A multi-layered young adult novel, Call Me Yubbie is written as a young man’s journal. Starting in the summer after 4th grade, Joe, a.k.a. Yubbie, is abused physically and psychologically. Yubbie’s lack of self-confidence and inability to deal with his tormentors leads to journaling, and it is in his poignant telling of events and their effect on him along with his fantasizing that the reader is given real insight into the depth of his pain. Yubbie receives some mentoring by two new friends Tom and Danny. He joins the boy scouts and learns that even with his physical limitations he has the ability to be successful.
Eventually he takes a part time job where the owner, a Desert Storm vet, becomes his new mentor. Having spent more than a decade recovering from a severe battle injury, Yubbie’s mentor shares his healthy perspective.
The nurturing he receives from his new friend, nurturing missing in his relationship with his parents, enables Yubbie to develop an improved emotional IQ while gaining bits of different spiritual philosophy to help him expand his understanding of life and people. Slowly his perceptions change and his reactions alter. He stops fantasizing and learns to direct his thoughts towards achievement. Ultimately his new self-confidence helps him to ward off the peer pressure influences of substance abuse and find value in himself.
Yubbie never loses his weight but he gains the confidence to become a guitarist in a group. The nurturing he receives from the Vet gives him the ability to deal with the fear of going to high school and the confidence to ward off the bullies in his life.
A book that will spark thought and engender real conversation, Call Me Yubbie is a must read for parents and educators as well as students between 9-14 years of age. It helps students empathize with the emotional impact of bullying as target, as a bully, and as by-standers.
Includes a teacher’s guide which helps facilitates discussion on each chapter.
