Charlie’s Story
By Maeve Friel
Charlie has spent her life being teased and tormented by her classmates, ever since they realized she was the famous “abandoned baby” who had been dumped by her mother in a train station. Charlie tries to cope with the cruelty of her classmates, but at the same time struggles with feelings of doubt and self-loathing. She wonders if it was her fault that her mother abandoned her, and her father and the rest of her family refuse to talk about her mother or Charlie’s life before being abandoned. Charlie must unravel her own history while learning to be brave against the face of impossible cruelty. Set in Ireland, this story presents a very real picture of the true dangers of bullying, and Charlie is a flawed and genuine heroine.
-Ms. McConnel