Some Boys

"Talk to me when that guy hears you tell him no, hears you but waits while your head spins and your stomach churns, wait until you fall over and then pounces and tells you nobody gets to say no to him. Talk to me when he takes your clothes off and shoves himself inside your body and your limbs are too numb to stop him. Talk to me when he leaves you there, alone, unconscious, and bleeding and then puts pictures of what he did to you online. Then you tell me about your reasons."A unflinching look at rape culture at its worst. My heart bleed for Grace and everything she endured at the hands of not only her rapist but her so called friends and everyone from school. I honestly was so shocked by their behaviour and sadden that this actually takes place and probably the reason why rape victims don't come forward for fear of not being believed and victimised. Ian, what can I say about him? I loved and hated him in equal parts.The ending was satisfying, but Grace is way more forgiving than myself.

When I but a book I look at the other reviews it gets and frankly they weren't too great but I thought what the heck.I loved this it's hard hitting, considers everybody's angle. I loved grace and Ian, I cried and laughed with both it's just FAB!!!!!!Yea the topics unusual but it needs to be read, I'm long out of high schools but this still hits me hard, makes me consider views across society and I'll be rereading this soon :)

So normally, I don't sit down and write reviews. But with this I felt like it something needed to do.While I appreciate the author's effort to take upon something so emotional and captivating I really was not a fan of this book.I liked the strength that Grace showed throughout the bookI honestly did not like Ian at all. I truly believe that he used the fact his opinion mattered to her to make her feel horrible about herself. I hated the that he was the one who took her to the hospital and yet still didn't believe. Despite everything he encountered he still was easily manipulated by his friends. It bothered me that he was more worried that fact his best friend his crush rather than his best friend raping his crush.

Warning: there are spoilers in this review!!!Ok...I think that the author was genuinely trying to write something about attitudes towards sexual assault changing in one school, and that reflected the doubt that victims are sometimes faced with...but I don't think it's been achieved. In fact I think it makes excuses for some really dangerous attitudes far too often, and for too long.The "hero" of the book just seemed like a self serving idiot most of the time. For example, he's torn between his best friend, who believes he is innocent, and Grace, who is pretty clear on the fact she has been raped by aforementioned friend. In one of these moments, feeling a bit sorry for himself and the situation he is in (already selfish, somebody else was raped which tops your mental anguish...), he's thinking "Why do girls not get that there's a fine line between looking good and asking for it...it's like people who leave the doors unlocked and then cry when they're robbed". Erm...victim blaming much? In another scene, he sees some of his buddies harassing and groping her. So presumably he reports them straight away right?! Erm, no...he valiantly stops them, but then later pretends to have seen nothing of this sexual assault. Am I meant to like this guy? Throughout much of the book, he seems more bothered by the fact his friend slept with her before him, rather than that she has been raped. What a catch.I also don't think this book is that well researched. Some evidence pops up, which after some unnecessary faffing gets handed to the authorities. It's a video, of the rape, with the girl saying no, the rapist clearly hearing this but paying no attention, and assaulting her. The police imply this isn't good evidence. SERIOUSLY?!? If you can't convict on the basis of video evidence, and presumably whatever they found at the hospital, what can you convict with?I worry this book might actually put off anyone who has been raped from reporting it, instead of demonstrating the strength of the main character, which I think was the aim. If I didn't know better, it would definitely make me stay quiet.

To begin with, while I believe the ages of the characters in this book are that of high school students making it appropriate for the YA [Young Adult] audience; the serious topic the book deals with.Pardon me for sounding a little prudish, but this book seem to be more appropriately classified as a book for the upper range of the NA [new adult] genre of romance as it requires a more mature audience of readers, or even perhaps as an adult romance novel.The story is truthfully raw in its depiction of happens to an young, underage female drinker who gets drunk at a party and is taken advantage of by one of the boys there, a boy who one would never expect of being capable of committing such a heinous act. Naturally, it is Grace who is now being looked at as the instigator for this alleged event occurring, and everyone begins to shun her. Everyone that is, except for one individual boy, Ian, who eventually sees the truth in what she’s been saying.Ian, is the type of guy any woman would love to have in her corner, a guy who would find the truth in what she’s been saying in regards to the terrifying ordeal she had to face, and is willing to stand by her.On the other hand, the discussion questions Ms. Blount provides at the end of book; turns this book a wonderful teaching tool in preparing young girls to face a possible reality of life no woman would ever want to happen to them. And for the educational property this book presents, I’m giving this book 5 STARS.