Should books like this exist? God, no. Kids shouldn't have to know things like this exist in the world. But that's a simple answer for a world we don't live in.

Having experienced sexual abuse from an authority figure over the span of many years as a child, I wonder what it would have been like if I knew that it wasn't just me - if I knew that it happened to other people too, that it was not my fault (nor was it the fault of any child that it happened to), if I knew that his threats about what would happen if I were to tell someone were baseless, if I knew that adults would believe me. What could it be like if adults that thought they had power over children in this way knew that these things were discussed in school, that the child would know what was happening wasn't right, that the child would tell someone?

Look, man. I don't know. It's not an easy answer for something that's not an easy situation. I truly don't think this is a book I would readily recommend to a middle grade student, and I don't know how I would feel if I had a son or daughter and they brought this book home from the school library. That's tough stuff that I wouldn't want in their world - but also, what would it have been like for me if I had found this book on the shelves in my middle school library?

All of this being said, it's a well written and powerful book - nothing less than I would expect from the author of my favorite series of all time, The War That Saved My Life (if you haven't read it and you thought this book was good - please do yourself a favor and pick that one up).

Della and Suki were well written characters with believable reactions, and I thought all of the side characters were also done well. There's not much more than I can say, honestly. It's a damn good book about a topic that shouldn't exist to be written about, but here we are.

Find resources at RAINN (Rape, Abuse, & Incest Nat'l Network):
Chat online at: online.rainn.org
Call someone who can help: 800.656.4673

RAINN is the nation's largest anti-sexual violence organization. RAINN created and operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline in partnership with more than 1,000 local sexual assault service providers across the country.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, help is available.