Vigilante

by Kady Cross

I've had a hard time gathering my thoughts on this book. In some ways it's all over the place, on the other hand it accurately summed up my own feelings and thoughts on men, rape and gender. I think as a woman it can be hard not to go to extremes. There are men out there who are amazing (I'm married to one) and who wouldn't dream of sexually assaulting, harassing or raping anyone. The problem is they're so overshadowed by the overwhelming amount that will and it can be hard to separate that as a woman. I feel like this book accurately captured the struggle it can be to separate it.

But this book doesn't just confront society views on rape. It also tackles gossip, rumours and female solidarity and I feel that it does it well. I loved the Girlfriend Watch idea. To create a list of phone tree of girls checking in with each other and being willing to step in for each other and support one another. But I also loved that the Pink Vigilante took on a life of its own. I loved that females started putting on their own pink masks and standing up to sexual harassment. On the other hand I also disliked the idea women put on pink masks and then just started calling out men for everything. There's a delicate line and frankly I totally understood Hadley's conflicted feelings because I was right there with her.

Hadley was a fantastic. I felt so sorry for her because everything she went through sucked. From not knowing how to deal and from lashing out and having conflicted feelings and just everything. I could easily relate to Hadley and her feelings and her actions and her entire being. I thought some of her actions were unfair - blaming Detective Diane Davies for starters. But for the most part I just understood where she was coming from.

The range of female characters in this book was terrific. Between Hadley's mum, Detective Diane Davies, Hadley, Zoe, Magda, Teresa - women of all walks of life (or at least a decent cross section) were represented and I think it really emphasised that every woman is affected by these issues. Diane in particular was fantastic. The progression from Detective to Diane was gradual but it really worked to show the shades of grey. Hadley blames her to start but I think she came to realise that Diane was just as deeply affected by these issues as she was. That all women are. Zoe's comment really stuck with me.

Zoe’s eyes were wide as she stared at me. “I’m sorry. I just... I just wanted to stand up to them, because of what they did to her. What they did to you.” I blinked. “What they did to me?” I frowned. “They didn’t touch me.” Her expression was sympathetic, pitying almost. “Oh, Hadley. They didn’t have to.”

Cross, Kady. Vigilante . Harlequin. Kindle Edition.

The friendship between all the females was just brilliant. I loved how they all started to take the self defence class and gained confidence but also friendship and support. The relationship between Hadley and Gabriel was sweet and sexy and found a good balance of romance, concern, friendship and just everything else. This whole book wasn't just any one thing - it covered so much and in some ways it was a complete mess. But I also felt it really worked because my own thoughts and beliefs are a complete mess too.

As is my review. But I loved this book and I think it's right up there with essential books like The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis. 5 stars, edging slightly under 5.