Firstly, this book is tagged a psychological thriller and horror, and while there are elements of both in the book, I believe it actually is more accurately described as literary fiction. A dark, gruesome and horrific tale, but it fits more neatly in the definition below:

Whereas genre fiction from Romance to Dystopian Horror is plot-driven, Literary Fiction is character-driven. Any action in the story impacts the main character or characters, and understanding this impact is the whole point of telling the story.

My issues with the tagging aside, this book was an interesting read. At times it felt over-dramatised and everything went wrong for Tony, to the point it became unbelievable. But just as I’d get to the point where I didn’t want to keep reading, some tiny spark of joy or hope or love would emerge for him and I’d be sucked back in.

The first third of the book was probably the part that resonated the most with me and emotionally impacted me the most. The events hit harder, the torment and pain inflicted that much more awful (both physical and emotional). Perhaps this had to do with Tony’s age, or perhaps the imagery created was stronger? Either way, I was more moved by his younger years than anything in the other two thirds, including the craziness with Carnie.

What should have been the emotional sucker punch to the feels in the later parts of the book lacked impact because we’d already been through so much with Tony. I also 100% picked the ‘twist’ almost as soon as the scene began. The aftermath was told in a rather removed fashion, which might’ve been done on purpose, but really distanced the reader from what the characters were feeling and experiencing. Which resulted in the missed opportunity to hit home.

The epilogue type last chapters felt tacked on, and while giving a little bit of closure, really could have been left for another book or even a short companion piece to this book.

Ultimately I really didn’t enjoy this book. That’s not to say the writing is bad, it’s not, but the content is so bleak and full of evil it really made reading the pages a bit harder, more like a chore than a joy.

Will I read something else by the author, yes, once I’ve had some time to feel happiness again.

Things I noticed:

83% - his skin began to tingle (tingled) - seems a track change hasn’t been accepted.

84% - her curly, blond(e) hair - feminine version is with the e.

**Note: I received this as an electronic ARC from Netgalley in return for an honest review.**

Honestly, I could not complete this book. Not because, it's not well written, well actually some edits could have been done, but for the dark theme goes on.

As someone who has suffered bullying idk what made me pick up this book. It just triggered a lot of emotions. I was unable to read this.

the writer Paige Dearth is apparently a survivor as well and she uses writing as a coping mechanism. I guess it can feel liberating to churn all the feelings out through writing and she has done that.

From a reviewers pov, some chapters felt unnecessarily long and were quite boring. I just skimmed through.

Wow! This was a dark, disturbing, difficult read. It was violent and filled with graphic abuse and many trigger warnings. This book is difficult to rate and was difficult to put down. It follows Tony Bruno, a little boy who is being horribly bullied at school and when he goes to his father, he does nothing for him. None of the people who should be protecting and looking out for Tony do. His story is heartbreaking and ends up leading to him getting sent to a juvenile facility. I could tell that the author truly knows what she's talking about when it comes to abuse. The descriptions truly broke my heart but she did a great job painting the picture of what happened to Tony.

This was not a terrible book, but this is not a book I would recommend at my school. I felt no sympathy for any of the characters.

A great powerful read but not for the faint of heart that is for sure. Also pretty sad and heartbreaking I feel the whole world failed this little boy.
There were moments in the book where I had to pause and collect myself, especially since I have a young boy myself. However it is the strong emotion that makes this a great book! I would read more from this author but I will have to do it spread out. I couldn’t imagine reading this type of material one right after the other! SOLID READ!

Tackling a very sensitive, dangerous, and different topic, this book gives off some potential. Although personally, I think that there needs to be a huge change in how the author does their writing.

Mean Little People is a fitting title for this mean-spirited book. I gritted my teeth and read it, but felt dirty for the entire length of the book. The author seemed to want me to feel pity for poor Tony and his hard scrabble upbringing, or to feel that his later inhuman behavior was justified by the horrors he endured, but the fact is I felt completely repelled by him and his friends. I have no love for brutality and torture, and this book was filled with them. I finished the book, hoping for some redemption at the end, but none was forthcoming. In fact, it ended on a similar note to that with which it began. I will avoid future titles by this author.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me a free ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a book I cannot read. I Cannot read something that is not believable. The story starts off fine but becomes progressively more unbelievable. Someone may perhaps like it but mot me

Paige Dearth has a way at pulling your heart strings and making you feel things you didn't think possible. Paige does not shy away from the harsh and dark reality some have to endure every single day. Paige has done it again, an amazing author.
The story starts when Tony was just 7 years old, getting beat up in kindergarten. Tony has had to endured pain and abuse his whole life from the one person who was suppose to care for him, his own father. After years of abuse, at the age of 13, Tony is forced out of his home and to live on the streets. No where else to turn he joins a gang, then later the mafia. Nothing good can ever come when you are in a gang or the mob.

Paige Dearth has a way at pulling your heart strings and making you feel things you didn't think possible. Paige does not shy away from the harsh and dark reality some have to endure every single day. Paige has done it again, an amazing author.
The story starts when Tony was just 7 years old, getting beat up in kindergarten. Tony has had to endured pain and abuse his whole life from the one person who was suppose to care for him, his own father. After years of abuse, at the age of 13, Tony is forced out of his home and to live on the streets. No where else to turn he joins a gang, then later the mob. Nothing good can ever come when you are in a gang or the mob.

Characters were well developed. The plot was intriguing. Loved the descriptiveness of the book. I would like to read more from this author

Heartbreaking realistic fiction.
Thanks to NetGalley, Fiction With Meaning LLC and a Goodreads giveaway for the ARC of Mean Little People by Paige Dearth.
The prologue broke my heart with the bullying of a seven-year-old boy. Tony was severely bullied by children and then he went home after being saved by a passerby and was bullied horribly by his father. The story continues on as Tony grows up, makes friends, loses friends and stands up to his father. The story jumps through Tony’s life and is somewhat choppy for a while but then finally settles and flows better. Once Tony becomes a teenager, the jumping stops and the story continues on with the tragically sad, horrifying and heartbreaking events that he’s living through. Tony sees his friend Salvatore harm someone. Vincent and Salvatore run away but Tony stays to help the injured person. A witness sees Tony by the person and tells the police that Tony was the killer when the person dies. Tony ends up in a juvenile detention center where he’s abused beyond comprehension. The only reason he was arrested is because he wouldn’t tell on Salvatore. Salvatore’s father is the mob boss but he’s cold and uncaring so he doesn’t help Tony as much or as quickly as he should. The mob eventually kills the witness and Tony is released. Now he has nowhere to go because his wretched father refuses to let him stay at home because he’s a “criminal”. He’s homeless. Tony finds a friend in a male drug addict and they share a room in an abandoned apartment building. This is the first time that he feels safe and isn’t harmed by someone he’s trusted. He also meets Donata, who owns a bakery that Tony frequently visits on the rare occasion when he has money. Donata and her granddaughter Ruth become family to Tony. His addict friend freezes to death and Tony is left on the streets alone and terrified of freezing to death too. He ends up joining the Slayers, a violent gang, just so he has a warm place to sleep. Through all of this, Salvatore begs his father to help Tony. The mob boss finally gives Tony a job, freeing him from the Slayers. He always tells Tony that he is indebted to him and the mob family and owes them, even though Salvatore continues to remind his father that he’s really indebted to Tony for saving him from the awful detention center in the first place. This story reminds me of the movie “Scarface”, with the hatred, anger and violence. I admire the author for being brutally honest with the details of the harm and violence that is predominantly portrayed throughout the book. Perseverance is strongly represented also. Tony has amazing strength and because we’re given his view of tragedies that he suffered through, his strength and perseverance become even more hard- earned and amazing because he carries on. The choppy grammar is used to make the characters real and it does work. Heartbreaking realistic fiction that’s also very eye-opening, 4 stars.

This is a book that made me cringe and hurt my heart at the same time. Tony was small boy and a perfect target for the neighbourhood bullies.Then when he got home, his dad would beat on him for letting other kids bully him. Vincent was the worst bully. One day Tony saw Vincent gettng hit by his older brother and then running out of his house with tears streaming down his face. That was the day they became friends for life. At thirteen Tony was put out on the street by his father because he became friends with Salvatore who moved back into the neighborhood. Salvatore was the son of the mafia boss but all Tony knew was Salvatore was a friend he couldn't turn his back on him.

This is a story about how a child becomes so use to violence it no longer affects him. At one point Tony says "I ain't never did anythin' in my life that made me feel special." Tony was loyal to his friends. He took care of the people who were good to him. If someone hurt them, Tony made sure it would never happened again. This was the only type of justice Tony knew. He never really had a chance to live without violence. This was a hard book to read due to the violence and the language. If any of this offends you, do not read this book. It was a perfect character study of how not to raise a child. Oddly enough I felt sad for Tony. His violence was necessary for his own survival. I felt worse knowing there are a lot of Tonys out there that grow up the same way.

This is not the kind of book I enjoy reading, there was too much violence and focus on the aspects of humanity that are depressing and deplorable. That being said, the book was well written, the plot was easy to follow, the character development was well done, and I stayed involved. I would love to read something more uplifting and positive by this author!

I received a copy of this from #NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This was one of the saddest books I have ever read and I’ve read tons. Tony Bruno is bullied at school and at home. He is almost killed at one point and by the time he’s 13 he is in juvenile detention for something he didn’t even do. He’s treated unbelievably bad there and when he gets out he kicked out of his home. He joins a gang and from there things to me only get worse.

That is all I will say. You have to read this one for yourself to understand why Tony does the things he does. How he survives. It’s a heartrenching story that will bring tears to your eyes throughout. It touched my heart and made me so mad in places. It was one you won’t soon forget for sure.

“This book will have you hooked from beginning to end. It follows the life of Tony who as a child was bullied constantly at school and out of school. His father is a violent man who also beat him and his mother.

Chucked out of his family home at the age of thirteen wrong choices that he made in his own life had a big everlasting knock on effect on his life. He ended up in a gang whose life was violence, guns, drugs and the most degrading acts to women.

He has 2 childhood friends one of whose father is a big mafia boss that try and help him.

This book moved me to tears at the end as it really gets you involved in the characters.

I was given this book read for free in exchange for a review. I will be looking out for more books from this author to read.

This is a very deep, dark book about just how brutal life can be and how you can come out the other side. The details are written exceptionally well and really bring to life just how cruel the world can be, to people of any age. From the ‘father figure’ he makes when living rough to the young boy himself, the world doesn’t see the age, but the cruel ways continue.

We read along as the cruel upbringing leads to a life the boy may not have once considered, but he thrives. He continues to live and make a life for himself, despite all the odds against him. When he gets massively knocked down again, it is so brutal I was blown away by the amount of emotion, fear and sadness, that I felt for this, now, young man.

The author had a way of taking some dark and creating a beauty to it. It was brought to life, showing just how one can survive and maintain a life, even in the worst conditions. I was instantly drawn to the main character and felt for him. I wanted to see hime succeed and loved watching as he grew and showed his intellect and tenacity, evening if he made mistakes.

Overall, this is a brutal read, but one filled with hope, just not the kind you are used to. I loved it!

Reading the previous reviews of this book on Goodreads, I have to agree with most other readers who used the word "brutal" to describe it. I've read many, many horror stories with both supernatural and human monsters in them. What makes Mean Little People just as disturbing, if not more so than some, is that the scenarios described here are so real and possible. We've all heard about the sick acts performed by school bullies, wife-beating husbands, street gangs and the Mafia, but that it can all happen to one little boy us absolutely heart wrenching.

Now, what not many reviewers have pointed out is the writing. As a part-time editor, I really struggled with the writing style the author employed. The prose was quite short and sharp, and didn't seem to be very well developed, making the flow seem very simple. As well as this, Tony, the main protagonist, speaks in a kind of slang that tends to grate on you after a while.

But if you can put that aside - and I did- you will find a tale that delves into the dark heart of humanity. The things that Tony goes through definitely shape the kind of man he becomes, making an argument for the nurture side of the 'nature vs nurture' debate. I would have loved to go this 5 stars, but unfortunately had to drop one due to the writing style, which may not suit everyone.

*I received this book free from Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Really enjoyed this thriller. Great cast of characters and a gripping and entertaining plot with enough twists and surprises to keep this reader guessing. I Couldn't put it down.

Tony Bruno's life is covered from the age of 7 to his late teen years. Tony is bullied by his schoolmates. His schoolmates don't stop until Tony fights back. His father beats him every night when he comes home. His father hates him. Why? He stops a kid, Salvatore from being bullied. They become good friends. Tony also becomes friends with Vincent who was a bully. When Salvatore gets into trouble, Tony says he did it and ends up in Juvenile detention where he is sexually abused by the guards.when he gets out, he goes home only to be kicked out of his home with nothing but the clothes on his back. How will he survive on his own at the age of 13? Tony ends up joining a gang where he learns more than he wants too. Meanwhile Tony meets a girl that he falls in love with. I won't tell more about the story as I don't want to spoil it for you.

At times the writing is slow in the beginning (at least it was for me). I became enmeshed in the novel as I wanted to see how Tony would survive and who he would become. I wanted to know if anyone would help him. I cried while reading this novel. It is at times heartbreaking.
It is a book that I think should be read by everyone and discuss. I believe that abuse is still too often not noticed when it is staring you in the face.