Beth K. Belliveau Livres

A semi autobiographical story of a torturous school year. Colleen is being bullied by her classmates and some of the neighborhood kids. She keeps trying to figure out WHY they are all against her. They used to be her friends. The only thing that has changed is Dawn, a new girl who moved into the school and next door to Colleen. She is manipulating the students. She has targeted Colleen and now Colleen is friendless. Colleen is physically and mentally abused by her peers. Dawn's control is relentless. She even controls what happens in the classroom as well as in the neighborhood with the group of kids that Colleen used to call her "friends". She cannot escape the cruel comments, fictional stories about her and physical harm whether at home or in school. How will she survive? Will she stand up to Dawn? Will she lose all her friends forever?

One bad decision is made and now Nina, an 8th grade girl and her brother, JC, who is in 6th grade need to cope with all the questions in their minds and anger in their hearts. On top of all that, illness occurs while dealing with all the other conflicts in their lives. They look at their situations differently, even though they live in the same house with the same family members. How can they deal with all of this so differently?Will the situations that occur change them? If so, will they be better people or hold grudges permanently? Will their family be supportive of each other or fall apart?Read one of their stories or both within the same book. Connect with the characters and the coping strategies they use to deal with their family, school life and friendships. How would you have dealt with all the issues they had in such a short period of time?The stories are written in parallel format so if two people choose to read each story simultaneously, the chapters and scenarios align for cohesive conversations as the story unfolds.

Derek's family has suffered a great tragedy. After they recover from the shock of it, they begin to move on and adjust their lives. Derek cannot move on. He holds a secret that is destroying him. If he shares this secret, he believes it will ruin his family's life all over again. How long can he go without telling the truth? How is this stress destroying his life while he waits for the "right moment" to confess his guilt?This story is based on the character, Derek, from Beth's first novel, MY RUINED LIFE.