A school project goes terribly wrong in this middle-grade thriller about ex-homeschooler and Christian teen Hudson Sutton and his experiences in his new school. When he makes two friends and attempts to take on an established hierarchy of bullying, he doesn’t realize he’s taking a risk he never expected—becoming a bully himself.
From the same author who wrote the suspenseful fiction Code of Silence series, this is a realistic look at the extent and reality of bullying, especially through social media, with a Christian protagonist who learns that relationships, bullying, and doing the right thing are a bit more complicated than he realized. It also touches on the subject of suicide.
Recommended for ages 12 to 14, grades 7 to 9.
In Easy Target, Tim Shoemaker:
• Explores adolescent friendships and the struggles of navigating them well in a clean, compelling story.
• Shines a light on the extent and reality of bullying.
• Displays the difficult choices young people are facing in their day-to-day relationships.
• Explores social hierarchies in public school and how kids interact with their peers.
• Shows the main character’s transition from being homeschooled to attending public school and the challenges that exist there
Buy the Book!
The timely topic of bullying is portrayed in this book unlike many others I've read geared toward early to mid-teens. As a parent of teens, this is something I've kept my eye on over the years. With the added aspect of social media, cell phones, etc. it's a whole new world. My parents dealt with bullying by saying "Never start a fight....but you'd best finish it" - basically saying not to throw a punch first, but also to defend myself in the event one was thrown at me.
A few years ago, I found myself sitting at a school event, listening and watching - opposed to practically everyone else who had their eyes and nose in a phone. They were completely oblivious to the actions and words being used by their children. I witnessed good kids turn to the behavior that they were receiving.
That being said, I can relate to how hands-off the adults in this book were. But reading through it caused some heartache for what our world has become. I think this title provides an eye-opening moment that we need to be more vigilant in our kid's lives - including social media/cell phones.
For teens, this book shows how easy it is to cross the lines from being bullied to becoming the bully. There are other options - ones that can easily be accomplished with guidance from adults. If teens enjoy reading something relatable, this is definitely a good book to grab!
Author Interview
Q. Have you always loved books and reading? What about your childhood informed your love for reading and books?
A. I did enjoy reading as a kid. I loved mystery, adventure, and suspense. Reading was a chance to immerse myself in those adventures. And when I had kids of my own and started reading aloud to them, I LOVED seeing them drop into “story world,” totally captivated by a story. I think between my own childhood and reading to my kids, I learned the power a story could have in a reader’s life.
Q. How did you become a writer?
A. I had no dreams of becoming a writer, but often I made up stories and told them to my kids. Over and over they’d say “Dad, you’ve got to write these stories down.” I didn’t have any interest in doing that, but one time I tried writing a story. And I found I LOVED it . . . and discovered that is part of what God wanted me to do with my life.
Q. What motivated you to write Easy Target?
A. I love writing contemporary mystery or suspense, and also have a heart to help kids . . . to help them develop integrity and good character. So this was a foundational motivation. And for this book specifically, I am grieved by bullying . . . and the victims that are often unseen. And this was a way of me trying to help those who are hurting . . . to give them hope and answers. This was also a way of me helping readers “open their eyes” to see the hurting around them and to show them how they can be a hero, how they can help.
Q. What about the young adult genre do you enjoy?
A, So much!! This is an age that you don’t need to “write down” to,. so you can deal with real situations and tricky topics. And this age is on the edge of so many big decisions and paths that can take them to good places or bad. I love introducing characters the readers will love, and putting these characters in situations the readers resonate with. I feel by writing to this age group, I can help encourage them to make good choices, and spare them from so much hurt and pain they might experience otherwise. There are many books written for broken adults: I write with a heart to impact youth so they don’t become broken adults.
Q. Why did you choose adolescent issues such as bullying, suicide, and social media as your story focus?
A. I think they are so relevant to where these adolescents live. And the world doesn’t give great answers to these readers. It doesn’t often give solutions that work when it comes to dealing with these issues in the real world. Schools have anti-bullying posters up in the halls, and plenty of anti-bullying policies. But when you talk to the students, you soon find those things simply don’t work. Easy Target helps readers explore different reactions or responses to bullying, and we let them experience and discover what really works. And a story like this is a great way to open readers eyes to the hurting around them so hopefully they can make a difference.
Q. Tell us about your main characters in Easy Target.
A. Hudson is a homeschooled Christian 8th grade student who is suddenly thrust into the public school system after dad loses his job—forcing both Mom and Dad to work. He knows he needs to make friends fast—or become an easy target as the “new kid.” He sees some bullying situations that bother him and works to help some of the oppressed. He makes a couple of friends quick but even more enemies. What he doesn’t realize until later is that sometimes the greatest danger to taking on the bullies is becoming one yourself. Pancake is a non-Christian guy at school who begins to find the courage to stand up for himself as his friendship with Hudson deepens. Maggie, also a non-Christian, is very skeptical of Hudson at first but soon sees qualities in him that she admires and desperately needs. Giovanna, Maggie’s ex-best friend, is caught in the middle. She is part of the group that bullies but not really part of them all at the same time. She is the real easy target, and we see the desperation she feels and how it drives her to do the unthinkable. This is important for readers, and begins to help them see others with different eyes so they truly can make a difference.
Q. Who was your favorite character to write and why?
A. Interestingly enough, it was Giovanna, a character who was more of a minor character at first. She was a lot of fun for me to write. I think the thing that made it so interesting was that she was so overlooked, so vulnerable, and it was a chance to make that kind of person be seen more by readers in real life.
Q. Who was your least favorite character to write and why?
A. Some characters who bullied others were just hard to write, but it was gratifying to find a way to redeem a couple of these characters.
Q. What lessons can be learned from your main characters?
A. How to “see” others who may quietly be hurting or slipping between the cracks. How to look at things from the perspective of others, to understand them more fully. How to deal with bullying—what works and what doesn’t. How to be a real friend to others. How important it is to open up to parents and to tell them what is going on in the world and to seek their input.
Q. What is your hope for Easy Target?
A. That Easy Target will get into the hands of youth, parents, teachers, and librarians so that it can get wide exposure and awareness. My hope is that the book bears much fruit. I honestly believe this book can help our readers feel they are not alone in their struggles with others and give them realistic strategies to deal with people who make their lives miserable. For those who are oppressed, I think this book can give them hope and help. For those truly feeling alone, I think we can bring these Easy Target characters to life to the point where readers feel they have a friend in them. I’ve seen this happen so many times before. I also want to open the eyes of readers and help them see things from the perspective of others rather simply from their own point of view. I want to show readers how responding in love can make a difference.
About the Author
Tim Shoemaker is the award-winning author of the Code of Silence series and a popular speaker—especially for school assemblies. When he isn’t on the speaking and teaching circuit, he’s busy working with kids and writing more great stories! He’s the author of eleven books, including Super Husband, Super Dad; Code of Silence; Back Before Dark; Below the Surface; Smashed Tomatoes, Bottle Rockets . . . and Other Outdoor Devotionals You Can Do With Your Kids; Dangerous Devotions for Guys; and more. He speaks for schools, churches, and parachurch organizations (such as Focus on the Family, Iron Sharpens Iron Men’s Conferences, International Network of Children’s Ministry, and the Moody Pastors’ Conference). He also speak at men’s retreats, women’s gatherings, couples’ retreats, youth worker conventions, homeschool conventions, and writers’ conventions and conducts Family Devotion Workshops all across the country.
Raising Kids in an Age of Social Media
By Tim Shoemaker
Every parent needs a bit of a trailblazing spirit in them—especially when raising kids in this age. Historically, explorers and trailblazers often bucked conventional thinking, sailed unknown waters, and made discoveries that benefited themselves and so many others.
Bucking Conventional Thinking
Hey, back in Europe’s Dark Ages, many people viewed the world as being flat. Those who said different were probably looked at as being out of touch. Unenlightened. Weird.
Today many see the world as being all about a different kind of flat—as in screens. They see the world as revolving around the flat screen of our computers, phones, and TVs. It’s the source of knowledge. Education. Entertainment. Community. Commerce. Anyone who doesn’t fully embrace that perspective today? They’re often seen as being out of touch, unenlightened, and downright weird.
There are a bazillion articles written about the dangers of screens and our kids—but let’s zero in on one segment of this flat “screen” world. Social media. This is often how kids connect. How they keep in touch. What’s so scary about that? Here’s a handful of things to consider.
· Social media often erodes our kids’ sense of value as they compare themselves to kids who put up a convincing, but fake-as-Hollywood façade of who they are.
· Social media encourages our kids to portray a false image of themselves.
· Social media causes our kids to stay “on call” throughout the night—feeling the need to respond to friends’ posting at all hours. We’ve all experienced the need to break some bad habits our kids pick up when they’re with certain friends. With social media, those friends don’t leave our homes. The friends are always there, influencing our kids’ attitudes, habits, and behavior.
· Social media is a huge source of social pressure, bullying our kids to conform in some way. Home needs to be a place of protection for our kids, and social media takes the locks right off our doors.
Venturing into Uncharted Territory . . . But Not Alone
Today many successful trailblazers and explorers work with a team. They need support. And if you’re going to protect your kids against some of the ill effects of social media, you’ll need support as well. In a world where parents buy smartphones for kids who are way too young—with relatively weak restrictions and safeguards in light of the hazards—you’ll be in some uncharted territory.
First, make sure your spouse is on the same page. That will make things easier. Do your best to explain to the kids how you want to guard them. Honestly, it’s a tough sell—especially if the kids are already entrenched in the social media. But you’ve got to get moving on this . . . and every journey starts with the first step.
Set Up Family Ground Rules for Social Media Use
I’ll list a few thoughts here, but you may get the best ideas by talking with other like-minded parents—and your kids.
Monitor Social Media Use. What are they posting? What are their friends posting? Are there posts and pictures you need to address with your kids? Mean, inappropriate, overly personal, wrong perspectives? The Bible reminds us that bad company corrupts good morals, right?
Limit Social Media Access. Collect all phones at night—and keep them in your room. Your kids need the phone to wake them in the morning? Buy them an alarm clock. You wouldn’t believe how much kids are on their phone late at night after you’re asleep. By collecting the phones, your kids have an excuse for friends who expect them to be available after hours. They can blame their parents, right?
Encourage Good Social Habits. Often our kids may be in the room with us or other family members—but they’re really juggling conversations with friends on social media. Hey, juggling is great if they want a job with the circus, but it doesn’t do much to strengthen relationships. If you help them see the need to be “all in” and engaged with those they’re physically with, you’ll go a long way to helping them do better with relationships in their future.
Monkey See, Monkey Do. Watch how you handle social media as well. You really can’t be two places at once. If you think you can contribute to a social media thread when you’re supposed to be with your kids? Your kids will notice . . . and they’ll follow your example.
Come Up with Creative Alternatives
Limiting social media use is great, but be sure you’re filling the void.
Be a Hangout Home. Encourage your kids to invite friends to the house. Stock the freezer so you’ve always got food or snacks. Make your home a place kids love coming to.
Be Engaged as a Parent. Help your kids find and develop interests. Buy them great fiction—and read to them. Author, speaker, and friend Jay Payleitner puts it this way. “Dads, the best way to replace kids screen time is with you. Play a game. Toss them a basketball. Do something with them.”
Discovering the Beauty
Trailblazers and explorers often see the wonders of God’s creation in ways they never would have if they’d taken the easy route. Sometimes it’s easier to allow our kids to spend more time on social media than is good for them—and family life. But get a little of that trailblazer spirit ignited in yourself. Likely you’ll discover beautiful and rewarding things that will benefit you—and the kids—in ways you could never imagine or have experienced otherwise.