You Against Me by Jenny Downham -- a YA problem novel with a forbidden romance. "For those who like that sort of thing, that is the sort of thing they like." In other words, I can see readers who devour Laurie Halse Anderson and Jodi Picoult enjoying this book. It does a good job tackling the issues, though sometimes it felt ever so slightly didactic to me. Both Ellie and Karyn (two of the main characters) apparently like spouting trivia and statistics, which is extremely convenient when an author wants to work in tidbits of research that they found relevant to the story. On the whole, I thought this was a pretty good read, and its ideal reader will find it an excellent one.
(Reviewed from a copy borrowed through my library system.)
I liked You Against Me because we're showed the other side of the spectrum, so to speak. Everyone tends to know that rape affects the victim and her family in atrocious ways, but we sometimes overlook the impact in can have on the alleged rapist's family. Most of the time, these people believe with all their hearts that their son, brother, grandson, etc., would never do something like what they're accused of doing. Meanwhile, most of us think that they must have known and don't understand why they're still standing behind the alleged rapist. And we tend to persecute the family just because they're realted to the alleged rapist even if it does seem a bit unfair.
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