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lindsirae's review against another edition
2.0
it was fine, just kinda basic and focused on surface-level stuff. i found myself feeling really frustrated with how much it jumped around from microtopic to topic instead of spending time on a thoughtful, in-depth framework. it felt more like a collection of very brief internet articles than an academic work. most disappointingly, it didn’t improve my understanding of the topic or provide any practical advice for how to deal with sexual harm in your own community or social sphere unless you already have access to one of the few orgs they name dropped (which were almost exclusively located in the northeast). i’m left wondering who this book is for — i guess liberals who are unconvinced or on the fence about prison abolition? — because it definitely doesn’t read like something from a putatively socialist publishing house.
jtllnt's review against another edition
1.5
While I agreed with the authors on some points, I ultimately can't get over the way they willfully cherry-picked and misrepresented data and individual stories to fit their narrative, focused nearly all of their energy on building empathy for perpetrators of sexual violence, deeply misunderstood and misinterpreted child development, and failed to properly cite some of their most outlandish claims. This book was so frustrating to me because I wanted a thoughtful examination of a different way forward for survivors of sexual violence that delivers healing and justice in a way the criminal justice system doesn't. Instead I read a book by two women who, by their own admission, have never experienced sexual violence and obviously fail to understand the colossal impact it has on one's life. Before reading this book, I'd recommend looking up the review Moira Donegan wrote on Bookforum.
bedjacket's review
I read this for a paper I am writing for class on a case about a sex offender. it was probably a form of procrastination, but it did change my carceral mode of thinking. the writers came across as really deeply unlikable, but i did read it cover to cover so.
phenomenecology's review
3.0
This book was difficult to read. It challenged a lot of the anger within me. I would recommend this book to anyone who is pro-abolition but struggles with the coming to terms with the fact that that includes rethinking how we deal with sex offenders. I was disappointed by the last section... it was the one I was most looking forward to and I felt let down by it. It seemed rushed, for starters, but it also reproduces the dichotomy between sex positivity and sex negativity- which causes a lot of problems. I would have liked to see more nuance in the final section, especially the section on consent. I think it’s very important to think beyond consent when thinking about sexual ethics. Thinking beyond consent means a lot of things- confronting the ambiguous nature of most of our relationships is one, but another is thinking about harm without automatically thinking about punishment. This is what I expected a discussion of abolition feminism to do, but instead I received a half hearted paragraph explaining how BDSM is a good example of “playing with consent” by “saying no and not meaning it.” This simply lacks critical examination and reproduces the neoliberal assumptions worth critiquing in consent in the first place.
kkgarrett's review
informative
reflective
medium-paced
2.0
Important and good topic, but dismal takes on grooming, dabbles in victim-blaming.
marinamc1's review
4.0
one of the toughest books i’ve ever read, really pushed me out of my comfort zone of thoughts and challenged a lot- even if i don’t agree with everything in it, it was powerful and thought-provoking in the best way
atintera's review against another edition
challenging
informative
slow-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality, Rape, and Abortion