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This month 20 lucky MoM members could win a gripping, compulsively readable memoir of bullying and boarding school, Bad Behaviour by Rebecca Starfordfrom Allen & Unwin.

Moving, wise and painfully honest, this extraordinary memoir shows how bad behaviour from childhood, in all its forms, can be so often and so easily repeated throughout our adult lives.

It was supposed to be a place where teenagers would learn resilience, confidence and independence, where long hikes and runs in the bush would make their bodies strong and foster a connection with the natural world. Living in bare wooden huts, cut off from the outside world, the students would experience a very different kind of schooling, one intended to have a strong influence over the kind of adults they would eventually become.

Fourteen-year-old Rebecca Starford spent a year at this school in the bush. In her boarding house fifteen girls were left largely unsupervised, a combination of the worst behaved students and some of the most socially vulnerable. As everyone tried to fit in and cope with their feelings of isolation and homesickness, Rebecca found herself joining ranks with the powerful girls, and participating in various forms of bullying and aggression. Increasingly horrified at her own behaviour, Rebecca soon found herself excluded from this group and subjected to bullying herself.

Bad Behaviour tells the story of that year, a time of friendship and joy, but also of shame and fear. It explores how those crucial experiences affected Rebecca as an adult and shaped her future relationships, and asks courageous questions about the nature of female friendship.

Bad Behaviour RRP: $29.99  

Available now where all good books are sold.

To find out more about this great read, go to Allen & Unwin

Please note this competition is open from 22nd Feb 2015 until 20th March 2015 and is only available to members of Mouths Of Mums. We are unable to accept entries posted via Facebook. Facebook LIKE functionality is not a requirement of entry to this competition. The winners of this competition will be published on this page. Winners’ name and address will be provided to the promoter of this competition and prizes will be sent to the address you have in Your Profile. Please ensure your details are up to date so that you receive your prize.

Winners for this competition

  1. D. JillianVIC
  2. L. CormackACT
  3. K. ChapmanVIC
  4. M. FredregillVIC
  5. R. FirthWA
  6. S. GrassiNSW
  7. E. PriceQLD
  8. M. FordQLD
  9. W. NowakQLD
  10. E. HubbardVIC
  11. J. SmithVIC
  12. A. AlchinACT
  13. S. JohnstonQLD
  14. J. FraserQLD
  15. L. NanottiSA
  16. N. WhincupQLD
  17. C. WeeberQLD
  18. R. YangzonWA
  19. V. MalinowskiVIC
  20. K. HennigQLD
  • Don’t let anyone tell you that you are not good enough. It’s their issue not mine


  • No-one remember who came first, the year after you leave.


  • Wait — it all gets so much better from here.


  • It would be to stay true to myself and not follow the pack just to gain superficial friendships!


  • Stay true to yourself, you will come out the other end proud and sure of who you are.


  • I wouldn’t be ashamed of my ethnic background because of bullies I would embrace it!


  • That it’snot what is said to you but what is done that counts and vice versa


  • Be yourself and don’t try to conform to others.


  • I would say to myself, choose your friends wisely, not because they are popular but because they are good, kind and decent people who make your life happier.


  • I’d tell myself to relax a little more, smile a little more, play a little more and to stress a little less. Things will ALWAYS work out, no matter what.


  • I wish I could of told my younger me to worry more about learning rather than trying to fit in & make friends. I wish I could of known those so called friends were going to use & abuse me & that I would be trying to forget I know them 10 years later.


  • Be respectful of one another and pick your peer group very carefully.


  • To stop caring what these people think about you! They aren’t worth it!


  • Not to let bullies see that they hurt me with their pathetic words. I would cry and they’d laugh at me and they’d say even nastier stuff. I’d tell myself to believe in myself.


  • You are a strong, beautiful, amazing young woman who can do anything and you don\’t need to please others for them to like you. Be who you are and make a few friends that love you just the way you are.


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