Project: Owen Ritter

About the Book

It wasn’t enough just to catch Owen bullying his victims, slamming them against lockers and knocking their books onto the floor. Getting him nailed was easy, but Mrs. Davis had bigger ideas. She wanted Nick and Joey to take on Owen’s character reformation. She wanted them to come up with a way to make school fun for Owen and everyone else. “We’ve got to do some positive reinforcement here in the building. You boys need to find a way to make Owen look good. We want the other kids to see him as a baseball jock, not as a spoiler, not as a loser who needs to bully people in order to feel superior. You do know that that’s what bullies do, don’t you? They desperately need attention. They want people to notice them and it doesn’t matter if it’s for good reasons or bad. The feeling of superiority and fame is what it’s all about. So what do we do?” Nick and Joey come up with a plan, but can they make it work? Can Owen control his anger long enough to allow good things to happen? When the boys decide they can’t do this alone, guess who comes to the rescue. Owen’s story has an unusual ending and you’ll have to decide if Project: Owen Ritter was a success or failure.

About the Author

Susan Ahlstrom is a graduate of the University of Michigan where she received her BA and MA in French and a minor in German. She also has a minor in Japanese from Madonna College. She has spent nearly thirty years teaching foreign languages to students from pre-school through university levels. For the past twenty-two years the author has taught languages, social studies and literature to middle school children. She has witnessed first hand the damaging effects that bullying and hurtful remarks have on students of this age. Her stories are intended to inspire students and faculty to take on the challenges of making schools a safe, friendly environment for all.