As soon as I read the synopsis of this book, I was hooked. One of my common rants is about rape - the word is completely taboo within society, but it does happen, so shouldn't we talk about it? Young girls often get told to not go out dressed in something skimpy and possibly suggestive - but shouldn't people be taught not to rape in the first place? It's a very controversial and tricky subject, and I genuinely find books about it interesting - especially since the author of this book is a rape victim herself.Valerie was your average teenage girl - average until the day she got raped by her crush. Ever since the event, Valerie's life is turned completely upside down - her once-best-friend now won't even look at her, and her brother will do anything to avoid speaking about "it". And when the guy who raped her insists she willingly had sex with him, a whole new wave of lies and hate are directed at Val, and the list of people who believe her begins to dwindle rapidly.I don't really know what I was expecting from this story. I'd never want to say to anyone that this story or that story wasn't as traumatic and hard-hitting as I was expecting it to be, because any story about rape is horrible and is just as serious as the next one. However, what I am going to say is that I expected a little bit more, in the sense that I thought Klein would write a little bit more about rape, and express Valerie's feelings a bit more than she did - there were only a few moments where the reader was exposed to the utter mayhem going on inside her, and I wanted to see that broadened somewhat.Leading on from this, it is a short book, and I think it could have grown longer is Klein had spent some more time developing Valerie's character. I mean, I don't have a clue what she looked like - height, weight, hair colour, eye colour? In a way, this let the reader develop Valerie as how they saw fit - but for me, I'd have rather been given a bit more description. Same goes from Adam, the rapist, and Mimi. The person who got the most description was Wes, and to be honest, he was barely in it, so it was rather lost on the development of the story.What I really liked must have been how Klein conveyed Valerie's guilt over the rape. It is often drummed into us that if rape occurs, you'll be beaten and bloody and hurt - Valerie wasn't, and therefore she felt as if she was making a fuss over nothing; that her rape wasn't as big a deal as someone who was badly hurt. That isn't true, of course - any rape is serious, and I liked how Klein put that message across.I enjoyed Klein's writing style; it was simple, but good, and I found the story incredibly easy to slip into, and read it quite quickly. I finished it in three sittings, I believe? As I said earlier, the book was very short, and I would have loved for it to have continued and to be written with a bit more depth - the party scene was short, the rape scene wasn't written about, and afterwards we missed a lot of the scenes at school, and the court scenes were non-existent - there was a lot of room for development, and I guess I'm disappointed that Klein didn't grab onto that and improve it.Overall I enjoyed how easy it was to read, and I'm glad for the insight it gave me into the life of a rape survivor. However, it wasn't as dramatic as I was expecting, if that's the right word - I've read other books about rape, and they managed to convey a lot more emotion than this did. But nevertheless, it was still a very difficult and traumatizing experience, and Klein did manage to convey that. If the topic interests you, then I reckon this is a must-read. After reading this book I realized that I too had very backwards view when it came to women and the “rape issue” You see before when I heard of a young woman at a party getting sloppy drunk and dressed in a short mini dress being raped I usually responded with the age old “What did she expect to happen”. That my friends is the absolute wrong reaction. And I apologize for once being one of those people. You see in our society women are taught to behave and dress in a certain manner that conveys a sense of respect and maturity. While men are allowed to be as vulgar as they want with little to no consequences.Rape Girl explored something that happens daily in the US and abroad. A beautiful young woman enjoying her time with friends is approached by a guy who seems interested in her. After a few drinks she wakes up feeling terrible and stumbled to take care of her sister. Except unlike every other morning this “interested” guy returns to the home and forces himself on this young lady. The events that follow make you angry and show just how backwards and fickle our society can be. If you have never considered reading a book that discusses real hard hitting issues like rape, I highly suggest you give this book a try. Rape Girl by Alina Klein opened my eyes and I hope it will do the same for many others in the world today.
What do You think about Rape Girl (2012)?
Harrowing and dark, but with just the right amount of positivity. Moving in the best way.
—desktop0
The only problem I have with this book is that it was too short!
—peggysue
