Others have handbooks.
Themis Academy has the Mockingbirds.
Themis Academy is a quiet boarding school with an exceptional student body that the administration trusts to always behave the honorable way--the Themis Way. So when Alex is date raped during her junior year, she has two options: stay silent and hope someone helps her, or enlist the Mockingbirds--a secret society of students dedicated to righting the wrongs of their fellow peers.
In this honest, page-turning account of a teen girl's struggle to stand up for herself, debut author Daisy Whitney reminds readers that if you love something or someone--especially yourself--you fight for it.
My Thoughts:
I had heard so much buzz over this novel and I was anxiously waiting to get my hands on it from my library. I definitely loved this book. Alex is a good girl, not one to drink and definitely not one to go home with a random guy after a party. But at the beginning of this novel that's exactly the situation Alex is in. She has woken up in a strange bed, aware that something happened, but unsure what exactly. When she sees the strange guy with her she knows something terrible happened. After piecing together the events that took place she is left with options. Forget about what took place, go to the school who will look away from it seeing as the boy in question is a star athlete, or go to The Mockingbirds, the secret society the students at her school created to act as a disciplinary board since the school cannot be relied on.
This book handles a sensitive subject perfectly. I could feel the emotions Alex was feeling right along with her as she dealt with what happened to her and then struggled to decide ultimately what to do about it. Secret societies are often played up by Hollywood to be evil and cult-like so it was interesting and fun to read about one that was for the side of justice. Sadly, schools are known to look away from things like assault and bullying if the person accused is a star athlete, even if the school claims to have a zero tolerance policy. I loved that this society was formed to protect students when the school wouldn't. Can you imagine how many lives may have been saved if there was a society like this for teens today to utilize at their schools. In an age where bullying has become an issue heard about daily and most suicides are linked to bullying then a society like this to help bullied, assaulted, and used students would be wonderful. Who knows, maybe somewhere there are teens who read this book who have created something like the society in this book. If so, kudos to them.
The Rivals, the sequel to The Mockingbirds, comes out in 2012 and I know I will be waiting anxiously for it. I can't wait to read more about this society.
Grade: A
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