The Bully

Though The Bully follows the life of a Black teenager in a largely Black and Latino environment, the author, Paul Langan, is a white writer from suburban New Jersey. There has been debate around whether the primary architect of the Bluford series can depict the experiences of Black and Latino kids in under-resourced neighborhoods with authenticity.

Langan described his approach to the series as a response to a severe need: The students he worked with had very few books that reflected their experiences (Jones, Patrick. “Patrick Jones Interviews Paul Langan.” Juvenile Justice Literacy Project, 13 May 2017). For the series, Langan draws in part on his own childhood hardships, such as losing his stepfather and working odd jobs, and in part on the personal stories of his students, who share elements of the identities of his characters. Langan points to the fact that the books have resonated with Black and Latino readers, who have expressed their appreciation for seeing characters that reflect them, as a testament to his novels’ authenticity.

Critics have pointed to the challenge of writing across class, racial, and ethnic differences; some claim that it is impossible to truthfully capture the experience of someone whose identity differs from your own. Critics have also debated the novels’ cover art as potentially harmful and sensationalized because it features characters with guns. One critic describes Langan’s characters as “caricatures of the Black experience” and accuses the white authors of the series of exploiting young Black and Latino readers’ desire to see themselves represented for financial gain (Rosier, Cheyanne. “The Bluford Series: Black Books/White Authors.” Universal Write Publications, 24 Aug. 2023).