Sexual Abuse Books

Identical

Ellen Hopkins

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 46 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

A very brave, interesting concept. It's in the execution where I think people will either love or hate this. 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Ellen Hopkins has put together a very creative book. The subject matter itself is harsh and gritty - twin sisters, one of whom is being molested by their father, but both of whom are feeling the fallout. Hopkins does amazing work with her concept - it is far deeper than one would imagine, and her book draws back even before the twins' birth to show where the seeds of their present torment were sown.

Why I'm ranking the book as only three out of five stars is the prose. Hopkins has taken a very original path with this, using free verse (a form that I personally dislike, and found a bit exhausting) as well as a very "slow build" approach. Artistically I think it was interesting, but I personally would not choose to try something else by this author. That is not a reflection on her work, which I thought was exceptional. I listened to this on audio book - the reader did a nice job, but I wonder if I might've been better off reading it on the page. Hard to say. Very interesting, however, and Ellen Hopkins certainly has a great deal of talent, as well as a lot of bravery to take on this subject matter in a YA novel.

Editorial Review:

Do twins begin in the womb?
Or in a better place?

Kaeleigh and Raeanne are identical down to the dimple. As daughters of a district-court judge father and a politician mother, they are an all-American family -- on the surface. Behind the facade each sister has her own dark secret, and that's where their differences begin.

For Kaeleigh, she's the misplaced focus of Daddy's love, intended for a mother whose presence on the campaign trail means absence at home. All that Raeanne sees is Daddy playing a game of favorites -- and she is losing. If she has to lose, she will do it on her own terms, so she chooses drugs, alcohol, and sex.

Secrets like the ones the twins are harboring are not meant to be kept -- from each other or anyone else. Pretty soon it's obvious that neither sister can handle it alone, and one sister must step up to save the other, but the question is -- who?

Speak

Laurie Halse Anderson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1182 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Since the beginning of the school year, high school freshman Melinda has found that it's been getting harder and harder for her to speak out loud: "My throat is always sore, my lips raw.... Every time I try to talk to my parents or a teacher, I sputter or freeze.... It's like I have some kind of spastic laryngitis." What could have caused Melinda to suddenly fall mute? Could it be due to the fact that no one at school is speaking to her because she called the cops and got everyone busted at the seniors' big end-of-summer party? Or maybe it's because her parents' only form of communication is Post-It notes written on their way out the door to their nine-to-whenever jobs. While Melinda is bothered by these things, deep down she knows the real reason why she's been struck mute...

Laurie Halse Anderson's first novel is a stunning and sympathetic tribute to the teenage outcast. The triumphant ending, in which Melinda finds her voice, is cause for cheering (while many readers might also shed a tear or two). After reading Speak, it will be hard for any teen to look at the class scapegoat again without a measure of compassion and understanding for that person--who may be screaming beneath the silence. (Ages 13 and older) --Jennifer Hubert

Forged By Fire

Sharon M. Draper

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 136 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Sharon Draper has indeed forged a fiery name for herself in the field of young adult literature--that of a courageous writer, willing to tackle tough, real-life problems while developing honorable, streetwise role models for troubled teens. Her previous novel, Tears of the Tiger, garnered much acclaim and became the first recipient of the Coretta Scott King Genesis Award. In this second novel, Draper weaves in characters from Tears--most significantly Gerald Nickleby, a young basketball player who discovers his innate strength and determination while protecting his stepsister's safety and his mother's honor.

Unfortunately, Draper's strengths (her desire to delve into tough social issues, such as child abuse, drug addiction, incest, bulimia, and domestic violence) become this book's weakness as the story line teeters on implausible. For example, in less than 20 pages Gerald faces the following: the death of a close friend (a passenger in a car that was driven by a drunk teammate); the discovery of his drunk, evil stepfather trying to sexually assault his younger stepsister; a brutal attack by his stepfather; and a raging apartment fire that threatens to kill them all. Nonetheless, Draper creates believable and important heroes for teenage boys--those who are forged from adversity, only to burn more brightly and courageous. (Ages 12 and older) --Gail Hudson

Darkness Before Dawn

Sharon M. Draper

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 34 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Fantastic!!! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This book is continuation of Tears of a Tiger. Keisha was Andy's girlfriend and now left with rest of her friends Ronda, Tyrone, BJ, Gerald, and Leon to survive without out their two friends Andy and Rob, who both died. Now in her senior year Keisha is selected class president and is having the best year. The principal's 23-year-old son is the new track coach and he has his eye on Keisha. Slowly Keisha begins to find comfort in 23-year-old Jonathan and starts going out with him. Soon the relationship takes a wrong turns when Jonathan takes Keisha to his apartment and tries to rape and kill her with his jack knife.
Sharon M. Draper is the greatest well-known writer that I know. I love his style of writing and how she brings her characters to live. Every book she ever made is great and I can't wait til she makes more.

Editorial Review:

Has Keisha found happiness at last?

In her senior year, things are finally looking a little brighter for Keisha. Still haunted by the suicide of her ex-boyfriend, Andy, she finds comfort in the attentions of the new track coach, twenty-three-year-old Jonathan Hathaway, the principal's son. How can Keisha not be swept off her feet by a tall, dark, handsome "lemon drop wrapped in licorice" who treats her like a woman, not a girl?

But suddenly this intoxicating relationship takes a frightening turn, and Keisha is once again plunged into the darkness she's fought so hard to escape. Will Keisha ever be able to find her way back into the light?

Tender Morsels

Margo Lanagan

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

My best of the year -- so far 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

Once upon a time, the skeleton of this story was called Snow-White and Rose-Red. Like all fairy tales, it left much unexplained. Too much. Well, Margo Lanagan took those bones and added muscle and guts, bracing the loose joints of the plot with her characters' emotions, motivations, and histories. That's the secret of successful retellings: fleshing out the gaps that relied almost entirely on the readers' willful ignorance or suspension of belief, yet still leaving room for the existence of magic. And Lanagan knows how to handle magic delicately enough to make it believable: Tender Morsels revolves around magical doings, but never degrades enchantment to the level of coincidence. The plot must bend to fit the whims of the magic, and never, ever the reverse. Yet the setting is so rich that it all feels impossibly real.

And the characters -- hoo, the characters. They are vivid, passionate, flawed, sometimes randy (but never gratuitous), and fiercely devoted to their hearts' desires. Desires tangled with magic, though, turn out to have more power than any one of them have bargained for.

It's been almost a week, and I am still basking and soaking in this story. It is deep, thick, and heavy, but not in the ways that makes reading tiresome. It isn't a book you finish and set aside -- you surface from it and wait for it to roll off you. (I know, I know -- I'm going all purple and gushy. Plus I've overshot my adjective quota without ever managing to work in "visceral." Crap.)

An about face: I am somewhat loathe to admit this is not a book for everyone. Not by a long shot. The switching points of view, the nature of the abuse Liga weathers, and the spattering of old world Britishy-Irishy dialect each have the potential to deter a number of readers.

However, if you loved the themes of sweetness and brutality in The Giver, the robust characters and setting of The Moorchild, and the emotional tone of Donna Jo Napoli's fairy tale-based novels, I'd lay odds you'll be content to envelop yourself for a few days in Tender Morsels. It is quite possibly THE best reading experience I've had so far this year.

Editorial Review:

Tender Morsels is a dark and vivid story, set in two worlds and worrying at the border between them. Liga lives modestly in her own personal heaven, a world given to her in exchange for her earthly life. Her two daughters grow up in this soft place, protected from the violence that once harmed their mother. But the real world cannot be denied forever—magicked men and wild bears break down the borders of Liga’s refuge. Now, having known Heaven, how will these three women survive in a world where beauty and brutality lie side by side?

Those are MY Private Parts

Diane Hansen

Amazon Price: $16.99 List Price: $16.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Empowerment Productions

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Simple and to the point 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

I did not know how to really approach the subject of private parts with my kids without getting into the whole "why are they private" dialogue. For me this discussion would have included a foray into social norms and customs and ended with "because I said so". This book gives the reader a tool to approach the subject with a simplicity and finality that lets the kids know that their private parts are private and that is the end of the story. I found that very helpful.

Editorial Review:

Its primary message is: "America, please teach our young children about their sexuality before the child molester does." In just 12 pages of rhyme, the book * gives parents a great starting point for having important, candid discussions with their children about recognizing and preventing sexual abuse * names the most common perpetrators of sexual abuse in clear, kid friendly language * informs children about the tactics perpetrators use to trick children * equips children with an action plan for telling trusted adults about abuse * empowers children to say "no" and to get righteously angry if abuse happens

Living Dead Girl

Elizabeth Scott

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 32 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

For mature readers only, be ready for some deep discussions on this one. 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

"It will be over soon, finally, but the thing about hearts is that they always want to keep beating."

Silent Ray

They call him "Silent Ray" at work. He likes that. He is in control. The police woman in the park likes him, too. They both feel sorry for the skinny, little girl because she doesn't look as if she has anyone caring for her. They agree that it's such a pity the way some children are treated. Ray hates to see them hurt. They're special and magical --- especially little girls. There are people out there, they call them "perverts," who do awful things to kids. Ray has no use for anything like that. He has his own little girl and takes very good care of her. She is his and does anything he says. Yes, he takes very good care of his "Alice." But something is happening to Alice --- she's getting taller, and no matter how little he lets her eat, she's growing. That's just not good. Something has to be done.

Living Dead Alice

Her name isn't really Alice. She used to be Kyla. She was 10 years old and thought the man was being so helpful. Now Kyla is dead because that is the only way to be with Ray. Her heart keeps beating, but it's dead. How can that be? Ray will kill her parents if she runs. If only they knew what happens when the door closes and he takes her. Sometimes he almost kills her and then kisses away the bruises, the bloodied lips, the torn flesh, the bite marks. She belongs to him. He is all-powerful, she is nothing. Ray's charm fools them all, but Alice knows:

"Ray is missing something other than his soul. It's like you see him, and he's a person, but if you look close enough, you can tell that he's not. Like underneath his skin, he's not hollow. He's rotted out."

She wants to be free, away from his hot hands, his grasping and his hurting. No one sees, no one hears, no one does anything to help her. If she dares save herself, what is the cost? Where is freedom? Could it be the boy in the park and his little sister? The police woman? The neighbor? Please, somebody, before it's too late, too late, too late.

Like Robert Cormier, Elizabeth Scott has dared to take a picture no one wants to see. This is, without question, one of the most emotionally difficult reads I've experienced. Any parent will cringe at the flawless way Ray is able to kidnap Kyla. Anyone reading this book will be so horrified they won't want to finish it, yet they will not be able to put it down. Scott's spare language, as she speaks through Alice's character, is powerful, gripping and heart-wrenching. The final page will leave you stunned. For mature readers only, be ready for some deep discussions on this one.

--- Reviewed by Sally M. Tibbetts

Editorial Review:

Once upon a time, I was a little girl who disappeared.

Once upon a time, my name was not Alice.

Once upon a time, I didn't know how lucky I was.

When Alice was ten, Ray took her away from her family, her friends -- her life. She learned to give up all power, to endure all pain. She waited for the nightmare to be over.

Now Alice is fifteen and Ray still has her, but he speaks more and more of her death. He does not know it is what she longs for. She does not know he has something more terrifying than death in mind for her.

This is Alice's story. It is one you have never heard, and one you will never, ever forget.

Inexcusable

Chris Lynch

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 31 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Fabulous young adult (or old adult) read 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

The novel opens with the haunting first line "The way it looks is not the way it is" - whoa! Keir is a graduating high school senior with a best-friend/dad, and two sisters. He drinks way too much, is liked by everyone, and is a self proclaimed good guy. Between Keir narrating his final year of school and giving a brief bio on his life for our sake, he fills the reader in with his current situation - which is shady at best. Without revealing too much of the plot, he is alone, with the girl he loves, defending his good guy status. Again, WHOA!

This book is spooky, creepy, and intriguing all over the place. The best part about it is the reader hardly realizes how creepy and what a thriller the novel actually is until the ending. The author's choice of telling the story from Keir's first person perspective is amazing, and really shapes the book. All of the character development, insight, emotions, and appeal are completely based on the reader's interpretation of the events and the story. I wouldn't say it's a nail biter, it's much too subtle for that...but it is a page turner all the way.

Editorial Review:

"I am a good guy. Good guys don't do bad things. Good guys understand that no means no, and so I could not have done this because I understand."

Keir Sarafian knows many things about himself. He is a talented footballplayer, a loyal friend, a devoted son and brother. Most of all, he is agood guy.

And yet the love of his life thinks otherwise. Gigi says Keir has donesomething awful. Something unforgivable.

Keir doesn't understand. He loves Gigi. He would never do anything tohurt her. So Keir carefully recounts the events leading up to that onefateful night, in order to uncover the truth. Clearly, there has been amistake.

But what has happened is, indeed, something inexcusable.

Just Listen

Sarah Dessen

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 119 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Wonderful, Real, And Engaging 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This is the first Sarah Dessen book I have picked up, and randomly at that since this one looked the most interesting on her almost mini shrine at Borders Express. It blew me away. The characters were well-developed, and the author showed many unique qualities about each of them and gave us insight into the even the smallest characters. The dialouge was real and not forced. I felt transported to a high school and felt everything Annabel did.
Annabel Greene is a part-time model and seems like she has the perfect life. If you look through her glass house, all you see is the exterior though; not her real thoughts. The girl she thought was her best friend dumped her rudely and meanly at a party, and although the whole situation was underestimated, Annabel can't and won't tell anyone what happened that May night. Alone at school, Annabel becomes friends with the music loving and honest Owen, who had anger issues at one point but now has recovered and teaches Annabel about his way of thinking. But Annabel doesn't just have her former friend Sophie to deal with: her older sister Whitney suffers from an eating disorder, and the whole family is concentrated on her recovery. Annabel doesn't want to tell anyone anything at the risk of them getting hurt; as she tells Owen, she is a nice liar.
One thing that made this book so real was the thoughts that came to Annabel along the way, the revelations she had. It gives the reader a whole new perspective on the young adult world. I do not think anything can top this book: it was so real and wise that it might never be repeated again.
The author doesn't let any character get away, a depth is disocvered in each one. There were funny moments, there were sad moments, yet this book wasn't predictable or unpredictable: it was life, and that is what made it great.

Editorial Review:

Last year, Annabel was "the girl who has everything"—at least that’s the part she played in the television commercial for Kopf ’s Department Store.This year, she’s the girl who has nothing: no best friend because mean-but-exciting Sophie dropped her, no peace at home since her older sister became anorexic, and no one to sit with at lunch. Until she meets Owen Armstrong. Tall, dark, and music-obsessed, Owen is a reformed bad boy with a commitment to truth-telling.With Owen’s help,maybe Annabel can face what happened the night she and Sophie stopped being friends.

In this multi-layered, impossible-to-put-down book, Sarah Dessen tells the story of a year in the life of a family coming to terms with the imperfections beneath its perfect facade.

Invisible Girls: The Truth About Sexual Abuse--A Book for Teen Girls, Young Women, and Everyone Who Cares About Them

Patti Feuereisen

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 27 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Dr. Patti Feuereisen has been working with teenage girls for twenty-five years and has been a pioneer in helping abused girls find their voices. What she discovered in listening to hundreds of girls was not only that sexual abuse of young girls is in fact epidemic, but if the abuse can be processed when girls are still young—in their teens and early twenties—remarkable healing can take place. Girls and young women who are given an opportunity to speak out will most often go on to thrive as adults; without such an opportunity the traumatic effects of their abuse will often continue to cause them difficulty long into adulthood.

Invisible Girls weaves together powerful first-person narratives with gentle guidance and seasoned insights to help girls through the maze of feelings that swirl around the abuse experience. This gives every young woman who struggles with the scars of sexual abuse the courage that comes from knowing that she is not alone, while other girls come out from behind the veil of secrecy to become vibrant, healthy, and whole.