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jang 's review for:
What We Saw
by Aaron Hartzler
A victory. One of the most important YAs right now. This #HeForShe realness. This is a YA written by a male writer that speaks to females perfectly but is actually more intended for a male audience because of the book's important and timely subjects: stereotyping girls, looking down on girls, questioning feminism, and most importantly, RAPE. Male YA writers, this is the way to do it. I want every unaware man in the universe to read this because it helps put an end to all those misogynistic idiosyncrasies that are very common among males everywhere. The ideology that girls deserve to be sexually assaulted when they're dressing provocatively is such a BS notion that this book puts in the front and center.
The book was inspired by a real story, which made it really painful and gripping to read at times. But it's also why kids in highschool need to get behind this. A lot of gang rapes exist in most schools these days, and the school often conceals the crime in order to save face and sugarcoat the evil. It's their way of doing damage control, which more than sucks for the victims because not only their reputations are ruined when these crimes happen, their future and mental stability fall down, too. When bad things like this happens, always, always do what you know is right. Even if that means choosing the truth over friendship or love, do it because there are more people who will benefit from it when the crimes are stopped.
I admire the characterization and the way the author introduced the readers to Kate Weston. Kate was confident, stable, solid, young and curious. She's a star athlete, she's intelligent, she had a crush, and she learned to speak her mind. She's sensitive and a true feminist, which was why when she first heard about the crime done to her former friend Stacey, she started pawing for clues and reliving that night (even though she was wasted as hell) so Stacey could have her justice.
Kate refused to join the "Go Buccs" battlecry even though her boyfriend was a part of the basketball team because she didn't want to ignore her instincts. She knew something terrible happened to Stacey, something that could have happened to her as well. She didn't let go of the crime that the school wanted to believe was a just a rumor spread by a messed-up "slut" because she knew deep down, it was true and Stacey deserved to win this. She chose the truth even when she had to become a social pariah in school.
Her decision to go over to the police to report the crime, even if that meant betraying the school and outing her dbag boyfriend was admirable and brave af. Sistas over mistahs. Girls, listen to this story. Never choose your boyfriend over an important truth that you know deserves to be told. Helping cover the truth because your loved one's future is at stake would also make you a criminal because you're encouraging the criminals and erasing the crime. A lying asshole of a boyfriend isn't someone who's worth keeping or even just having around. Imagine if it was you who were mad drunk at a party and guys just went over you in turns to take your dignity all while the person you trusted was there watching the whole scene unfold, how would you feel? You'd feel little and betrayed, too.
There's a good quote in the book told by the female investigator, which goes along the lines of "sometimes doing the things that don't feel right is the right thing to do." This is true in a lot of cases (for me at least) because usually the things that feel wrong end up being the things that you know, in time, will serve you right.
There's also a scene in the book that spoke to me so much. It was when Kate schooled her brother about respecting women and stop categorizing them based on their "hotness." It spoke to me in so many ways because I have a little brother, too, and I remember when he had to recall a common friend by remembering how big or small her jugs were. I had to tell him off and help him man up because, well, as a big sister, it's my duty to do so. It's my responsibility to tell him how girls don't deserve to be trolled upon because of their physical appearance. It's a simple act that I hope to instill even to my young cousins and nephews because who would act on that if not I?
Another favorite scene is the sex part between Kate and Ben. It was Kate's first time, and just like what's said in the book, it happened because it was mutually consented by both of them. It happened because Kate decided she's ready and it was what she wanted. Most sex scenes between teens in books and movies happen without the guy asking the girl if she feels right about doing that or not, which is a huge pressure for girls sometimes. I love how this book portrayed sex with respect and consent. Better, the book respects sex.
The many times Feminism became a topic of conversation for the girls and even the class were also my favorites. When the professor and the class schooled asshole Reggie about the way he viewed women who were dressing rather sexily as sexual objects and targets of assault was spot on. Those scenes made me see red and really made me want to punch a fictional character in the face, but I'm glad the class and the professor handled it calmly and better than I would.
What We Saw is very timely because aside from raising awareness regarding sexual harassment and assault in schools, it also tackles the dangers of the Internet age. How one stupid video or picture posted can destroy one person's life forever. It tells kids the risks of being so social media-obsessed. It tells kids to mind what they're saying on public forums and what they're posting about their friends because it might be reasons to get them in the way of danger.
There are more positive things that I can say about this book but I will leave them for readers to find out. The book hurt me alot, especially when it laid on my face the truth about my all-time favorite movie Grease. How Grease told viewers that changing for your man is better than being happy with what you really are. How Grease portrayed nerdy girls as unaccepted and uncool. I didn't see that before because like what the book said, the catchiness of the songs could easily make you forget the negative messages the movie told viewers. But I'm happy I'm seeing Grease in a new light now.
I really hope male readers will read this because there are so much that they can learn from this. Had the main character chose to reconcile with her boyfriend even if he was guilty of witnessing the crime, I'd have rated the book one star. But thank the goddesses Aaron H. is a big feminist of a writer and he knows better than writing a flimsy happy ending that would appease the readers. I like this sad but progressive and positive ending better.
"Boys will be boys" is what people say to excuse guys when they do something awful.It's high time that we stop using this excuse to cover the pathetic shit that most males do every time they troll. I love how two of the important characters in the book, Kate and Lindsey, emphasize this time and again.
The book was inspired by a real story, which made it really painful and gripping to read at times. But it's also why kids in highschool need to get behind this. A lot of gang rapes exist in most schools these days, and the school often conceals the crime in order to save face and sugarcoat the evil. It's their way of doing damage control, which more than sucks for the victims because not only their reputations are ruined when these crimes happen, their future and mental stability fall down, too. When bad things like this happens, always, always do what you know is right. Even if that means choosing the truth over friendship or love, do it because there are more people who will benefit from it when the crimes are stopped.
I admire the characterization and the way the author introduced the readers to Kate Weston. Kate was confident, stable, solid, young and curious. She's a star athlete, she's intelligent, she had a crush, and she learned to speak her mind. She's sensitive and a true feminist, which was why when she first heard about the crime done to her former friend Stacey, she started pawing for clues and reliving that night (even though she was wasted as hell) so Stacey could have her justice.
Kate refused to join the "Go Buccs" battlecry even though her boyfriend was a part of the basketball team because she didn't want to ignore her instincts. She knew something terrible happened to Stacey, something that could have happened to her as well. She didn't let go of the crime that the school wanted to believe was a just a rumor spread by a messed-up "slut" because she knew deep down, it was true and Stacey deserved to win this. She chose the truth even when she had to become a social pariah in school.
Her decision to go over to the police to report the crime, even if that meant betraying the school and outing her dbag boyfriend was admirable and brave af. Sistas over mistahs. Girls, listen to this story. Never choose your boyfriend over an important truth that you know deserves to be told. Helping cover the truth because your loved one's future is at stake would also make you a criminal because you're encouraging the criminals and erasing the crime. A lying asshole of a boyfriend isn't someone who's worth keeping or even just having around. Imagine if it was you who were mad drunk at a party and guys just went over you in turns to take your dignity all while the person you trusted was there watching the whole scene unfold, how would you feel? You'd feel little and betrayed, too.
There's a good quote in the book told by the female investigator, which goes along the lines of "sometimes doing the things that don't feel right is the right thing to do." This is true in a lot of cases (for me at least) because usually the things that feel wrong end up being the things that you know, in time, will serve you right.
There's also a scene in the book that spoke to me so much. It was when Kate schooled her brother about respecting women and stop categorizing them based on their "hotness." It spoke to me in so many ways because I have a little brother, too, and I remember when he had to recall a common friend by remembering how big or small her jugs were. I had to tell him off and help him man up because, well, as a big sister, it's my duty to do so. It's my responsibility to tell him how girls don't deserve to be trolled upon because of their physical appearance. It's a simple act that I hope to instill even to my young cousins and nephews because who would act on that if not I?
Another favorite scene is the sex part between Kate and Ben. It was Kate's first time, and just like what's said in the book, it happened because it was mutually consented by both of them. It happened because Kate decided she's ready and it was what she wanted. Most sex scenes between teens in books and movies happen without the guy asking the girl if she feels right about doing that or not, which is a huge pressure for girls sometimes. I love how this book portrayed sex with respect and consent. Better, the book respects sex.
The many times Feminism became a topic of conversation for the girls and even the class were also my favorites. When the professor and the class schooled asshole Reggie about the way he viewed women who were dressing rather sexily as sexual objects and targets of assault was spot on. Those scenes made me see red and really made me want to punch a fictional character in the face, but I'm glad the class and the professor handled it calmly and better than I would.
What We Saw is very timely because aside from raising awareness regarding sexual harassment and assault in schools, it also tackles the dangers of the Internet age. How one stupid video or picture posted can destroy one person's life forever. It tells kids the risks of being so social media-obsessed. It tells kids to mind what they're saying on public forums and what they're posting about their friends because it might be reasons to get them in the way of danger.
There are more positive things that I can say about this book but I will leave them for readers to find out. The book hurt me alot, especially when it laid on my face the truth about my all-time favorite movie Grease. How Grease told viewers that changing for your man is better than being happy with what you really are. How Grease portrayed nerdy girls as unaccepted and uncool. I didn't see that before because like what the book said, the catchiness of the songs could easily make you forget the negative messages the movie told viewers. But I'm happy I'm seeing Grease in a new light now.
I really hope male readers will read this because there are so much that they can learn from this. Had the main character chose to reconcile with her boyfriend even if he was guilty of witnessing the crime, I'd have rated the book one star. But thank the goddesses Aaron H. is a big feminist of a writer and he knows better than writing a flimsy happy ending that would appease the readers. I like this sad but progressive and positive ending better.