***The Starry-Eyed Revue***: rape

Title: The Way I Used to Be
Author: Amber Smith
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Publication Date: March 22nd, 2016
Source: Received for review from publisher via Edelwiess
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Eden was always good at being good. Starting high school didn’t change who she was. But the night her brother’s best friend rapes her, Eden’s world capsizes.

What was once simple, is now complex. What Eden once loved—who she once loved—she now hates. What she thought she knew to be true, is now lies. Nothing makes sense anymore, and she knows she’s supposed to tell someone what happened but she can’t. So she buries it instead. And she buries the way she used to be.

Told in four parts—freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior year.

I think the first thing to address with this book is the subject. It's about a girl who was raped. If you can't handle reading about that subject, this story is not for you. But you probably already gathered that from the description. I've noticed there are quite a few books out there these days revolving around a young girl who has been raped. I almost passed on this one, but I had a personal reason for reading it.

Last year I was catching up with an old friend. There were a group of us back in the day who all hung out together, but we've all drifted apart over the years. This particular friend, had a best friend who was also a part of our group. These two guys were inseparable. They no longer talk. You see, one of them got married and had kids. He has a young daughter now. Because of this, his two younger sisters told him the ugly truth that went on while they were all growing up. They had kept their silence all those years, but came out with what happened to protect their niece from the same thing happening. That friend told me how horrible he feels, all these years never knowing... and now his sisters are still dealing with the aftermath, that they haven't even begun to heal. I found out about all of this, and then a couple weeks later I saw this book on Edelweiss. I just had to read it.

I almost didn't add that to my review, but I felt it was important to how I connected with this story, because it's true. "The Way I Used to Be." Who would those girls be today had all of that not happened? Who would Eden be.

The Way I Used to Be is told in 4 sections. Every year of high school. I loved that, because you gradually see how she changes. How it eats up at her. I think there is a right way and a wrong way to write a book about rape. Smith got it right I think.

There is no sugar coating here, but it's told in a way that gives little hope. It's sad, don't get me wrong but I wasn't overly depressed when I sat it down, like I have in the past with other rape books. It's a heart wrenching tale, but a good one. It's one of those books I will want my daughter to read.

Oh and the cover. While it's gorgeous, it is also significant to the story. I love when they do that. It makes me giddy in the most nerdiest ways.

I highly suggest The Way I Used to Be. I absolutely loved it and it will stick with me for a long time.

About the author:

Amber Smith grew up in Buffalo, NY and now lives in Charlotte, NC with her two dogs.
After graduating from art school with a BFA in Painting, she earned her MA in Art History. When she’s not writing, she is working as a curator and art consultant. She has also written on the topics of art history and modern and contemporary art. The Way I Used to Be is her first novel.

Find Amber:

Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook

Labels: Amber Smith, cover love, favorites, heartbreaking, rape, reviews, simon schuster, The Way I Used to Be

Title: Some Boys
Author: Patty Blount
Series: n/a
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Publication Date: August 5th, 2014
Source: From Publisher via Netgalley
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Some boys go too far. Some boys will break your heart. But one boy can make you whole.

When Grace meets Ian she's afraid. Afraid he'll reject her like the rest of the school, like her own family. After she accuses the town golden boy of rape, everyone turns against Grace. They call her a slut and a liar. But...Ian doesn't. He's funny and kind with secrets of his own.

But how do you trust the best friend of the boy who raped you? How do you believe in love?

A gut-wrenching, powerful love story told from alternating points of view by the acclaimed author of Send.

Some Boys is a great little book. I really liked it! I wasn’t sure if I was going to, but then I saw CAIT read and liked it, so that made me more excited to see it moving up my pile.

I don’t normally read reviews before writing my own. But I saw CAITS on goodreads because it was on my top friend reviews and now I’m not sure I can write my review. Lol. She pretty much says everything I felt about it. Admittedly it was her frozen gif that drew in. Damn those gifs.

One thing she mentioned that I have to mirror, is that there are parents in this book! That’s awesome. So many books conveniently leave the parents out of the story, and I can’t stand that shit. I just read and reviewed a book where the parents didn’t even make an appearance. Like at all. So major props to Blount for that. I absolutely loved Ian’s dad.

Some boys is written in Duel point of view. It’s no secret I love books written that way. I also like how the rape and bullying was handled. It’s hard because I haven’t been in HS for a long time, but the bullying was rough. Part of me thought, no way could it be that bad, but then I remember how mean kids were back when I was in school. I hear it’s worse these days. I’m glad to be an adult, I’ll tell you that.

The rape… well for as hard a subject that is, I think Blount did a good job with that. It was light enough that it wasn’t too hard to read about, but the seriousness of the offense wasn’t lost on me. Does that make sense? Lol probably not.

Anyway, my only complaint with this one was the way it wrapped up. It was a little fast, and too easy.

Other than that, I really enjoyed this one.

About the author:

Technical writer by day, fiction writer by night, Patty mines her day job for ideas to use in her
novels. Her debut YA "Send" was born after a manager suggested she research social networks. Patty adores chocolate, her boys, and books, though not necessarily in that order.

Find Patty:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads