Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf

Something DID happen to Ali Greenleaf. It happened to Blythe and Sean as well, but in dramatically different ways, Reality is sometimes too much to handle, and this young adult novel offers up many bitter pills that I would just as soon not swallow.  All fiction, even science fiction and fantasy, has roots in truth - truths examining people's motives, decisions, and actions, or revealing wants, needs, and dreams.  While reading this book, I caught myself shaking my head in disbelief, and questioning my blindness to so much of the world around me.

Pretty, naïve Ali goes to a party with the intention of snagging some personal time with Sean, the  most desirable boy in school.  She gets her time and far worse.  She gets pinned to a bedroom floor, hand tightly covering her face.  And she gets raped.  As expected, from there her world spins out of control. Like most rape victims, she blames herself.  Her feeling are conflicted and confusing as she tries to move though the day to day knowing that she somehow is now different.

Blythe, stranger to Ali, but lifelong friend to Sean, has been "assigned" to convince Ali that what happened was a misunderstanding, that Sean was not in his right mind and that he is sorry. No one call it Rape. Not even Ali.  It was just something that happened,  This is where it gets dicey.  During her attempts to "help" Ali, Blythe flashes back to secret initiations performed yearly with upper class boys and freshmen girls. These scenes are graphic, surprising, and sickening.  Her mind spins, reliving, evaluating, and eventually raising her consciousness. 

Sean, a minor player in many senses, spends time trying to get people to cover for him, and attempting
to justify  his past indiscretions.

This novel is tough. It is rough and brutal.  Not since reading John Krakauer's Missoula have I been so stunned at the the reality of rape culture among our young kids.  Some reviews call this a must-read for every parent with teenage daughters.  Perhaps. Yes. 

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Stay safe, healthy, and happy.