November 4, 2010

Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney

The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney
Published November 2nd 2010 by Little Brown
352 pages

Summary 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 just happened to unpack this from a delivery at our library yesterday and borrowed it. I brought it home and read it in one sitting. The story opens with Alex waking up disoriented in a dorm room naked next to a guy she barely recognizes. Unable to remember what happened she quickly grabs her belongings and leaves as quickly as she can.Horrified by the possibilities of what might have happened.
Over the next few days her memories come back in flashes and she and her friends come to the realization that she was raped.
Alex is faced with a difficult choice of what to do. Either way there will be consequences....

Mockingbirds was a compelling read. I loved all the references of To Kill A MockingBird, and Alex was an endearing character that I rooted for and I even felt protective of her. The passage at the back of the book written by Daisy (author) is very moving as we learn that she is writing from a place of experience on this topic.
Highly recommend.

4 comments:

  1. Well, we're always have choices in life. But to make a right decision need a lot of thought. This sounds like a great book. Nice review!!

    -CJ @ Coffee N Crackers
    Latest Review @ CNC
    HERE

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  2. I received the ARC to this book a few weeks ago, but I haven't had the time to read it. Now, I'll bump it up on my tbr pile. Thanks!

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  3. I knew she had come out with this book, but didn't know much of what it was about. I thought it was lighter than what it describes- thanks for that!

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  4. The characters surrounding Alex lend to the story in such strong ways. Her roommates T.S. and Maia are there from the beginning, helping Alex and just being there for her. Her friend Martin, a member of The Mockingbirds, becomes this source of humor and happiness. His quirky science-geek knowledge lightens the story and had me both me and Alex smiling.

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