The timely topic of bullying is portrayed in this book unlike many others I've read geared toward early to mid-teens. As a parent of teens, this is something I've kept my eye on over the years. With the added aspect of social media, cell phones, etc. it's a whole new world. My parents dealt with bullying by saying "Never start a fight....but you'd best finish it" - basically saying not to throw a punch first, but also to defend myself in the event one was thrown at me.

A few years ago, I found myself sitting at a school event, listening and watching - opposed to practically everyone else who had their eyes and nose in a phone. They were completely oblivious to the actions and words being used by their children. I witnessed good kids turn to the behavior that they were receiving.

That being said, I can relate to how hands-off the adults in this book were. But reading through it caused some heartache for what our world has become. I think this title provides an eye-opening moment that we need to be more vigilant in our kid's lives - including social media/cell phones.

For teens, this book shows how easy it is to cross the lines from being bullied to becoming the bully. There are other options - ones that can easily be accomplished with guidance from adults. If teens enjoy reading something relatable, this is definitely a good book to grab!

Previously homeschooled, Hudson has never had to deal with bullying until he starts public school and finds himself in an all out battle against the social hierarchy of students, but at what cost?

A well written middle grade read that takes a realistic look at bullying, and I thought did a good job of asking thought provoking questions. Hudson sees the problems and wants to help, he is quick thinking and has good intentions. I liked that this book looked at varying perspectives throughout, and even some surprising ones. Maggie was one of my favorite characters, I liked that she was thoughtful and cautious.

Overall, I thought that this book got its point across well, while encapsulating it in an engaging story, with well developed characters and questions of faith. A great fit for the middle grade audience or even to read as a family to start discussions.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Easy Target was a nice read with a good message. I liked how the story spotlights bullying and social media. It was a believable storyline.

The characters were good. I felt like Hudson grew a lot throughout the book and learned some important lessons.

All in all, Easy Target is a book I liked and recommend.

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention/review it on my blog. I was not required to give a positive review, only my honest opinion - which I've done. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own and I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.*

I loved this intense thriller! It does have bullying in the book so I wasn't sure at first. The more I read, the more I enjoyed this book!

A perfect, high-paced read for young adults dealing with bullying and the difficulties they face in school and the complications of social media.

When Hudson Sutton must attend public school after being homeschooled all his life, his parents worry how he will fit in, but Hudson just wants to survive. It doesn’t take him long to figure out how things work and a school project on creating change puts him in the crosshairs of the school bullies. He does make two friends and together they try to take on the bullies to change things at their school. Unfortunately, the plan doesn’t work out exactly like he hoped and he quickly finds himself becoming what he was trying to stop, a bully. Together the friends work to help each other and those around them who don’t even know are being bullied. Will their plan work? Or will it make things worse?

Easy Target starts out nice and slow, but in the best way, there isn’t too much action right away and for a YA/middle grade audience it has a nice pace. The story is right on point with issues that need to be addressed in the world we live in today. The bullying in schools and on social media is an issue that seems to never go away. I loved the way Shoemaker wrote Hudson as he comes in not knowing the dynamics of how a school goes with social parameters and such and thinks he can quickly make changes. As he goes, he learns that none of that is going to be as easy as he hoped it would be. People get hurt and along the way he realizes that making these kinds of changes isn’t going to happen overnight and he can’t go over the heads of others.

As sad as it is, this is a problem that has affects generation after generation and we need to prepare our children for it. One thing I loved about this book was how it showed that even bullies can be hurting inside. Not everything is as it seems on the surface and trying to fit in and be accepted will be something that many kids and adults strive for no matter the cost. A lot of times, people lose themselves in the way they change to fit what others think they should act like, look like, or be. When we focus on what is inside and stop trying to please them, we find ourselves to be so much happier. I read this before letting my ten-year-old read it just to make sure it was appropriate for him. I feel it is a book that all young adults, and those getting ready for middle school where the pressure to fit in can be the greatest, should read and keep their eyes out for those around them that are hurting and figure out how they can stay true to themselves and help those around them at the same time.

I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

Easy Target is a book that I think my students will love. Set in nearby Rolling Meadows, Illinois, we meet Hudson, a previously homeschooled middle schooler who enters the world of public school for the first time. His dad warned him about bullying he might face, but Hudson thinks he's overreacting. Then, he encounters the lunchroom where it is clear that Carl Sandburg Junior High definitely has bullies. Hudson stands up to the bullies to try to protect two classmates, Pancake and Maggie (yes, there is a character nicknamed Pancake). This action puts a target on Hudson and the bullies certainly want payback.

Hudson decides the school is in need of a culture change. He decides to exert pressure on the bullies in the hope that they stop being so malicious, but no matter how well intentioned Hudson is in his actions, things continue to escalate. Can Hudson and his friends make a positive social change or is the bullying in school simply beyond repair?

This book raises a lot of questions about how best to handle difficult situations and just how far is going to far. I think kids will really connect to this book because we've all seen bullying in some form or another in all of our years of being in school. This book would work great as a lit circle read or even as part of a SEL curriculum.

Not your usual story about bullying... I like that Hudson was trying to change things in a different way, though he didn't really always go about it in the right way. I don't like that he and his friends didn't trust any adults until toward the end. It was a little long, I thought. Also, the kids seemed too old for junior high.. I did like the 3 main characters, but overall, not a great story.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance e-copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Easy Target is a good example of a novel that never quite understood the kind of tone it wanted to set. At the outset, we’re thrown into a world set from the kid-perspective, where parents and teachers are mostly clueless and irrelevant (until they have to swoop in to save the day), allowing the kid’s plans to run virtually unchecked. But by the end, well…just follow me on this.

Easy Target follows Hudson, a formerly-homeschooled middle school student trying to make his way in this new realm of public school with its cliques, social stratification, and bullying. The bullies run the school, while the teachers do little to nothing to stop them. Hudson and his group of misfits decide they’re going to fight back.

Their tactics grow more and more bold—as in, they quickly become the bullies—and things escalate until the end of the book in no way matches with the beginning. SPOILERS HERE…They bully the bullies so badly that the book ends with one of the bullies staging a school shooting with the goal of taking her own life.

The adults in this book are continuously incompetent. Small things include Hudson’s mom not being able to do her job by programming an electronic sign and letting Hudson work it out. The payoff to this plot point is that Hudson uses the sign to put the bullies on blast, naming and shaming them on the City’s billboard. And that’s just a silly example.

Early on, Hudson is beat up by seven of the school bullies. Although an adult breaks up the fight, he’s absolutely useless afterward, telling the kids that he’ll call their parents or the police but never doing either and letting them run off. The school principal knows that Hudson is behind some of the shenanigans meant to bring the bullies to vigilante justice, but lets it go on. At one point even agreeing to let the kids have one more day to exact their revenge. (The next day is when one of the bullies brings a gun to the school to kill herself.)

The Big Moral of the story is “Don’t react to bullying with bullying,” but the actual takeaway reads like “Adults are incompetent; fend for yourself” or “Don’t bully people. They might do a mass shooting.” The story shifts from the goofy 90s TV movie bully stereotype to holy crap, there’s going to be a mass shooting with an absolutely ludicrous storyline that, had the tone stayed the same throughout the book, Shoemaker might have been able to pull it off.

There’s no substance to the characters. Each one falls into a flat stereotype and their story arcs are telegraphed from their introductory paragraph. Even the school shooting, which was so out of the book’s scope early on, is clearly telegraphed. It’d be laughably cheesy if it wasn’t handling so serious a subject. More work was spent to create a message—a message that fails—then tell a good, coherent, age and tone appropriate story. Easy Target misses the mark completely.