(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)

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.

[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]

With a title like this, obviously young readers and sensitive people should stop reading right now.  Consider yourself warned.

Rape is an issue that is all too-familiar for people today; it’s not exactly a new issue.  But finally, we are beginning to talk about it and hopefully it’s books like this that will help people understand that blaming the victim is counter-productive.  And since Rape Girl is written by a rape survivor, it is tastefully handled while at the same time tackling the emotional and psychological consequences of rape, not to mention the social ones.

This is a rather short book, only a little over 120 pages, but it is very powerful.  Valerie is a powerful main character who does “the right thing” by reporting her rape and goes through hell because of it.  We really feel her guilt, anger, sadness and her struggle to regain her old, normal life.  Her friends turn against her, her family acts weird around her and even the teachers at school turn against her, blaming her for her rapists’ reputation!  It’s an emotional roller coaster that readers won’t soon forget.

This is not a book you should read if you like fast-paced plots.  Rape Girl is a book you read for the message and the characters.  And if you read it with an open mind, you may find yourself a much better person for it.

I give this book 4.5/5 stars.

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