Bully

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of bullying and emotional abuse.



Penelope Douglas is a new adult American author. She was born in Iowa and worked as a high school teacher in Las Vegas, Nevada, before becoming a writer. Her teaching experience exposed her to the full range of drama that adolescents commonly face, and these moments helped to inform her future writing style and content. She is best known for her Fall Away series, which has been noted for its emotionally charged and provocative themes and characters. Douglas’s first novel, Bully, was both praised and criticized for its portrayal of a character who falls in love with her aggressor. Douglas’s future novels and series follow similar themes and even darker plots. For example, the Devil’s Night series features a group of vicious teenagers who harass, intimidate, assault, and terrify women. Many of Douglas’s other novels, including Punk 57, Birthday Girl, Credence, and Tryst Six Venom, continue to push genre boundaries, often blending elements of dark romance with broader explorations of power dynamics, identity, and healing.

Douglas’s writing style focuses primarily on how her characters’ inner thoughts and feelings affect their relationships and interactions.