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50 Cent Tailors Novel to Teen Bullies
October 03, 2011 11:30 PM EDT
Curtis Jackson III, also known as rapper 50 Cent, has recently released a novel entitled Playground: The Mostly True Story of a Former Bully which is loosely based on his life growing up as a teen bully.
The story follows the life of a 13-year-old named Butterball, after he has moved from his home in the city to live in the suburbs, where he is forced to go to therapy after a playground incident that sent a kid to the hospital. As the story evolves, readers are given a first-person voice point-of-view narration of the experiences and conditions that explain the how and why he became a bully.
Although it gives the bully’s perspective, in no way does it try to condone the character’s actions or any other real-life bullying for that matter.
According to Entertainment Weekly, Jackson writes in the introduction of the novel, that the purpose of the book is to “show a kid who has become a bully – how and why that happened, and whether or not he can move past it.” The EW article also features the first three chapters of the book. The novel also includes drawings and photographs.
Many other celebs such as Bette Midler and Russell Simmons have already given the book rave reviews. Based on the positive feedback, it seems likely that the novel will very well resonate with the youth on a realistically positive level.
As another inspiration, Playground was also written with 50 Cent’s 14-year-old son, Marquise Jackson, in mind.
