Mortified

Crippled with shyness and conscious of what she perceives as negatives in her appearance, Belinda has one goal, and that is to stay out of the limelight. Therefore, despite her real love and talent for drama, she is horrified to find that someone has signed her up for the school play auditions. She has no intention of participating.

Her friend, Sally, knows Belinda’s worth and realizes she just needs some self confidence. Believing in witchcraft, she attempts a confidence spell. This seems to make things worse because one public disaster after another follows Belinda, bringing more of the attention she hates. These include embarrassing publicly witnessed accidents, an encounter with a skunk and losing her hair as a result of an accident at the hairdressers. She is the laughing stock of the whole school, and Belinda feels she can never overcome this mortification. Can she break the curse, or must she accept the status quo?

Belinda is a credible narrator of her own story. Her clear voice details her predicament and emotions eloquently and naturally. Any person, whether child or adult, who has ever been mocked or bullied or had their picture go viral, will feel her pain and identify with her. She is a real character with fears commonly experienced by everyone. However, when necessary, Belinda can dig deep to reveal her inner metal as she stands up to her oppressors, attends the audition and gets the lead role.

The many awful things that happen to Belinda are both heartbreaking and hilarious. One feels almost guilty for laughing at the ridiculousness of the situations that befall her and add to her predicament, but they are part of the tension and humour that make Mortified such a readable page turner.

Sally and aspiring actor, Ricky, on whom Belinda has a bit of a crush, are depicted as good supporting characters while Chloe, Belinda’s ex friend, is the stereotypical mean girl! Teachers and parents are shown as empathetic towards Belinda and her situation in general, but they seem powerless to change things, and there seem to be no real repercussions for the bullies. In the end Belinda must be her own advocate.
Belinda’s Cree Nation origins and the resultant inclusion of family and cultural traditions add a rich extra dimension to the story as does the device of prefacing each chapter with a lively full page illustration in cartoon form that introduces and summarizes its content.

Children aged 8-12 will enjoy the character of resilient gutsy Belinda who goes from underdog to heroine. With its believable characterization, humour and fast moving plot, Mortified, nevertheless, carries a serious message about bullying, one worthy of discussion.