Goodreads Blurb:
Eden was always good at being good. Starting high school didn’t change who she was. But the night her brother’s best friend rapes her, Eden’s world capsizes.
What was once simple, is now complex. What Eden once loved—who she once loved—she now hates. What she thought she knew to be true, is now lies. Nothing makes sense anymore, and she knows she’s supposed to tell someone what happened but she can’t. So she buries it instead. And she buries the way she used to be.
Told in four parts—freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior year.
Bookworm Review:
Reading a story about rape is hard, let alone write about it. After reading SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson, I fell in love with realistic fiction. I picked this book up from Barnes and Noble because I loved the cover. I also loved the idea of it being told in four parts, following her high school career. Smith did a fantastic job of taking a subject that's hard to talk about and turn it into a masterpiece.
What I loved best about this book was how honest Eden reacted to her being raped. You could feel the sorrow and embarrassment that she felt. It wasn't like everything was okay after it happened. It wasn't okay...and that's realistic. You saw her go down hill, just to rise again. I thought that this was a great book and I hope to read more from this author in the future.
I had some of my more advanced Middle School students read the book and they loved it as well. I'm not one to tell someone to not read a book, but this one would have to go into the right hands for them to be able to read it and learn from it. I don't think all of my students have the right frame of mind to take a subject like this serious enough.
Eden was always good at being good. Starting high school didn’t change who she was. But the night her brother’s best friend rapes her, Eden’s world capsizes.
What was once simple, is now complex. What Eden once loved—who she once loved—she now hates. What she thought she knew to be true, is now lies. Nothing makes sense anymore, and she knows she’s supposed to tell someone what happened but she can’t. So she buries it instead. And she buries the way she used to be.
Told in four parts—freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior year.
Bookworm Review:
Reading a story about rape is hard, let alone write about it. After reading SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson, I fell in love with realistic fiction. I picked this book up from Barnes and Noble because I loved the cover. I also loved the idea of it being told in four parts, following her high school career. Smith did a fantastic job of taking a subject that's hard to talk about and turn it into a masterpiece.
What I loved best about this book was how honest Eden reacted to her being raped. You could feel the sorrow and embarrassment that she felt. It wasn't like everything was okay after it happened. It wasn't okay...and that's realistic. You saw her go down hill, just to rise again. I thought that this was a great book and I hope to read more from this author in the future.
I had some of my more advanced Middle School students read the book and they loved it as well. I'm not one to tell someone to not read a book, but this one would have to go into the right hands for them to be able to read it and learn from it. I don't think all of my students have the right frame of mind to take a subject like this serious enough.