While I originally believed that this was going to be a true crime look into the dangers of bullying, it was more of a memoir of Sherokee's life and her struggles to fit in. While her mental illness and troubles at home certainly played a part, I would have liked to read more about how bullying caused her to end her life and what happened with the students she met in the park that day. It is important to remember that bullying is not the only cause of suicide in young children but it is a huge problem that needs to be dealt with.

Thank you to NetGalley and WildBlue Press for the opportunity to read this.

This book was so sad. I know that bullying and suicide are often connected in teens and I know that both are serious issues that need to be looked into further but to read it with the back story behind everything makes for a very tragic read. I liked how the author showed everything leading up to the death of Sherokee Harriman, who unfortunately killed herself in front of her classmates because of the bulling she faced. This book discussed the fourteen year old's home life and struggles she faced there along with the bullying she endured at her school with all of this stacked against her she felt she had no other option and chose to end her life. I did expect this book to focus more on Sherokee and what happened to her however while most of the book did just that some of it almost turned into a lecture about bullying on social media and how it can have consequences. This book also talks about bullying in general in different social classes, cultures, and genders, however it mainly focus on the one cause but it was nice to get some more information on this terrible epidemic. This was a very sad read but hopefully this book will stop other kids from going down those same footsteps and getting help instead. I really feel bad for the family and I'm glad they chose to share their story with the world. I did like how the author took a serious subject but was able to make it a fresh read.

I have often wondered how hard it is to be a teenager today (vs the early 2000s, when I was a teenager), living in a world of constant social media and therefore, constant exposure. I truly cannot imagine what it is like to have your smartphone and social media used as weapons against you, never being able to escape bullying at school because it follows you home. This book served as a crushing example of a truly heartbreaking event.

Bullied to Death is a cross between a case study/true crime novel and a eulogy. It is thought-provoking and well written and easily readable, despite the very difficult subject matter. This book will be a very serviceable mechanism to encourage discourse on how we, as a culture and society, start to address both sensationalism and bullying.

Well, unfortunately for me everything in this story that happened to Sherokee Harriman, happened to me growing up and at about the same age also. I did try to commit suicide but thank goodness was unsuccessful. I was bullied and abused by my grandfather. I say this because as I was reading this young girls story, I could feel the emotions coming back. This writer does a hell of a job getting the information to the reader. Yates has written a true crime novel that Is something that needs to be addressed even more now in schools across our nation. Yates puts the information in the order of its occurrence instead of jumping around in this poor girls life. I highly recommend this nove to others and especially ones who have experienced the same thing. It truly will make you look at things much different.

5+ stars ⭐️ out of 5

Thank you to the author as well as netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.