Best Friend, Worst Bully: Based on a True Story

Written and illustrated by Mei Yu

Union Square Kids

978-1-4549-5993-9

144 pp.

Ages 7–10

April 2026 

 

This is the story of friends, or it was until it wasn't. But that's the thing about friendships: they are dynamic. They change with circumstances both self-controlled and unplanned. It's why they are the source of much joy but also carry the potential for despair, as a young Mei Yu learns.  

From Best Friend, Worst Bully, written and illustrated by Mei Yu

Mei Yu wants to be best friends with Maggie forever. Along with Sophie, Maggie's best friend before Mei came along, Mei is hopeful that she'll have lifelong friends. But when Maggie moves away, Mei and Sophie become new friends, hanging out at Mei's house—though Mei is super embarrassed by her mother's heavily accented English that makes everything sound a little weird—shopping together, and more. Still, when Ella and Rola, two older girls in their split class, become jealous of Mei's drawing ability, they approach Sophie, convincing her that she can be cool like them if she does what she's told in dealing with Mei.

 

And though she's reluctant at first, Sophie is pleased to be more popular with the older girls and rudely snubs Mei. Mei's Happy Meter—one of the graphic meters she uses to depict her emotions—shatters. She discusses it with her sidekick Meiow as she's too scared to talk to anyone else about the bullying. But even though she feels completely alone, Eve and Izzy, two girls from another class, tell her they've had the same experiences with Ella and Rola, particularly their "bathroom game." After inviting Mei to be their friend, they advise her to just ignore Sophie and her fellow bullies. 

From Best Friend, Worst Bully, written and illustrated by Mei Yu

But then Sophie and her "friends" escalate their bullying, phoning Mei's home and leaving horrible messages. Determined to deal with the bullies, Mei uses her artistic talents to express her feelings, and expose Sophie, Ella, and Rola in her own way. 

From Best Friend, Worst Bully, written and illustrated by Mei Yu

I'm sad to think about all the kids out there targeted by bullies. For Mei and her friends, they are picked on for being talented, or tall, wearing glasses or liking hearts. The reasons bullies attack others are countless and meaningless. But when they involve more people, steal friends away, intrude on your home life, cause fear and sleepless nights, it's not "just" bullying. It is persecution. And for Mei Lu, main character and author-illustrator who debuted with her Silver Birch Express award-winning Lost and Found, that bullying is overwhelming and very realistic. And thank you, Mei Lu, for not giving us an unimaginable ending where all is right between Mei and Sophie. There was still forgiveness, but it is sheltered in the safety that Mei has in her art, in her new friends, and in her family. And in her understanding of what bullying is all about.

. . . and then I realized that bullies are silly! They can pick on anyone because of anything! (pg. 120)

Mei Yu's story is based on her own experiences, and her advice, to be strong and be yourself, will resonate with young readers, many of whom will have experienced or witnessed bullying. Coupled with Mei Yu's charming artwork—check out her YouTube channel for videos on her drawing—Best Friend, Worst Bully will speak to young readers with empathy for the bullying they have seen and with colour and cheer for the friendships they enjoy. Best Friend, Worst Bully is the best outcome coming from the worst situation.