GUEST REVIEW: RAPE GIRL BY ALINA KLEIN

by Lucie

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Random Info:

Publisher: namelos

Pages: 126

Series: No

Valerie always wanted to be the smart girl. The pretty girl. The popular girl.

But not the rape girl...

That’s who she is now. Rape Girl. Because everyone seems to think they know the truth about what happened with Adam that day, and they don’t think Valerie’s telling it...

Before, she had a best friend, a crush, and a close-knit family. After, she has a court case, a support group, and a house full of strangers...

The real truth is, nothing will ever be the same..

Rape Girl is the compelling story of a survivor who does the right thing and suffers for it. It is also the story of a young woman’s struggle to find the strength to fight back.

Summary:
No parents present, tipsy girlfriends, a party well stocked in alcool and a cool guy on which she has a crush. But during the evening, Valerie, tipsy, vomits before she could do other thing than kissing Adam. The next day, he returned to finish what they started. When Valerie prosecutes him for rape, few people think she is telling the truth ...

Reactions:
A novel pretty short, too short maybe since you can not put this book down before knowing how Valerie will heal. The subject does not leave indifferent and it is very well written by Alina Klein. I was touched by the accuracy with which the author portrays the emotions and stages through which pass Valerie during its reconstruction. After reaching the end, I read that the author spoke knowingly. That touched me even more! This experience should not have been easy to put on paper for her but it is what made the story so realist.

No trash details, just a sad story that unfortunately happens too often. Why some men can not understand the meaning of the word "no"? Why having fun and drinking a few glasses must be the door open to abuse? What is going on in someone's head to force an act that should be pleasurable and shared?

As rape can happen to all women at any stage of their life, this testimony, even though it is fictionalized, shows the importance of talking about it and go to the police to help the victim to rebuild herself.
Paradoxically, doing the right thing is also more complicated when one sees the difficulty of the task. The victime must prove her innocence because in the minds of many, the victim has often played or seduced before chicken out and must have something to blame because it does not happen to good girls.
Bullshit! It's so absurd but so often heard that it becomes revolting.

I was also most angry against the women in this book. Even if the book depicts in a very real way how relationships can change in the aftermath, with guilt, awareness, pity feelings that the victime receive from her relative or friends. Nobody is prepared so nobody knows how to deal with a traumatic event. It's why communication is the best way to try to move forward. Don't guess the feeling, ask or don't ask but be strong.
To be honest, I was not able to understand Mimi and her friends, who think that rape can make somebody popular... Are you insane, awfull bitc... or too much of a coward ?

Beyond the main subject that is treated very skillfully, my pleasure was mitigated by the religious aspect with reference to Mormons. Why want to place the action in a context like this?
This troubled me because I did not see the interest of this precision as rape can occur in any social class or religious affiliations.

I also would have wish to know more about the support group. Maybe Valerie should have confide more because even though she showed great strength to face adversity, her judgment and by accepting a confrontation with Adam, the healing process is very long. Even though I felt that hope was at the end of the tunnel for Valerie, the fact that the novel is so short I was given the impression that I was missing something to be sure that she has faith in the future.

It is a story that I highly recommend for the correctness of the emotions ...

Sentences

From Valerie: "I didn't need to spill my guts. I just need this whole thing to go away. For life to go back to the way it was before."

From Valerie: "For you, Adam, my answer will always be no."