Rape girl by Alina Klein

Valerie wasn't supposed to have a party while her mother was out of town, but her bestfriend Mimi thought it was a good idea so she went along with it.  The party was great, until she got drunk and threw up on the shoes of the guy she was crushing on - and the next morning when he held her down and raped her while her little sister played in the snow outside.  Suddenly Valerie is a social pariah, her bestfriend doesn't believe she was raped, the popular kids are treating her like a liar and a tease, and she has to live through what happened again and again to the police, the prosecutor, the doctor.  As time passes it should get easier, but things just become more and more complicated as she becomes the social outcast, the liar, the bitch.

This is one of those amazing books that some people might skip over because of the topic, but I found it a compelling read, one that was emotional and exhausting to read - but as the author survived rape as a teenager I felt that there was more realism to the story, something that is often lacking in rape stories for teenagers.  There is no graphic violence in this story, no protracted dramas, it is short and intensely written a view on the life of a teenage girl after she is raped by one of the popular boys, and the blame she receives for trying to wreck his life after they sleep together.  It is emotional, and there are times when you feel sick on her behalf, but it was also a book filled with moments of family strength, of personal guilt, and a young girl rebuilding her life after a traumatic event.

Because of the subject matter this is not a book for younger readers, and younger teens would benefit from having someone to talk to about the topic if they read this.  Some people may also be uncomfortable with the setting of a Mormon community with references to Mormon youth drinking alcohol and committing rape - the story does not lampoon the Mormon faith or any religion, but it may make some readers doubly uncomfortable when combined with the theme of rape.

If you read this book and would like to read similar books then try:

• Living dead girl by Elizabeth Scott
• Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
• Leftovers by Laura Wiess
• Thirteen reasons why by Jay Asher
• Scars by Cheryl Rainfield
• How it ends by Laura Wiess
• Hate list by Jennifer Brown

Reviewed by Brilla