The latest novel in the Bullies and Allies series puts all the pieces together

In The Puzzled, James F. Johnson puts together all the pieces from his first two books to reveal some shocking secrets about Kyle Rickett’s past. This third and final book in the Bullies and Allies series follows Disaster Island and The Goat Driver. On Disaster Island, readers met thirteen-year-old Kyle’s dysfunctional family as well as pediatrician Dr. Krieg, of whom Kyle has vague memories of sexually abusing him as a child. Unfortunately, Dr. Krieg is the only friend of Kyle’s father, and now that Kyle is older, that doesn’t deter Krieg’s behavior. Kyle is surrounded by bullies at school and at home, while simply trying to survive. When things come to a head, his family, not knowing how to deal with him, sends him to spend the summer with his grandfather Louie in Minnesota. In The Goat Driver, Kyle arrives in Minnesota. During the summer, he makes a new friend, a young man named Tuck, who teaches him the true meaning of friendship and how to defend himself when he returns home.

When The Puzzled opens, Kyle has just returned to his home on Torano Island in Washington. He’s more self-confident than before, and with Tuck’s secret support, Kyle can take on several of his bullies, but not all of them. His sociopathic sister Fran still continues to create problems in the family, driving a wedge between Kyle and his parents. Kyle is continually scared of what he will say; she is always ready to expose family secrets, as well as to tell lies or just guess until she finds the truth of the situations.

Outside of his immediate family, Kyle has other issues to deal with. He remains an outcast at school, although he learns to cope better. When Dr. Krieg is accused by an anonymous person of sexually abusing children and leaves his practice, Kyle is deathly afraid that whoever knows about Krieg’s activities will also know that he was one of Krieg’s victims, and when that knowledge is exposed to the public, it will ruin your life.

Fortunately, Kyle has found his allies. He maintains a secret correspondence with Tuck, who, despite being far away in California, continually supports him and even lets him know that if he ever becomes necessary, he will come to Torano Island to rescue him. Closer to home is Kyle’s neighbor and best friend, Connor. Kyle has kept secrets from Connor all these years, fearing that if Connor knew how he was treated at Catholic school, he would not be his friend either. But when Connor and Kyle start high school together, they can bond even more and Kyle can leave behind the bullies of his past at Catholic school. Eventually, Connor and Kyle start their own radio show, which becomes a hit on Torano Island. Soon, Kyle discovers that he is popular and loved. The radio show and her friendship with Connor allow her to see possibilities for her future.

But the future still requires facing the past. Although he has not yet been diagnosed, Kyle suffers from PTSD due to his abusive childhood, causing him to sometimes revert to dangerous behaviors, both suicidal and sexual. He soon realizes that his greatest enemy may be himself.

The puzzled man comes to a very satisfactory conclusion. James F. Johnson does an excellent job of putting together all the problems Kyle has faced in the past and showing how he solves them. This book – and indeed the entire series – is more than an entertaining novel. It will increase awareness of family dysfunction, PTSD, sociopaths, child abuse, and many other issues that make life difficult for people to deal with. The bewildered, in particular, is primarily about healing the past. Johnson offers a very concise view of bullying, and while he agrees that standing up to bullies is important, he also shows that there are some situations where you just can’t stand up to bullies, so the best thing to do is walk away. . This lesson is the hardest for Kyle to accept in the book because it means ending some relationships that he would have liked to have, but the only way to guarantee his sanity and safety is to sever the ties that otherwise should bind.

I was impressed with Johnson’s ability to develop his characters so completely. These characters feel like real people, like people I’ve met, cried with, and cheered with as they have experienced the ups and downs of life. If I have a complaint, it’s that the story is over. Although The Puzzled is much longer than the previous two books, I am left wondering about many things, not because Johnson doesn’t solve everything, but because I want more: I want to know what Jayne, Kyle’s niece, is when she grows up. as after being raised by a sociopathic mother. I want to know more about Kyle’s cousin Scooter who fakes his death after his family condemns him for being gay. I just don’t want to leave these people. I guess one day I’m hoping for some kind of spinoff series.

Overall, I can’t recommend the Bullies and Allies series highly enough. Anyone who has experienced a dysfunctional past, and at least to some extent, we all have, will find many things on these pages to relate to and, more importantly, learn from them.