You must already know it by now. But it never hurts to be sure. This story is powerful. The cover alone says it's not a happy one, and it'll be hard to read. And it was.
There are brief flashbacks of the rape incident itself, nothing too graphic. But it still manages to be raw, and thought-provoking, because I was in Romy's head, and Romy wasn't sure she wanted what was happening to her and she was crying and it was awful.
And then, nothing.
Nothing is done about it. She prefers to put it behind her and move on with her life. Only, it's not possible. It's always there. In the way she has to armor herself with indifference and makeup.
After the disaster that was reading Cracked Up to Be, this book made me remember why I respected and loved Courtney Summers' stories; beginning with Some Girls Are.
There were some truly heartbreaking things in this book that made me rage at the world. Because like a most of the stuff feminists fight about, it's there in our daily lives but we take it as a default, instead of speaking up. This is a story of a girl who tried and no one protected her.
I hope it's not a girl. -Romy about another woman's unborn child.
All the things coming Ava's way they won't be able to control. Things she won't ask for because she's a girl. She doesn't even know how hard it's going to be yet, but she will, because all girls find out.
Excuse me, but that's one of the saddest things I've ever read. And it's true. Don't get me wrong, I love being a girl, but it sucks when the world is hell bent on holding you back.
Romy herself seemed very well-described to me. I was afraid at first that I'd be reading about an unreasonable character that was too affected, or not affected enough. But I think there was balance here. It's always a delicate thing, with a book with themes like rape and bullying.
I was a little disappointed at the end, but I keep reminding myself not everything can be wrapped-up with a tidy bow. It was an ending that worked, so don't worry about it.
I think this is an important book to read, not sure if worth all of the hype, but definitely something.
Find this review also at A Writer's Tales