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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
This is a hard book for me to rate and review. The message here is so important. The execution was a little bit unrealistic, in my opinion.
This is a YA novel. I only read this genre occasionally. This novel in particular is about rape and the absolutely unbelievable tendency that people have to blame the victim. This part of the story is one part that was realistic. It happens in real life and victims of rape suffer for it. This novel brings this injustice to light and serves to educate it's readers that this is not acceptable. I applaud the author for taking on this difficult subject.
There may be minor spoilers ahead.
The main character, Grace is a victim of rape by a boy who is on the school's lacrosse team. He is smart, popular and a great athlete. After Grace accuses this boy of raping her, she is immediately labeled a slut and shamed and tormented by her classmates. Grace has literally no friends left. No one at school believes her. Her mom believes her but wants to send her away to study abroad so she doesn't have to deal with the aftermath of the rape and her dad blames the way she dresses for what happened to her. This is the part that seems unrealistic to me. This girl is 16 or 17. I can't imagine this kind of response. Not one friend stuck by her? Her own father blamed her? The bullying that happened at school was overlooked by teachers? Not one coach, teacher or student doubted this boy's innocence? I don't know..this didn't sit well with me. I understand the author was making a point and I appreciate that, I just feel that it was a bit too extreme to be believable.
This novel is a very important one and one that can generate lots of good conversation. As a society we need to talk about these things. No means, no. No matter how a girl acts or dresses. No matter if she is drinking, drunk, high or passed out.
5 stars for the message. 2 for the execution. 3.5 stars overall.
This is a YA novel. I only read this genre occasionally. This novel in particular is about rape and the absolutely unbelievable tendency that people have to blame the victim. This part of the story is one part that was realistic. It happens in real life and victims of rape suffer for it. This novel brings this injustice to light and serves to educate it's readers that this is not acceptable. I applaud the author for taking on this difficult subject.
There may be minor spoilers ahead.
The main character, Grace is a victim of rape by a boy who is on the school's lacrosse team. He is smart, popular and a great athlete. After Grace accuses this boy of raping her, she is immediately labeled a slut and shamed and tormented by her classmates. Grace has literally no friends left. No one at school believes her. Her mom believes her but wants to send her away to study abroad so she doesn't have to deal with the aftermath of the rape and her dad blames the way she dresses for what happened to her. This is the part that seems unrealistic to me. This girl is 16 or 17. I can't imagine this kind of response. Not one friend stuck by her? Her own father blamed her? The bullying that happened at school was overlooked by teachers? Not one coach, teacher or student doubted this boy's innocence? I don't know..this didn't sit well with me. I understand the author was making a point and I appreciate that, I just feel that it was a bit too extreme to be believable.
This novel is a very important one and one that can generate lots of good conversation. As a society we need to talk about these things. No means, no. No matter how a girl acts or dresses. No matter if she is drinking, drunk, high or passed out.
5 stars for the message. 2 for the execution. 3.5 stars overall.
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I was so angry at these characters....so, I guess the author did something right. The very simple writing style and first-person alternating POVs really dragged down the story for me, but the pacing was consistent, and the book wasn't plighted by unnecessary details. The story evoked emotional and (some unpleasant) nostalgia of high school. The themes are still relevant today. This was a buddy read with a few members from LiterALLy BOOKiSh Book Club, the best group on Facebook.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
Whoa. I read this in a single sitting. It hit me hard. I wish that more men were aware of how they treat women can damage us. This really focuses on not rape itself, but the shaming the victim endures.
This book was really good. I liked this book because i feel like this was the most realistic teen fiction boom ive ever read. Grace is this book was amazing, she was strong and very determined. She sets a great example on how a girl should act if they were ever in a real situation like that.
Honestly, I loved this book. It has been one of the most interesting books I've read in a long time. It's almost like your typical story but it has many aspects that you don't really expect.
I literally had to force myself to put the book down at dawn so I could catch a couple hours of sleep. Such an amazing story and a very important message.
Some Boys was brilliantly written by Patty Blount to show a rape victim’s point of view. This novel focuses on this controversial topic and shows what it is like for the victim after what happened. Patty Blount creates a conflicted heroine that you can feel how real her emotions are. I promise you the moment you pick up the book to read, you do not want to put the book back down, because of how much you will be invested in the story, the outcome and the characters.
The novel starts off with thirty-two days after the incident of what happened to Grace Collier. Everyone at her school thinks she is a liar for saying Zac McMahon raped her during a party in the woods. It doesn’t help that a video of her and Zac was posted online, and everyone’s been calling Grace ugly names. Zac McMahon is the popular guy that can get every girl he wants with his smooth talking and flirting, and he is the captain of the lacrosse team. Grace Collier is a girl that likes to dress in thigh high boots, black clothing and put on black eyeliner & lipsticks. Ian Russell is Zac’s best friend, but always had a huge crush on Grace. Throughout the story, Grace and Ian become close due to cleaning out lockers over the spring break. Ian always looked up to Zac and believed every word he says, but after getting to know Grace, the truth actually might not be what he and everyone thought it was. Will there be enough evidence to prove Grace’s side of story is true, or will Zac be able to go unpunished for his crime?
The novel was told in Grace and Ian’s point of view, and each chapter alternated with who the narrator was. This book might be a topic that not everyone would want to read, because it might make people feel uncomfortable. The book did a good job in showing how victim blaming is wrong and to bring awareness to how harmful it is emotionally and physically to the victim when everyone is pointing fingers at the victim. Overall, I really enjoyed the story and would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys realistic fiction & for anyone that is comfortable with reading this controversial topic.
The novel starts off with thirty-two days after the incident of what happened to Grace Collier. Everyone at her school thinks she is a liar for saying Zac McMahon raped her during a party in the woods. It doesn’t help that a video of her and Zac was posted online, and everyone’s been calling Grace ugly names. Zac McMahon is the popular guy that can get every girl he wants with his smooth talking and flirting, and he is the captain of the lacrosse team. Grace Collier is a girl that likes to dress in thigh high boots, black clothing and put on black eyeliner & lipsticks. Ian Russell is Zac’s best friend, but always had a huge crush on Grace. Throughout the story, Grace and Ian become close due to cleaning out lockers over the spring break. Ian always looked up to Zac and believed every word he says, but after getting to know Grace, the truth actually might not be what he and everyone thought it was. Will there be enough evidence to prove Grace’s side of story is true, or will Zac be able to go unpunished for his crime?
The novel was told in Grace and Ian’s point of view, and each chapter alternated with who the narrator was. This book might be a topic that not everyone would want to read, because it might make people feel uncomfortable. The book did a good job in showing how victim blaming is wrong and to bring awareness to how harmful it is emotionally and physically to the victim when everyone is pointing fingers at the victim. Overall, I really enjoyed the story and would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys realistic fiction & for anyone that is comfortable with reading this controversial topic.
I am so conflicted with this. So much of the book is just too realistic nowadays, and it makes my blood boil. I appreciated that it didn't pull any punches with how everyone around Grace treats her after she is raped. But at the same time, about the only character I liked 100% WAS Grace. Ian really pissed me off for most of the book, and none of the characters were likeable--for obvious reasons.
The worst part for me is something that didn't come across super strongly in the text, but it's definitely still the subtext, and it's especially obvious on the cover, where the tagline says "Some boys go too far. Some boys will break your heart. But one boy can mend it." This concept that a girl who's been raped will feel a whole lot better about herself if that one special boy just loves her. Which is a disgusting notion, that rape is "breaking your heart," and if one boy will love her, everything that happened will magically get better. No. Like I said, it's not as obvious in the actual story, but looking at that cover made me want to vomit.
I also had issues with the ending.
Overall, I did like it. I just found it hard to root for anyone but Grace, and I wish Grace had had at least ONE person in her corner the entire time.
The worst part for me is something that didn't come across super strongly in the text, but it's definitely still the subtext, and it's especially obvious on the cover, where the tagline says "Some boys go too far. Some boys will break your heart. But one boy can mend it." This concept that a girl who's been raped will feel a whole lot better about herself if that one special boy just loves her. Which is a disgusting notion, that rape is "breaking your heart," and if one boy will love her, everything that happened will magically get better. No. Like I said, it's not as obvious in the actual story, but looking at that cover made me want to vomit.
I also had issues with the ending.
Spoiler
It felt too easy, the way every other character pretty much got away with how they'd treated Grace. Grace forgives Miranda and Lindsey immediately when they apologize; even Zac's lacrosse buddies are brought into the fold after squeezing out a half-assed "sorry for hassling you."Overall, I did like it. I just found it hard to root for anyone but Grace, and I wish Grace had had at least ONE person in her corner the entire time.