Reviews with content warning for Rape - The Sharp Edge of Silence

Reviews tagging 'Rape'

The Sharp Edge of Silence by Cameron Kelly Rosenblum

13 reviews

albon's review against another edition

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

«Boys will be ~~boys~~ held accountable». In the last 5% of the book. Well, at least one of them will. Kinda. The consequences aren’t massive. The rest of them will get away with it because they’re also victims of toxic masculinity and it’s actually very sad for them that they can’t break free from the horrible expecations placed on them by society (to… not uphold rape culture).

I’m probably being overly sensitive here, but this book wasn’t what I thought it would be. Maybe if it hadn’t been marketed with the «Boys will be held accountable» tagline and the part in the synopsis about the consequences of Quinn going public about being assaulted (which also doesn’t happen until the very last part of the book), I would have had more realisric expecations. It’s well written and not a bad book, but it just left me feeling a little let down

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isla_s's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

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olabainbridge's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

It’s a very powerful message. What it talks through is a major problem in society that keeps going unnoticed and by reading it it sparks so much inside you. It’s a strong topic but definitely recommend.

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pianoplayer279's review

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challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I absolutely loved this book and almost cried at the end. An incredible story. Age 15+

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rachaelthegiraffe's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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ashlislibrary's review

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dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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jessicasophie's review against another edition

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challenging dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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owls_rainbow's review

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challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Ebook provided by NetGalley for review. Thank you.

Lycroft Phelps is an elite boarding school with very traditional values. "Turn a blind eye" and "boys will be boys" both ring true. Above all the boys rowing team rules the roost. They control the school and have created the Slycroft Club, a secret society with less than stellar ideals.

Charlotte is a dancer who is dating one of the rowers but she feels like Seb is holding back, and then she starts receiving mysterious notes about him. Max is a scholarship nerd, insecure about his height but then he's asked to join the rowing team as a cox. He enjoys it but all is soured once he learns the truth about Slycroft. Quinn, known as Q, is depressed and angry following a rape that can't be prosecuted. The three, along with some other friends, come together to start changing the "boys club" culture of Lycroft Phelps.

I really enjoyed the way this all came together and I liked the characters and how they developed and grew. I especially enjoyed Q's progression from alienating everyone to letting people in. I did feel like the ending was a bit rushed and it didn't seem like the situation of who was sending Charlotte the notes was properly resolved. Overall a great book that people should definitely read.

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natashaleighton_'s review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Heart wrenchingly poignant and unflinching in its emotionally raw portrayal of rape culture and toxic masculinity, The Sharpe Edge of Silence is by no means an easy read but it’s definitely a worth while one!

It follows the alternating POVs of three students (Max, Charlotte and Quinn) and their experiences at Lycroft Phelps, an Elite American boarding school.

Max, is a scholarship student who struggles with fitting in amongst the elite student body and finds himself with an opportunity of a life time when offered a chance to join the school’s rowing team—which will finally allow him to experience life as one of the popular kids. But despite the allure of popularity and camaraderie, the toxic and misogynistic environment has Max wondering if any of it is really worth it.

Charlotte, the optimistic (and rather naive) straight-A student (who happens to be the girlfriend to the school’s star rower) believes entirely in all the good the school has to offer —and is grateful for the opportunity it gives her to make her dreams of becoming a professional ballet dancer a reality. At first she unwilling to see past her own rose tinted glasses but when she starts receiving anonymous notes that suggest all is not well in her world, she sets out to find the truth.

And Quinn, the sixth generation legacy trying to cope with the trauma of being sexually assaulted whilst her abuser suffers no consequences for his actions. Deciding to take things into her own hands, Quinn plots to take down the boy who raped her and with a little help, bring to light just how far the school is willing to go to protect it’s own reputation.

This was such a powerful read that I must admit, I was a little hesitant to pick up at first given the darker (and deeply emotional) subject material.

But I’m soo glad I did, as Cameron Kelly Rosenblum’s exquisitely nuanced and detailed exploration into the emotional and psychological reactions and the long term healing process for sexual assault survivors was something I had seen explored in quite soo much detail before—and it’s something that I feel will definitely highlight just how truly life changing an experience it can be.

I have to admit Quinn was definitely the most compelling character for me, her inner turmoil, rage and PTSD was such an emotionally visceral experience to witness that I cried soo much whilst reading her chapters and I wanted to see her get the support and justice she needed to finally heal.

Inspired by Rosenblum’s own experiences of sexual assault, Quinn’s compelling and utterly heartbreakingly raw emotional journey took on a whole new layer of meaning for me and made her road to recovery even more poignant. Especially when she let people in and allowed them the help her.

I did also enjoy Charlotte as a character but her active choice not to ask questions for fear of upsetting the status quo did annoy me a little. Although, her initial naïveté did work perfectly as a metaphor for society as a whole when it comes to ignoring difficult situations and social issues,for fear of discovering something that may change the idealistic perspective that’s far safer (and easier) to believe in.

Likewise, Max’s situation was really analogous to peer pressure that can evolve from toxic masculinity in which sexism and sexual harassment is downplayed or ignored to avoid public ridicule. The build up to Max’s realisation was exceptionally well written and really gives readers (especially teen readers) a clear visual of how easy it can be to succumb to such pressure.

Given the subject material it’s not going to be for everyone (and I definitely advise checking the TWs beforehand.) But with its exquisitely on point social commentary and deeply compelling characters, The Sharp Edge of Silence is perfectly placed to kick start important conversations around rape culture and toxic masculinity with young readers.

A huge thank you to readers first and Hot Key Books for the finished copy.

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billykmaguiree's review

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challenging dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The Sharp Edge of Silence by Cameron Kelly Rosenblum had me fucking sobbing from beginning to end in a way that I would never have thought possible from a book. Although this book is centred around themes that some readers may find uncomfortable/unsettling, (rape culture and toxic masculinity), Rosenblum’s prose serves as a constant reminder that ‘boys will be held accountable,’ and will not get away with anything anymore.

We live in a changing society and Rosenblum’s narrators are no different to the ever-changing societal expectations. We have Charlotte, ‘Q’ and Max and all of these narrators have different opinions on rape culture and toxic masculinity throughout the book. Q’s role throughout the first half of the narrative is the ‘silenced victim’ who refuses to speak out despite wanting to get revenge until she meets Charlotte in the woods. These women ally themselves against toxic men at Lycroft Phelps amid fears that they two will become victims.

What I found most stunning about this, was the fact that Rosenblum managed to capture Q’s anger in such a way, that her spiralling became the spiralling of the reader. You could clearly tell that Rosenblum placed a lot of thought into the consequences of characterising Q in a way that initially turned from anger and I think that it’s most striking that the reader managed to connect with Q’s change from anger to pain to anger again. It was equally as heartbreaking when Q confided in Charlotte about the sexual assault and Charlotte immediately believed her.

Though there were a few parts that I thought were slow-paced and I genuinely believed the book was going to end with the death of Colin Pearce but it didn’t. I believe that summing up the narrative as ‘Q’s way to healing,’ is wrong because it doesn’t just allow, and shouldn’t allow for her to heal, this narrative is controlled carefully and doesn’t skip corners: Q’s revenge on Pearce is thwarted and there is a sense of resolution around the rowers’ being punished, and yet we are left hoping for Q’s journey to help her heal, alongside other women in the narrative.

A huge thank you to the team at Netgalley for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

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