Review: Rape Girl

Title: Rape Girl

Author: Alina Klein
Release Date: September 1st 2012
Publisher: namelos
Pages: 126
Source: Netgalley

Summary:

“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.”

My Thoughts: 

I never feel comfortable talking or reading about rape because of how intense and horrific it can be. While I have not read many books on the topic I was interested in this young adult version because I wanted to see a younger perspective on it. I wanted to see how a young girl would cope with the aftermath of such a horrifying event. Sadly though, Rape girl fell short for me. Now, don’t get me wrong, the story has some very powerful and realistic scenes that left me feeling raw.

I really wanted to connect to Valarie and feel all the pain and sorrow she had to go through, but I couldn’t really feel anything for her. This whole book is super short and to be honest it felt incomplete by the end and some chapters felt like they were put together at the last minute. I just didn’t have enough time with Valarie to actually develop strong enough feelings for her struggle. Also, I had a huge problem with her character too.

While Valarie went through an unforgivable experience, it deeply bothered me on how she seemed only concerned with how other’s would view her rather than trying to cope. It bothered me so much because I just couldn’t connect with that at all. I wanted to be in her mind and see how her mental health was after the event and see how she worked through that. The social aspect just really turned me off. I mean Valarie’s mother having her breakdown felt more realistic to me than anything else. It was just so frustrating, and the ending didn’t do anything for me either.

While this book missed the mark for me, I do see the importance of this story. Rape Girl is a powerful and graphic novel I feel would be great for young readers. While the story didn’t go into enough depth for me, I think it would be a great read for younger readers wanting a glimpse of tougher issues.

Rating: 2/5