The Mockingbirds

by Daisy Whitney

Before I start with my review, there is one thing that I have to mention: This book draws its inspiration from To Kill a Mockingbird (click on the link if you would like to read my short review that doesn't do the book justice). To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my favorite classics and I was so pumped to read all the references and the role that it plays in this book. It gave The Mockingbirds an extra something.

So onto the review...

The Mockingbirds handled a serious topic of date-rape in an extremely realistic manner. Alex's thoughts, actions, and feelings was told in a raw, honest and unflinching manner as she struggles to deal with what happened the night she was date-raped and how to go about solving it.

Daisy Whitney can read my mind. She wrote a book about two of my many favourite things: boarding school and secret societies. In The Mockingbirds, Alex seeks help from the Mockingbirds, a secret "police" society in her elite boarding school. But I do feel as though there were a few flaws. As much as I loved the setting of this novel, I found it to be a tad bit unrealistic. In The Mockingbirds, the teachers don't take notice about the horrific things that the students do, they simply pretend that it doesn't exist. In reality, teachers know a lot more than they should, but I understand that Whitney needed to do this in order to put the Mockingbirds (the secret society) at the forefront.

Another issue that I had is that the only character that develops and grows in this novel is Alex. The rest of the characters are either stereotypes, too good to be true or are totally flat.

Even although I enjoyed this book and I loved the fact that the issue of date-rape was handled in a powerful manner, there was something that seemed to be lacking in The Mockingbirds, which is why this book gets a three-star rating.