True crime is a genre that is interesting but can be macabre when a reader says he/she enjoys it. I also find that a majority of true crime books focus on the perpetrator more so than the victim so I was interested to see how the book would portray a suicide driven by others. Overall, my feelings are mixed. I'm glad the author took the time to show Sherokee's life and was respectful of her as a victim, but it doesn't feel like a complete picture. Maybe this is because there's no "true perpetrator" which the title alleges with the question mark. It was an interesting read, but a slight disappointment.

I would like to say thank you for the chance to read this. I read this book in two days, I loved it despite the topic, even though I think its a topic that needs to be addressed in every classroom in every school and even in every home. This little girl had so many things working against her even before the bullying started, that just tipped her over the edge. I really liked how the author had the input from the family, the friends and I really liked the Facebook posts that she included. I also liked that she put in the terms and laws that she did. I think that everyone needs to read this book then have a talk with their children so that they understand that what they say can affect people no matter what. and also that if they need to talk to someone they can come to them. from personal experience I know that keeping it in doesn't help at all.

Heartbreaking. A cross between true crime and a eulogy. To think that there are so many young women who suffer this constant belittling chipping away at their self worth in this day and age is almost unimaginable. This book is easily readable but the subject matter makes it difficult to finish, knowing all too well that there is no happy ending for so many young women victimized by Internet predators and stalking as well as relentless bullying from their peers. I would say this is nearly a must read for anyone with a preteen or teenage daughter because most people do not fully understand the stress their children are going through or the danger from modern day electronics and social media.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of this book in return for an honest review. In this book, Sherokee Harriman was only 14 years old when she committed suicide in a public park due to being bullied. She did it in front of some kids who had bullied her. Before this, she had a very troubled past from being sexually molested when she was very young by an adult she trusted along with diagnosed mental illness. She wanted to fit in with the popular crowd and no matter what she did, she just could not make this happen. This story was about Sherokee’s life and also has statistics of other suicides, bullying, etc. for factual purposes as well. I only gave it two stars not because of the story, because I feel deeply sorry for this girl’s family and that bullying should stop but because I felt there were parts of the story that could have been better written. #Netgally

I hate bullying! I liked the story but I wished it was written a little differently. And I felt there was so many names that I was getting confused on who was who. I felt there was some things that were wrote in there that I didn't feel were relevant. I liked the book though it was very sad to read.

My heart hurts for this beautiful child. Sheri kee Harriman was a 14 year old girl who took her own life. The book details her home life and struggle. It’s beyond heartbreaking that she felt there was no escaping what she was going through. The system failed her greatly. It was a heart breaking book to read about a true life story no doubt.

I was given an early copy for my honest review by Netgalley and Wildblue Press.

I found this book to be an interesting and moving retelling of something horrific. But I think it was too long, it dwelled on some facts that only really needed brushing over - which took away from the overall power of the book.

Ultimately, this book poses more questions than it concretely answers. What — or who — actually caused the death of Sherokee Harriman? Was she “Bullied to Death?” Or was it one of many factors that were cumulatively too much for this damaged young person to bear? Reading this story was difficult and painful, but worth thinking about by caring adults who want to combat bullying or want to foster resiliency in children.

This book really resonated with me, as I work in a school for troubled youth and see firsthand how bullying can affect them. The author told Sherokee's story in a way that was respectful and informative without being salacious or gossipy. I feel like her memory was honored with this book and hope that it will save someone's life.

Sherokee Harriman is a real girl. She has real feelings, she longs to belong, she loves her family, her favorite color is pink. Sherokee is now dead. She is dead because of bullying. Bullying by kids that should of and could have been her friends.
This is true story of how bullying can tip a person over the edge. This Author has told this story in a forthright, compassionate and factual way. It is very well written.
I strongly recommend.

I was drawn to this book because of my fascination with true crime. Though I hadn't previously heard of Sherokee and what happened to her, I wanted to hear her story.

The first thing to note is that this doesn't read like a true crime at all. Instead, it reads more like a memoir of Sherokee and her family. It shows a complete picture and tells the whole story of her childhood, past, upbringing, and highly dysfunctional home life and family. It's a very sad story of abuse, mental health issues, and more. I didn't find the bullying from her peers to be extraordinary or above what many other children encounter in school. Nevertheless, it was sad and uncalled for.

Ultimately, I think her death was brought on by her personal, family, mental, and home problems more than anything else. I also found myself wondering if her death was truly intentional. I wonder if she meant to scare people and ended up hurting herself more than she intended to, resulting in her death. Sadly, we will never know.

One great thing about this book was how transparent all of her friends and family members were. They were very forthcoming with information, even when it didn't shed the best light on them at all.

Negative aspects of the book: I found that it was filled with a lot of unnecessary information and repetitive statistics. For instance, we were constantly bombarded with Sherokee's grades and report cards, which I don't feel were necessary for the story past the first mention or so. The excessive use of definitions and statistics where unneeded came off as a bit amateur too.

All in all, this was a sad read, but I'm glad I know her story now and that her legacy can live on through its writing. Though it wasn't the best written book I've read, I do feel a sense of understanding now about this young girl's short, tragic life.

First, I want to thank Judith A. Yates, Wild Blue Press and NetGalley for providing me with this book so I may bring you this review.

Bullied to Death? A Story of Bullying, Social Media, And the Suicide of Sherokee Harriman by Judith A. Yates is an incredibly powerful, eye opening book, of how hateful verbal bullying effects someone emotionally, self-esteem, mentally and eventually to the point of doing harm to themselves. This is a book EVERY Parent, Uncle, Aunt, Health Teachers, Social Workers must read to understand our youth today and help if we see bullying happen.

Kudos to Elijah Toten for the incredible book cover design. That is what originally drew me to the book itself. After seeing the tile of the book and the blurb I knew I had to read it. I am a huge fan of true crime books and this seemed like it was literally ripped from the headlines. Plus, as a middle schooler and high schooler I was bullied at school for being born differently. However, never in a million years would I think of ever doing what Sherokee did!

This book is dedicated to Sherokee Rose Harriman and other countless children whom struggle daily with too many issues far too early in life.

Judith Yates mentions in her book that this is not a fictionalized version of the death of Sherokee Rose Harriman. She based this book on thousand of hours of interviews, social media research, cell phone record search, police reports, legal transcripts, photos, media, court reports, etc. Names and descriptions have been changed to protect their privacy.

Social Media however is exactly how it as appeared, without correction to spelling or grammar, in effort to remain true to the story.

My heart goes out to all the young people Judith talked to dealing with suicide, loneliness, depression, self-mutilation, dysfunctional home lives, verbal abuse, sexual abuse, physical abuse and bullying. All of this BEFORE they are 16 years old!! I want to hug each one of these people she interviewed and tell them it is not their fault!! They don’t deserve any of this!! This breaks my heart!!

I am very grateful to hear/read that Judith will be giving a percentage of the book sales to a national non-profit organization that focuses on education about and preventing teen suicide!! This donation will be in memory of Sherokee Harriman whom we lost too soon to suicide! We need to do more to prevent suicide and to save the lives of our children.

In the Acknowledgments Judith thanks Sherokee’s family for their bravery and willingness to share their story of their daughter. I cant imagine how hard it was for them to relive their story. However, I agree that if it can save the life of one more child it is all worth it. Thank you for sharing your story with us! To her friends I am deeply sorry for your loss.

For Sherokee at age 14 was bullied beyond control by girls at school. She was called vulgar names and yet she didn’t know them or do anything to provoke this. She didn’t have the best life growing up and was at her breaking point. The beginning few chapters will pull on your heart strings. You will need tissues. You will realize how strong family and friends are in a time of crisis as well. The scene in the park and the aftermath just blew me away!

In this book the author mentions Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube and the history of it and how it played a role in Sherokee’s social media experience online.

We also learn about the family history and how it comes full circle to the events that lead up to the death of Sherokee. It is ironic but all too sad. My heart goes out to Heather more so for going through the abuse she went through on top of loosing her daughter.

RIP Sherokee! Gone too soon!

The book is well researched and presented. I found it interesting to read about her life and dysfunctional family as well as the bullying, all of which contributed to Sherokee’s actions in the park that fateful day. This is not an easy book to read but it is one that will remain with the reader long after finishing it and can provide some good discussions. The story it tells is very real, believable and current. I think other young persons, as well as educators, parents and the general public should be encouraged to read it because it sends out a much-needed message about what some lives are like today. Definitely not what they used to be like when I was that age. I received this from NetGalley to read and review.

This is a heart stopping non fiction account of the effects bullying can have on children and teens. Kudos to the author for shining a light not only on this case, but the epidemic of childhood suicide and bullying.

Mental illness is a scary thing. I suffer myself and it's so sad how it consumed Sherokee and some of the other teens. The outcome was very sad and unfortunate. It's never easy to lose a child, let alone to suicide.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Wow. That is the first thing I will say about this book is wow. This is one of those books that is going to stick with me for awhile. This is a story of mental illness, abuse, neglect, bullying, family, and a whole lot more. This book is dark and unfortunately it is a very real depiction of how life is for many children. I have two teenagers myself and I can tell you that the bullying aspect of this book is no exaggeration. It happens every day and seems to be especially worse with social media as this book shows. As dark as this book is, I love how real it is. I like that in the end it talks about the fact that bullying isn't the only thing generally that leads to suicide - it is a factor but generally there are a lot of other factors at play. I also liked the wrap up at the end that told where all of the people are today. This is a sad story but it really opened my eyes to a lot of things.

This book brought up a lot of emotions for me. Sherokee was just 14 when she made the heart breaking decision to take her own life. The effects of this have been profound, on her family, friends, and even on those who bullied her or did not even know her. The author examines her tragic short life, the events that, as well as bullying by others, led to her deep depression and despair. The last parts of the book include discussions by experts on whether bullying can be solely to blame for a person's suicide. There are also links to organizations that can help people who feel suicidal. Just before these, is a lovely poem about a rose, written by Sherokee. I can only hope, that the events in this book, and the words in this book, can help some people to reconsider when they are feeling suicidal. And that it will raise more awareness about bullying, and create more effective ways of dealing with it.

Sherokee Harriman was only 14-years old when she committed suicide in a park in front of some of the kids who bullied her. She led an extremely troubled life – abused from the time she was only 3 years old, she also had a number of mental illness issues. When she plunged a knife into her belly on that day…

I think the subtitle of this one is a bit misleading, as I don’t think “social media” needs to be there. The author used social media in her research, as well as texts between Sherokee and her family and friends (in addition to interviews and plenty of other research). However, it is a sad story of a mentally ill girl who just couldn’t seem to get a break. Chapters near the end include some stats on bullying and suicide, so at that point it gets away a bit from Sherokee’s story, specifically. But, still interesting.

Bullied to Death by Judith Yates is a sad story about a teenage girl who was failed by all around her until she was so overwhelmed that she killed herself in front of some other teens. The whole story really touched my heart and made me hurt for those involved. I thought the book was well researched and I love the way Judith writes. She writes in a way that is easy to follow and understand. It is not all fancy educational type wording. She writes so that everyone can be touched by the story. Judith Yates is one of my favorite true crime writers indeed. I do recommend this book to anyone! Bullying can be such a big problem in our society now that maybe if people were able to read someone's story, people might do something about it finally.

Not an easy read, not because.of the text but the story itself.This book was so heart-breaking but we'll researced.