Bystander by James Preller: Review by Jacob I.

I read the book Bystander by James Preller. This is a story about a thirteen year old boy named Eric, who is a new kid in school. Eric starts to fit in with the “ cool kids,” but they are all bullies. During the summer Eric is on the court playing basketball, when he sees David Hollenbeck “THE TARGET” running across the field with blood on his shirt. Eric then sees Griffin and his gang chasing David. The gang consists of four people with Mary (who isn’t a bully), Hakeem, Warrick, Cody and Griffin.

Griffin is a mean, rude bully who gets away with everything with his “Hollywood smile.” Mary is sweet and caring and starts to fall for Eric. Eric is the new kid in school, and he picks the wrong kids to hang out with. Hakeem and Warrick are like Griffin’s pets throughout the book, but then they do what they want to do. Cody is a tough kid who starts to find his way to living his own life after a huge mistake.

I loved this book and it was full of action. It’s like it sucked me into the story. This book makes you want to keep flipping pages. I think anyone one who reads this book will love as much as I did. If you want to read a book filled with action and drama, and a book that makes you think you're in their shoes. Then read this book.