Thursday, October 6, 2016

Review: Wrecked


Title: Wrecked
Author: Maria Padian
Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers
Publication date: October 4th 2016
How I got this book: I got it as an arc through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
My rating: 5 stars

Goodreads synopsis:
Everyone has heard a different version of what happened that night at MacCallum College. Haley was already in bed when roommate, Jenny, arrived home shell-shocked from the wild Conundrum House party. Richard heard his housemate Jordan brag about a cute freshman he hooked up with. When Jenny formally accuses Jordan of rape, Haley and Richard find themselves pushed onto opposite sides of the school's investigation. But conflicting interests fueling conflicting versions of the story may make bringing the truth to light nearly impossible - especially when reputations, relationships, and whole futures are riding on the verdict.

My thoughts:
This book brings up a really important topic, especially with everything happening at schools right now. 

We don't read from the victim's perspective in this book, but her roommate, Haley. We also read from Richard's perspective, the roommate of the accused rapist. I found this as an interesting twist, because as readers, we don't ever know more than what Haley and Richard know. 

The story is gripping, and I found it really hard to put down. I wanted to keep reading, find out what happened and how everything was going to turn out. Though the main focus in the book is about the case, and finding out what happened, we also get to know Haley and Richard, and how their relationship evolves, despite being on two different sides.

I found the characters in this book to be really relatable, and likeable, most of the time. I really connected with Haley, and yes, she was selfish at times, but she's only human. We meet plenty of characters, and most of them felt like real people that you got to know.

Between each chapter we are also told what really happened, but only in small parts. We don't really know everything until the end of the book. 

I felt like this was a realistic story about sexual assault at colleges, and it was heartbreaking. The book is called Wrecked for a reason. We see how much resistance the victim gets through both the school, and the other students around them. It's great that authors are writing about it, and encourages the debate. This is a topic that needs to be addressed, and it's amazing that authors like Padian does it in such a wonderful way.

Buy this book?
Amazon (US)
Amazon (UK)
BookDepository (worldwide, affiliate link)
AdLibris (Norway)

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