Ben could date anyone he wants, but he only has eyes for the new girl — sarcastic free-spirit, Ani. Luckily for Ben, Ani wants him too. She’s everything Ben could ever imagine. Everything he could ever want.But that all changes after the party. The one Ben misses. The one Ani goes to alone.
Now Ani isn’t the girl she used to be, and Ben can’t sort out the truth from the lies. What really happened, and who is to blame?
Ben wants to help her, but she refuses to be helped. The more she pushes Ben away, the more he wonders if there’s anything he can do to save the girl he loves.
My Review:
This book is a dark contemporary story that has a powerful message to it. It is heartbreaking to watch this story unfold the way it does. This is told in male POV by Ben.
POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD
Ben is a great character and a great guy. The beginning of the book starts with him telling about the relationship between him and Ani, and how it started. She had just moved to town, and he really liked her. Being in his head makes it obvious how much he was falling for her. This just made the rest of the book more heartbreaking. Once Ani gets raped, Ben really wants to do anything to make her better. She has become broken, and he thinks that he needs to pick up the pieces and glue them back together. He tells her that they'll get through this. He's there in the hallway with her when she hears people whispering about her. He's there for her whenever she needs him. But despite this, it still isn't enough. She starts cheating on him. And he begins to realize that he isn't going to be able to fix his girlfriend.
Ani is quite an interesting character. I really liked her character at the beginning of the book. She was very forward, and she would say anything to Ben. After the rape, she changed, and that was understandable. As Beth the rape counselor told Ben, there are many different reactions to rape, and most of them are also common reactions. Ben certainly wasn't happy that she started sleeping with other guys, but that was her reaction to the rape. It was probably because she wanted to be able to choose to be with guys, so if she was sleeping with guys of her own free will, that was her choice.
The kids at school say some awful things about Ani. They all know that she got drunk and said she was going to get with a bunch of guys at a party. They call her names. They don't understand what she's going through. They don't know that, just because she said all that stuff, it doesn't mean that she actually consented to doing whatever she did with the guys. Ben gets angry when people say bad things about her. He even goes over to the other school where the guys are apparently from to try to get more information on what happened to her. There are also rumors about her going around that school. I can see how awful it must be for Ani to have all these rumors circulating about her when she can't even remember what happened to herself.
If you like YA dark contemporary, read this book.
Katie
POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD
Ben is a great character and a great guy. The beginning of the book starts with him telling about the relationship between him and Ani, and how it started. She had just moved to town, and he really liked her. Being in his head makes it obvious how much he was falling for her. This just made the rest of the book more heartbreaking. Once Ani gets raped, Ben really wants to do anything to make her better. She has become broken, and he thinks that he needs to pick up the pieces and glue them back together. He tells her that they'll get through this. He's there in the hallway with her when she hears people whispering about her. He's there for her whenever she needs him. But despite this, it still isn't enough. She starts cheating on him. And he begins to realize that he isn't going to be able to fix his girlfriend.
Ani is quite an interesting character. I really liked her character at the beginning of the book. She was very forward, and she would say anything to Ben. After the rape, she changed, and that was understandable. As Beth the rape counselor told Ben, there are many different reactions to rape, and most of them are also common reactions. Ben certainly wasn't happy that she started sleeping with other guys, but that was her reaction to the rape. It was probably because she wanted to be able to choose to be with guys, so if she was sleeping with guys of her own free will, that was her choice.
The kids at school say some awful things about Ani. They all know that she got drunk and said she was going to get with a bunch of guys at a party. They call her names. They don't understand what she's going through. They don't know that, just because she said all that stuff, it doesn't mean that she actually consented to doing whatever she did with the guys. Ben gets angry when people say bad things about her. He even goes over to the other school where the guys are apparently from to try to get more information on what happened to her. There are also rumors about her going around that school. I can see how awful it must be for Ani to have all these rumors circulating about her when she can't even remember what happened to herself.
If you like YA dark contemporary, read this book.
Katie
No comments:
Post a Comment