Early this morning I finished The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney for a
Star Book Tours.
From Goodreads:
Some schools have honor codes.
Others have handbooks.
Themis Academy has the Mockingbirds.
Themis Academy is a quiet boarding school with an exceptional student body that the administration trusts to always behave the honorable way--the Themis Way. So when Alex is date raped during her junior year, she has two options: stay silent and hope someone helps her, or enlist the Mockingbirds--a secret society of students dedicated to righting the wrongs of their fellow peers.
In this honest, page-turning account of a teen girl's struggle to stand up for herself, debut author Daisy Whitney reminds readers that if you love something or someone--especially yourself--you fight for it.
I feel like this is such an important book. Date rape is unfortunately something that way too many teens (and females in general) are a victim of. And this book seemed so real. The main character, Alex, seemed to handle it the way a real teen might. She didn't want to go to the police because she didn't want her parents to find out (although, I do think she should have gone) and she went through the emotions that I imagine a date-rape victim would go through. At the end of the book, in the authors note, we learn that the author was a date-rape victim. And while that is horrifying, I don't think the book would have been as real as it was without that tragic event.
And I love the idea of the Mockingbirds, although I'm not sure that a system like that would really work in a school. I can't really see the kids who think they have the power at the school really let a school-run organization "police" them, especially when the adults don't do anything about it. But like I said, I do like the idea of it. And I did like the checks and balances that were put into place.
I liked all of the main characters--Alex and her roomies T.S. and Maia. And I loved Martin--such a good guy (I always like the geeks!) And I loved the students who made up the Mockingbirds board.
I think that every female teen should read this. Especially ones who are rape victims. I think it would help them see that they aren't alone and that their feelings are normal. My heart goes out to Alex and to all other victims.
I gave this book a rating of 4/5.
This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2010 100+ Reading Challenge:
159
2010 Young Adult Reading Challenge:
124
2010 Debut Author Challenge:
41
ARC Reading Challenge 2010:
113
*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Star Book Tours.
