Fuzzy Mud by Louis Sachar

This story is told through two perspectives, Tamaya and Marshall. Tamaya always walks to school with her neighbor Marshall, who is a year older. The school is an exclusive school and Tamaya works hard, as did Marshall until this year. This year the bullying has gotten so bad, he's giving up on school and on life. Tamaya doesn't know all that is going on and Marshall doesn't want to talk about it. One day, to avoid his tormentor, Chad, Marshall opts for a different route home that takes them through a wilderness area that is forbidden. Tamaya follows along because she has to. As they go through, the tormentor finds Marshall anyway and together Tamaya and Marshall fight him off, by throwing this fuzzy mud at him. This mud is particularly weird and leaves Tamaya's hand feeling odd...I won't give it all away, but it's an interesting tale of bullying and standing up for what's right and all from Louis Sachar's twisted side of reality. Grades 4-7