When Sue changes schools, she keeps in touch with her cousin Mitch by email. The mail the pair exchange proves to be her lifeline, because Sue is in trouble. She is being bullied – subtly, relentlessly, by another girl intent on making her an outsider – and keeping her outside.
Sue doesn’t know who to turn to. The only person she can talk honestly to is Mitch.
Back home, Mitch is also having problems. Bullying is happening at his school too – nasty vicious bullying which could prove life-threatening. Together, and yet miles apart, Mitch and Sue must work through their respective problems.
Mitch 2 Sue is a teen novel which manages to achieve a rare balance – between issue and action, between male and female and between educational and entertainment. This would make an excellent novel for class study and discussion, but will also appeal to a wide range of teen readers for private reading. The unique format, with the story told through the emails exchanged by Sue and Micth, is likely to appeal to the target age group.
Excellent!
Mitch 2 Sue, by Kate Walker
Scholastic, 2003