Novel Review: Some Boys by Patty Blount

Rating (Out of 5): ~4-4.5

Genre: YA Contemporary/Realistic Romance; Rape

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Release Date: August 5, 2014

Spoilers?: Not really.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells.

Teaser Tuesday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Some boys go too far. Some boys will break your heart. But one boy can make you whole.

When Grace meets Ian she's afraid. Afraid he'll reject her like the rest of the school, like her own family. After she accuses the town golden boy of rape, everyone turns against Grace. They call her a slut and a liar. But...Ian doesn't. He's funny and kind with secrets of his own.

But how do you trust the best friend of the boy who raped you? How do you believe in love?

A gut-wrenching, powerful love story told from alternating points of view by the acclaimed author of Send.

The Cover:

I like this cover. It's simple, the colors work well for the emotions in the book, and I like that the image represents Grace's turmoil and the emotions she's facing, and not the romance. It's fitting, and I like it. I also really like the tagline and title for the book, and think those fit and portray it really well.

Quotes:

• "'Hold your head up, Grace. Even when you’re dying inside—especially then—hold it up.’” (Paperback, 22)
• "'It’s not supposed to be easy. It’s right.’” (Pg. 271)

Review:

I think this book was what I wanted Not That Kind Of Girl to be. Because the girl message in this book, the rape one, was what I wanted to be said. Maybe it didn’t go quite as far in everyone else’s minds at the end, but it was there like I wanted it to be.

Grace gets drunk and then raped by the golden boy of the town, and even though she tells everyone and she goes to the police, no one believes her and everyone turns against her. Her friends turn away, her parents are kind of supportive, her teachers are absolutely no help, and everyone at school talks about her like she’s a slut. They think she just wants revenge because he dumped her.

I loved that Grace doesn’t hide. She doesn’t pretend that it didn’t happen, and she doesn’t shy away from what it was, and even though everyone is being terrible to her, she doesn’t lose her confidence about it. It’s really hard, but she sticks to her guns through it all.

I also really respect the way everyone else was portrayed. They frustrated the hell out of me, and I hated every one of them, but they were realistic. It disgusted me, even, the way that everyone turned on her and acted like women are there for sex, like if she’s drinking and/or dressed revealingly, she’s asking for it. It’s horrible and disgusting and I hate it, but it’s true that people think like this. I don’t understand it, but it’s true.

I appreciated having Ian’s point of view, because he agrees with everyone else, and it takes a while for him to finally understand. I also like the way that Grace dressed to take a stand, but how the repercussions of that was also pointed out to her. It was nice that all points of view were covered and shown realistically.

There was also a high technology aspect added here, the way that teenagers video and take pictures of everything nowadays. I hadn't quite thought of it before, and some of it even scared me a little, but it was realistic and I like how it was added.

I am supremely impressed with this book. It said what I have been wanting a book, a portrayal of women and rape and sex, to finally say. I don’t think I can recommend this book highly enough.