Bullying No Way! But Then What? Teaching Repair and Empathy Through Edufiction
How The Mauled Mage Sparks Real Conversations About Cyberbullying and Restorative Action
Bullying No Way Week, held each August across Australian schools, offers a powerful opportunity to reflect, educate, and act against bullying. While schools often rely on fact sheets or awareness posters, there’s a growing need for tools that resonate deeply and authentically with young minds. This is where edufiction comes in—a genre that combines emotional storytelling with educational depth. And few resources harness this power as effectively as The Mauled Mage by Casper Pieters.
Why Edufiction Works for Bullying Awareness
Edufiction invites students to explore complex social issues through relatable characters and immersive storytelling. It doesn’t preach—it invites empathy. It doesn’t simplify—it encourages critical thinking. In The Mauled Mage, readers meet Beam and Bindi, twin siblings navigating the murky digital world where their classmate Lee is being silently tormented by a cyberbully.
Rather than offering one-size-fits-all advice, the story illustrates how real young people wrestle with fear, digital ethics, loyalty, and justice. Readers engage with these dilemmas in a safe space—on the page, through the characters.
How The Mauled Mage Supports Anti-Bullying Education
Set across both real-world and metaverse settings, The Mauled Mage is more than a novel—it’s a conversation starter. Through plotlines involving forum sleuthing, digital forensics, peer support, and school counsellor dilemmas, the book creates rich opportunities to explore:
What it feels like to be cyberbullied
Why some victims don’t speak up
How peers can act as allies—not just bystanders
The real-life impact of online cruelty
How restorative practices offer hope and healing
Use the Education Guide for Bullying No Way Week
Pairing the novel with the Mauled Mage Education Guide makes implementation easy for teachers, librarians, and home educators. Designed for learners aged 11–14, the guide includes:
✅ Chapter-by-chapter questions and themes
✅ ISTE-aligned tech and zero-tech learning activities
✅ Printable resources for empathy circles, digital detective workshops, and roleplay scenarios
✅ Built-in strategies for students with ADHD, ESL needs, or sensory sensitivities
Restorative practice connections: Use character dialogues and decision-making moments from the book to explore apology, accountability, and healing—without naming real-life students. Characters like Beam and Lee become neutral ground for deep discussions about justice and reconciliation.
Class Activity Idea: Use Characters as a Mirror
Scenario: Ask students, “What should Beam do when he finds evidence of cyberbullying—but it disappears?”
Follow-up: Have students roleplay a restorative circle between Beam, the bully (anonymous), and Lee. What does accountability sound like? What does healing require?
By depersonalizing real-life tensions and using The Mauled Mage as a fictional framework, young people are more willing to participate, reflect, and propose restorative steps.
Where to Get The Mauled Mage
To support Bullying No Way Week, the illustrated ebook of The Mauled Mage is available for 50% off at:
👉 www.casperpieters.com/booksandthings
Final Thought
In the digital age, preventing bullying means more than just spotting red flags—it’s about building digital citizens who lead with empathy, responsibility, and courage. The Mauled Mage doesn’t just tell students what’s right. It shows them why it matters—and how their choices shape the world, both on and offline.
Let this August be the month your school reads, reflects, and restores—together.
For questions, downloads, or bulk licensing, contact Casper Pieters via the website.
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