Reviewed by Marta Morrison for TeensReadToo.com
What happens if one night you imbibe too much alcohol - and when you pass out someone rapes you?
This is what happens to Alex. She is attending a private school and studies music. One January morning, she awakens to find herself in a bed and a room where she has never been before. She is naked and there is a strange guy in the bed with her. She sees opened condom packages and then realizes what has happened, though she cannot remember the details. She can't even remember the guy's name.
Alex quickly gets dressed and goes back to her room on campus. From there she tells her roommates and one of them insists that she speak with her older sister. They want her to go to the police, but Alex doesn't see that as an option. She doesn't remember what happened and she knows that she was out of her mind drunk the night before. She doesn't want her parents involved because she doesn't want to go home, and I don't think there is a lot of trust between them.
Her sister, who is an alum of her school, tells her to go to a secret organization of students which she coincidentally started years ago. This organization, called The Mockingbirds, handles justice at the school. Alex makes her complaint to The Mockingbirds and the rest of the story is how she stays strong and is able to get some justice against this boy.
I really loved this story. It was well-written and the characters were likable. It kept me interested. I do believe that Alex should have gone to the police, or at least to an adult on campus, but the reality of it is that many girls don't ever report this type of crime to anyone. They suffer through and never stand up.
That is the important lesson here. If something like this happens to you, you need to stand up and fight for justice. Since the author actually was date raped in college and stood up at a time when date rape was not a believable crime, I believe this mirrors some of what she went through and faced. I really believe that THE MOCKINGBIRDS is a very important book that teens should have to read and discuss.
What happens if one night you imbibe too much alcohol - and when you pass out someone rapes you?
This is what happens to Alex. She is attending a private school and studies music. One January morning, she awakens to find herself in a bed and a room where she has never been before. She is naked and there is a strange guy in the bed with her. She sees opened condom packages and then realizes what has happened, though she cannot remember the details. She can't even remember the guy's name.
Alex quickly gets dressed and goes back to her room on campus. From there she tells her roommates and one of them insists that she speak with her older sister. They want her to go to the police, but Alex doesn't see that as an option. She doesn't remember what happened and she knows that she was out of her mind drunk the night before. She doesn't want her parents involved because she doesn't want to go home, and I don't think there is a lot of trust between them.
Her sister, who is an alum of her school, tells her to go to a secret organization of students which she coincidentally started years ago. This organization, called The Mockingbirds, handles justice at the school. Alex makes her complaint to The Mockingbirds and the rest of the story is how she stays strong and is able to get some justice against this boy.
I really loved this story. It was well-written and the characters were likable. It kept me interested. I do believe that Alex should have gone to the police, or at least to an adult on campus, but the reality of it is that many girls don't ever report this type of crime to anyone. They suffer through and never stand up.
That is the important lesson here. If something like this happens to you, you need to stand up and fight for justice. Since the author actually was date raped in college and stood up at a time when date rape was not a believable crime, I believe this mirrors some of what she went through and faced. I really believe that THE MOCKINGBIRDS is a very important book that teens should have to read and discuss.
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