At just 12 years old, Zora White is already taking on one of the most persistent challenges facing students today: bullying.
With the release of her debut book, “Zora versus the Mean Girl,” on Amazon on Jan. 10, the Île-Perrot student has transformed her own experiences — and those of her brothers — into a story that encourages children to stand up for themselves, find their voice and navigate the complexities of life with courage and resilience.
The book’s origin is rooted in a simple yet disciplined family routine.
“In our family every morning we have to do a passion project, a project that is based on our passion,” Zora explained. “At first I wanted to draw a comic, but it wasn’t really working out, so my dad suggested writing a book instead, and I did.”
With the encouragement of her father, she developed a story outline and committed to writing each morning. The process required persistence and focus, even on days when motivation was low. As the manuscript took shape, she connected with an editor and a cover designer before publishing the book on Amazon.
Initially structured as 10 lengthy chapters, the manuscript was later reorganized into 20 shorter chapters to make it more accessible and engaging for young readers.
At the heart of Zora’s book is a theme all too familiar to students: bullying and learning to stand up for oneself. The story is largely based on her own experiences, as well as those of her brother.
“It can really hurt other people, especially if they’ve already been hurt in the past. It can hurt more too. I’ve experienced bullying, so I know what it’s like. My brother has as well. It can really hurt people’s emotions, and it can also really hurt them physically. So that’s why I think it’s important to address this subject,” she said.
She hopes the message of the book will encourage children to seek support rather than suffer in silence.
“My message would be to speak to someone because holding it in would really hurt. It could hurt you more, and it’s actually really not great to hold it in. It could be hard to speak about it, but it’s important to speak about it.”
Since its release, Zora’ says the response has been overwhelmingly positive.
“I’ve had a lot of family members, specifically from different parts of the world, tell me that they really liked it. They really enjoyed it. They thought it was amazing. They really gave me very good feedback on this. They told me how proud they were of reading this book, and they really did like it. They really did like the book, the story — some of them liked the characters.”
The 20 chapters, crafted for readers aged eight to 18, blend storytelling with lessons in empathy, confidence and resilience.
Her father, Anwar White, said supporting Zora’s vision required a careful balance of guidance and independence.
“We’re really proud of her. I think it’s a really big accomplishment. She’s always been someone who is kind of self-led in a lot of ways, and our job as parents is just to kind of guide her and not get in her way,” he said.
He described the writing journey as demanding, requiring discipline to sit down each morning and continue working, even when she felt tired. His role, he said, was to keep her motivated and focused on the finished product.
As the project progressed, he also helped navigate the administrative side of publishing — securing an editor, working with a cover designer to ensure the artwork reflected Zora’s story and protagonist, and making sure the book was available on Amazon and other platforms where readers could access it.
For him, the book also opens the door to broader conversations.
“I feel like a lot of kids are going through bullying right now. I think parents are stressed. I think kids are stressed for a variety of different reasons, and so to be able to talk about it and to put a voice to it I think is really important. And the hope and the intention is to really empower other students to use their voice and tell their stories as well so that they can empower themselves regardless of how they look, what their hair looks like, their skin color, how they feel about school — however they decide to show up in the world — we want to make sure that they feel really good about themselves.”
With the launch of “Zora versus the Mean Girl,” Zora has turned personal hardship into a platform for positive change. For her, seeing the book in print is deeply meaningful.
“It means a lot to me that I could write a book, tell my story to the world, and really have my voice matter. I think this book could really help others. My brothers and sisters and my family are really proud of me, so I feel very accomplished,” she said.
Beyond the book, Zora is leading anti-bullying arts seminars at her school and former elementary school and is working to organize a dance focused on belonging — inspired in part by her brother’s experience.
“It feels really good to make an impact on someone’s life, especially if they’re dealing with a lot, just to help them. It makes me feel really good. Hopefully it makes them feel really confident, feeling good and believing in themselves.”
As Zora continues her anti-bullying initiatives, her story stands as a reminder that even the youngest voices can spark conversation, inspire action and help build more compassionate communities.
