Learn

Ever get tormented by a bully? We all know how terrible it feels to be laughed at, teased or even pushed around by someone who is bigger and badder than we are. Well, bullies have been around for a long, long time. In this novel, which is set in 1918 Vermont, a bully named Aden makes a boy named Mason’s otherwise peaceful existence miserable. Then one night, when Mason is in trouble, the bully risks everything to help Mason out. Baffled by this display of kindness, Mason does not thank Aden, nor does he tell anybody what happened.

Not long afterwards, Aden goes to fight in the brutal war raging in Europe. When the Armistice, or peace treaty, is announced, the people of this small Vermont town rejoice by taking turns ringing the church bell. When Mason notices Aden’s mother standing alone mourning, he discovers that Aden has been killed in action. She finds deeper sorrow in the fact that no one joins her in mourning her son’s death. Mason shares with the grieving mother that Aden had once done a good thing for him, and that her son’s death will not go unnoticed.

Beneath the seemingly simple plot lie a few mysterious questions-for example, what motivated Aden to help Mason in the first place? Was Aden really a good kid at heart? What could turn a kid like Aden into a bully to begin with? Probe a bit deeper into the life of a bully, and you may find something surprising. You may discover a compassion for people that you didn’t think you were capable of in The Night the Bells Rang by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock.