about the book
Romy Grey isn’t from the best part of town, but after she was raped, she would have never imagined that her rapist, Kellan Turner, would avoid blame. Or that she would be labeled a liar and face even more anguish for telling the truth. But that’s exactly what happens. Handsome Kellan Turner-the sheriff’s son and a football player-is respected in the community, and everyone believes him rather than Romy.
After telling the truth about being raped, Romy loses her friends and is harassed and bullied by her classmates. Her only solace is at the diner out of town where she works. Here, nobody knows what happened, and Romy remains comfortably anonymous.
The shame inflicted by the community has silenced Romy, but when a girl goes missing after a party and news spreads of another girl being assaulted, Romy knows that if she doesn’t speak up, more girls will become victims.
If Rumy speaks up, she risks increasing her own torment, but can she bear what will happen if she remains silent?
about the author
Courtney Summers grew up and continues to live and write in Ontario, Canada. She left school at age 14 in order to pursue an independent education, and by the time she was 18, she decided to be a writer. She says that writing is something that she always liked doing, so she decided to try writing novels.
So far she has written five novels. Her first novel, Cracked up to Be, published when Courtney was 22, won the 2009 CYBIL award in YA fiction.
Courtney enjoys video games, horror movies, and contemplating the zombie apocalypse. (In fact, her novel This is Not a Test takes place during a zombie apocalypse.) However, Courtney doesn’t think she would handle the situation very well. Even so, she can’t give away her survival plan because that would lessen her chances of survival.
Sources:
Author website
Author interview: YouTube
Also by Courtney Summers:
This Is Not a Test. St. Martin’s Griffin. 2012.
Fall for Anything. St. Martin’s Griffin. 2010.
Some Girls Are. St. Martin’s Griffin. 2010.
Cracked Up to Be. St. Martin’s Griffin. 2009.
read more!
Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers
Parker had the perfect life as a cheerleader with the perfect boyfriend, but her friends and family worry when she leaves that all behind. She quits the cheerleading squad, leaves her boyfriend, and begins failing classes. Her parents are worried about suicide, but her counselors don’t take her seriously. Only Parker knows what really happened to cause this, and she can’t even say it to herself. Nobody will leave her alone, but being alone is the one thing Parker thinks might make everything okay.
Inexcusable by Chris Lynch
Keir, high-school senior and football player, considers himself a pretty good guy. For that reason, he makes excuses for engaging in the inexcusable—paralyzing an opposing player, drinking heavily, vandalism, and date rape. The girl he likes, Gigi, who has accused him of raping her on graduation night, must surely be wrong.
Punch Like a Girl by Karen Krossing
Tori is raped by her ex-boyfriend, but rather than tell anyone, she begins lashing out physically. After attacking a stranger, she is required to volunteer in a shelter for victims of domestic violence. There she befriends a young girl named Casey. When Casey is abducted, Tori’s life is turned upside-down. She blames herself for not preventing the abduction, and then finds herself once again face-to-face with her ex-boyfriend.