“We could be anybody and everybody. A group of high school stereotypes with one thing in common. Every one of us has a story.”Every high school has the bullies, the freaks, and the weird kids that make you feel uneasy. Rourke High has more than their fair share. A few months before the end of their senior year, a group of seemingly mismatched kids get together to form The Freedom Club, hoping … hoping that they can support the victims of bullying, before they graduate. As they uncover secrets and lies they plot revenge – and discover love, friendship and truths about themselves, building up to a shocking climax that will leave you reeling.
Do you ever really know the person next to you?
more
You are not good enough.
You are a loser.
You are a freak.
You are fat.
You are ugly.
You should just kill yourself.
“…..words can hurt a lot. Words can hurt for a lot longer than a bruise caused from a stick or a stone. Words can hurt for years. Forever even.”
Words have the power to hurt you if you let them. Kids and teenagers can be cruel and bullying seems to be getting worse every year. When does the cycle ever stop? What makes a bully a bully?
The Freedom Club hits too close to home for many school age children and teens. There are many bullied kids who have no one to turn to. No one to seek help from. You can see it from this story with teenagers from Rourke High and there are many other schools just like this one. Teachers, guidance counselors and principals need to be more aware of what is going on in their classrooms and in their school. There needs to be tougher consequences for bullies such as community service, forced counseling, jail time, and/or being expelled from school.
What I love most about The Freedom Club is it takes a deeper look at students who are bullied, what their home life looks like and what feelings they encounter being bullied. We don’t often always see the different sides of the spectrum. We also don’t always see what makes a bully a bully. Sometimes bullies don’t necessarily have the support of their families or come from a happy family. Bullying might be their only way of coping. I am not saying that every bully is the product of a bad family, there are bullies that are just mean in general and get a thrill from putting down others.
It is also sad to say that even parents are bullies. Grown adults behaving like children. You have seen it on the news a mother cyberbullying a fourteen year old girl until the point where the girl commits suicide. How much does your life truly stink that you have to harass a child. You are supposed to be the adult. You should be in jail and never let out.
Principal Timmins of Rourke High is a bully and his two teenage children Sean and Monique are just like him. They are the popular kids at school. They are mean, heartless, and have no care for other people’s feelings. They are the worst of the bullies and the outsiders of their little clique often feel the brunt of their bullying.
A group of students come together to form the Freedom Club. It is a safe place where they can get together and stick up for one another against the bullies of their high school. It is a club where they all watch out for one another and lift each other up.
“The Freedom Club,” Ethan whispers, “That’s what we can call ourselves. Stop the bullying and be free. The Freedom Club,” he repeats a little louder.”
Although the group starts out with the best of intentions they do get a bit carried away with the revenge aspect. Two wrongs do not make a right and why stoop to someone else’s level. I can understand why they wanted revenge and to be honest, it felt good seeing it happen. I probably shouldn’t be saying that, but I do believe in karma. If I was in the same situation? I hate to admit it, but I would probably do the same. But, even though I liked that the kids finally stood up for themselves, you still never know what motivates a bully and you never know if the person you bully will have a breaking point and come back and do something very unexpected. The ending of The Freedom Club is really tragic and it was really unexpected, but you can see what led up to this point.
Here is a short story about me. When I went off to college, I got stuck with the roommate from hell. She was a bully and looked down her nose at me because I was not from the rich part of the state. I am a city girl. I am pretty tough. I come from NJ and us girls are tough here in the city. I may be short at 4’8”, but my mouth is bigger than my entire body. You can’t bully me. I will just laugh in your face and tell you how stupid you look. My roommate tried and learned the hard way that I am not the one to be played with. I have been like this my entire life. In high school, girls said I was weird because I always had a book about serial killers in my hand. I embrace my weirdness and so should you. Never let someone define who you are as a person. Their opinions don’t matter. Just know at the end a bully is going to have a miserable future ahead of them. Karma again.
I do believe that people can change though. If you are a bully. Stop it. That is it. That is all you have to do. Only you can make these changes and learn to be good to people. If you see someone being bullied take a stand. Don’t sit quietly by and do nothing.
The Freedom Club is real, honest, raw and uncensored. Cindy Vine will evoke every single emotion out of you anywhere from anger and outrage to sorrow and understanding. The story, at times, is poetic and deep and it needs to be read slowly to let the words soak in. There is such a powerful message behind this story. Its stories like this that should be absolutely added to middle graders and high schoolers as mandatory summer reading programs. Every child/teen should have this book in their hands. It is a must read.
I would like to leave you with one final quote from The Freedom Club that I really love that has such a deep meaning to me. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.
“Our stories make us unique. They make us who we are. We’ll carry our stories with us through life. Our stories will make us, break us and ultimately shape us. How we react to different situations is dictated by our stories. Stories matter. Don’t cast them aside or try and bury
them. We can learn from them. Knowing our stories and owning them, means that next time around we have the power to change the ending. What’s your story? How will your story define your future?”