Heavily inspired by the Steubenville case of 2012, this novel packs a serious punch. Stacey Stallard is known throughout her school as a ‘loser’. She comes from the wrong side of town and many look down on her. The night she goes to a party and gets so drunk she can’t remember anything is the night so many lives in this small town change forever.
Unlike other books that deal with similar topics, our narrative is told from the viewpoint of another female student rather than the victim. Katie used to be friends with Stacey, she drank with her on the night of the party but then a close friend took her home and she was unaware of what happened later.
As we quickly learn, Stacey has accused a number of the stars of the basketball team of raping her. Sides are quickly taken, and the small town falls into line behind the boys who are regarded widely as heroes. For Katie, this crime is not so easy to ignore.
There is video evidence circulating of the crime that many say didn’t happen, or that Stacey brought on herself through her behaviour. When Katie herself sees the clip, she realises a tough decision has to be made. Does she turn the other way (like so many of her peers) or does she speak out?
There’s no doubt that Katie will do the morally right thing. What I thought was interesting was that this novel focuses on exploring the rationale of all the others who actually witnessed this and did nothing.
Alongside this painful narrative, we have the emotionally upsetting story that focuses on Katie and her best friend, Ben. Friends since they were five, they have always been close. Ben is one of the good guys, and he and Katie – in the aftermath of this party – end up starting a relationship. Unfortunately, Ben has his own problems and these definitely affect his decisions. Suddenly, nobody is quite what they seem.
As I felt when I read Louise O’Neill’s ‘Asking for It’, this made me angry. Angry that we live in a world where this can happen. Angry that we have become so selfish that many of us will turn the other cheek when we see something awful happening. Angry, above all, that there are still people who think stories such as this are the fault of the victim. While this is unpleasant reading, I think it’s the kind of book that every teenager and their parents should have to read.