
Research says that people who face traumatic experiences
usually resort to two coping mechanisms: fight or flight. Sid Murphy is a
fighter all of the way. But, even she isn’t invincible. As a result, the author
effectively portrays a girl struggling to come to terms with what happened to
her while pretending as if everything’s “fine” on the outside. In a way, she
reminds me of Melinda from L.H. Anderson’s Speak
(1999), only Sid’s reaction shows the opposite end of the spectrum. The
fears that both characters exude are very real, which is why most sexual
victims never speak up: We are a society that likes to blame the victims
because it’s easier that way. This was evident in the way that Sid blamed her
large breasts and curvaceous butt for enticing Dax in the first place. As a
result, she turns the punishment inward and suffers in silence.
This is a book that needs to be on every secondary shelf.
According to statistics, a woman gets raped every 2 minutes in the US alone.
Chances are, one of them could be sitting in our classrooms. There is no reason
anyone should suffer in silence.
ARC courtesy of ALA 2012
Publication Date: October 2012
SO glad you loved this one, Courtney! I also love that you pointed out its similarities to SPEAK, and how powerful this book really is. We definitely need to talk about it. Hope your camping trip went well.
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