Release Date: March 15, 2016
Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers
Pages: 248
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Summary
Hermione Winters has been a flyer. She's been captain of her cheerleading team. The envied girlfriend and undisputed queen of her school. Now it's her last year and those days and those labels are fading fast. In a few months she'll be a different person. She thinks she's ready for whatever comes next.
But then someone puts something in her drink at a party, and in an instant she finds herself wearing new labels, ones she never imagined:
Victim. Survivor. That raped girl.
Even though this was never the future she imagined, one essential thing remains unchanged: Hermione can still call herself Polly Olivier's best friend, and that may be the truest label of all. -Goodreads Description
The Rundown
Before I even start my review, let me just get on my soap box for a minute. It is NEVER NEVER NEVER the victim's fault when it comes to rape. Ever. Fault belongs to the rapist alone. Period. No victim was ever "asking for it" when it comes to sexual assault. I don't care about a victim's sexual history or reputation or what they were wearing. That is all irrelevant when an attacker takes away a victim's ability to choose to give their consent to engage in sex. If you're reading this and are a victim of rape, know this: I am very sorry that such an awful thing happened to you. But it is not your fault. It's not. And you are not alone.
Let's change the conversations we as a society have about rape. We aren't asking the right questions. We need to stop putting focus and blame on victims by constantly telling women not to wear this or go here or drink or fill in the blank with the countless things we say to help women avoid sexual assault. We need to stop asking victims what they would have done differently. We should be telling men that the second they deny a woman the right to say yes and to say yes with enthusiasm to sex, it's rape. It's a crime. It's a crime that is solely the fault of the attacker and no blame rests on the victim. Stop forwarding those emails telling women not to wear their hair in pony tails or be talking on their phones when they walk at night. We need to stop telling our girls how to not get raped and start telling our men to not be rapists. We need to support and not shame victims.
Steps off soap box & resumes book review.
I loved this book. It was a tough read. In an ideal world it's book that would never be written. But we don't live in an ideal world and Hermione's story is the story of too many.
Hermione has such a great support system between her parents, friends, team, coach, and therapist that her story becomes one of triumph. There's pain and hurt about her rape, but this story is so much more than that. It really becomes more about strength and not letting one event define you. Yes, unfortunately, Hermione was a rape victim. But she's more than that. Maybe that's why in one scene she asks her pastor to stop asking others to pray for her. She was more before the rape and she'll go on and be more after the story is over.
Hermione is also a real leader. She's smart. She doesn't dim her light her senior year or shed her duties as cheer co-captain because of the rape. She returns to the scene of the rape. She jumps in the lake with her team. By not doing those things, she feels like her attacker would have won.
Johnston was able to take a dark and heartbreaking story and deliver hope. If you're looking for a powerful read, pick this one up today!
Rating: 5 Stars. You totally must read this book!
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