Bully by Emme Dun is a story set against the backdrop of a period when the AIDS epidemic was at its heights. Many gay and lesbian parents were treated badly by the law. Wendy White made the mistake of having a child while being involved with Windy Furber. Instead of leaving her to raise the daughter alone, the author takes us through a child custody turned murder case plot. In this story of heartache, love, redemption and murder, readers see Joanna Crawford, an elected family court judge giving shared custody rights to non parents. The story also tells the readers about Wendy White, a lesbian, single mother, and Jennifer Dolan, a widow, and what good they must do for their child, keeping their best interests in mind.

This remarkable story was inspired by true events, lending credibility to the atrocities committed against gays and lesbians during the time when the AIDS fear was at its peak. All gay and lesbian parents were looked down upon by society and given step-motherly treatment. The author is quite expressive and vocal about her feelings on this topic and this legal thriller keeps readers glued to the book. Judge Crawford, Windy Furber and Wendy White remain etched in readers' memories for a long, long time. The book covers the 1980s where even Joanna Crawford's parents were stripped of their parental rights due to the hysteria over AIDS epidemic. The legal issues, courts, lawyers, documents and trials make this story very interesting and exciting to readers.

Bully is a courtroom and family drama written by debut author Emme Dun and based on true events in her life which began in the 1980s. Spanning a brief history of LGBT since the dreaded AIDS epidemic, the plot of Bully centres around the issue of child custody and the persecution of same-sex couples as they fight for their rights in court. The books centers on the experiences of three women, the first of whom is Joanna Crawford, daughter of a gay father, who grows up to become a judge in family court with a vision of changing the way things are done. The other central characters are Wendy White and Jennifer Dolan, both single mothers who must fight for the rights of their children. All three women’s lives are chronicled in the run-up to these events, explaining how they came to be part of the situation in Judge Crawford’s courtroom.

Emme Dun tells a very important story with pertinent issues for today, and readers of Bully, especially younger ones, would certainly be fascinated and horrified to see the atrocious treatment of the LGBT community only a few generations ago. That said, the writing of Bully is heavily detailed and sometimes fraught with too much back story and detail, making it a difficult read in places. Despite this it is very much a worthwhile read and presents a harrowing look at the treatment of lesbian women in particular, with an important representation of how “the best interests of a child” aren’t necessarily so in a court of law.