Friday, January 7, 2011

Book Review: The Mockingbirds

I read this book awhile ago, but it's so good (it even made my Ten Favorite Reads of 2010 list) that I can't pass it by.

The Mockingbirds Some schools have honor codes.
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.


This book is a realistic look at what goes through a girl's mind when she is date raped. When dealing with tough issues like this, some books tend to get a little preachy, but not so with The Mockingbirds.

The story follows Alex through all her feelings toward the situation, as well as her everyday life at Themis. For me, it was frustrating to see how little the faculty actually cared about the students. To think anyone could just look the other way when there is trouble upset me. I know there are schools out there just like this, so even though it made me mad, it felt real.

All of the characters are generally likeable, except Carter, but you aren't supposed to like him anyway. My favorite part of the book was Alex's strong character. At first she doesn't want to make a big deal about it, but her realization that what Carter did is wrong (even if she can't remember everything that happened), shows growth. I like it when a character has a big hurdle to climb over like that.

Overall, The Mockingbirds is a great book that tackles a tough topic, but still managed to make me laugh at a few parts. It really makes me think about how oblivious adults can be when something is staring them right in the face.

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2 comments:

  1. I absolutely have to read this book--glad to hear you liked it so much! It sounds like a powerful read.

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  2. I finished this book over the Christmas holidays. It was good. Alex was definitely a real character. I hated Carter, so the author did a good job with his character.

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