"Hold your head up, Grace. Even when you're dying inside--especially then--hold it up."

When Grace meets Ian, she's afraid. Afraid he'll reject her like the rest of the school, like her own family. After she accuses Zac, the town golden boy, of rape, everyone turns against her. Ian wouldn't be the first to call her a slut and a liar.Except Ian doesn't reject her. He's the one person who looks past the taunts and the names and the tough-girl act to see the real Grace. He's the one who gives her the courage to fight back.He's also Zac's best friend.
-Amazon

I chanced upon Some Boys by Patty Blount one day during my lunch hour, drawn to its cover and excited at the prospect of watching a relationship blossom in the midst of tough odds. I love stories like that. What I got was a heartfelt story of a girl named Grace who is raped by the popular athlete in town, and his best friend named Ian who decides to go against the tide. 

Grace, aptly named, is a wonderful heroine. She endures horrible persecution, after being violated in the worst way possible, with such strength, even in the midst of her own anxiety. She forges forward in spite of friends who have turned against her to gain popularity, and pathetic adults who turn their sights away from a girl crying for help, in favor of who may become the next lacrosse champion. Ian, on the other hand, sits back and observes Grace's pain, until he can't help but unscramble the jumble of scenarios gossiped in hallways. After long, Ian cannot shake the nagging feeling that there's more going on than a girls' vengeful fight to tarnish his best friends' reputation, and he must choose either to side with his friends comfortably, or to stand up and be ridiculed.

Patty Blount has crafted a great story with strong arguments about the sad reality a woman faces when she opens up about rape. Within the first few chapters, I found myself livid, not merely by the lack of support from her peers, but more of her teachers and parents. Perhaps it's obvious, that the adults in her life would have minds just as fickle as her peers, but God help every young woman/man who's ever in this situation if these are the adults 'supporting' them. It's unforgivable that anyone could turn their attentions away from a girl who's obviously traumatized and allow her to be taunted in the hallways of her school. Blount also crafted a wonderful character in Ian, realistically showcasing his conflict over believing Grace, or siding with his friend.

I wished that Ian and his friendship with Grace were more well rounded. Aside from being an athlete, I wanted more of what makes Ian tick. I'm told that Ian and Grace are drawn to each other, and right then, I'm ready for the ride, but I wanted to know what draws them towards each other. It would have been awesome to experience more in depth conversations. It seemed that aside from a few short occasions, they only really talked of the situation at hand. I just needed that extra punch.

Bare in mind: Some Boys contains allusions to disturbing scenarios, rape, and profanity.

There's are only a few things that can stir me up, and 'rape culture' is one of them. It's unfathomable that a man can sit back, his arms crossed lazily over his chest, claim to be strong, powerful, and intelligent, and yet in the same breath claim that any woman, man, or child made him lose control. It is unfathomable that men who are raised to be warriors somehow lack the propensity to control themselves sexually. I'm scratching my head right now just thinking, this issue doesn't need an eloquent dissertation, it only needs men willing to stand up and take responsibility for their actions, and learn to cultivate respect for the people around them. It takes people unwilling to perpetuate this disregard for others. To support their sons and daughters when they vulnerably open up in confidence. It hurts to know that there are people everywhere opening up about their experiences, and being treated as if it's all in their imagination.

Perhaps we have a long way to go, but that's all it takes.

If you, or anyone you know, have been the victim of sexual assault (or would like more information on how to help) please contact the wonderful folks at RAINN (1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

You're all always in my thoughts and prayers.

"What a treacherous thing it is to believe that a person is more than a person."

ND Tunes | D'arline by The Civil Wars

When Margo Roth Spiegelman beckons Quentin Jacobsen in the middle of the night—dressed like a ninja and plotting an ingenious campaign of revenge—he follows her. Margo’s always planned extravagantly, and, until now, she’s always planned solo. After a lifetime of loving Margo from afar, things are finally looking up for Q . . . until day breaks and she has vanished. Always an enigma, Margo has now become a mystery. But there are clues. And they’re for Q.Printz Medalist John Green returns with the trademark brilliant wit and heart-stopping emotional honesty that have inspired a new generation of readers. -Amazon

Dear Blue,

I finished it! I finally understand what Margo Roth Spiegelman means to everyone!

I spent all summer trying to finish this book (and believe me, this is in no way, evidence that Paper Towns is a boring novel). It's just been one of those summers of noncommittal reading. I also started a book club of sorts with a lovely girl when we both discovered our love for YA...she actually lives around the corner from me, believe it or not. I had recently started Paper Towns, and she had begun a reread of the same, and we both decided that it should be the first of many books in our makeshift club. But you know what happens when you have an obligation to read...it lays dormant at the bottom of my bag, ignored for other novels, left on my bed when I meant to pick it up... Either way, the important part is that I finally finished it during the past week.

Paper Towns by John Green is about Quentin Jacobsen and his unparalleled fascination with the adventurous and enigmatic girl next door, Margo Roth Spiegelman. More importantly, it's a story about a journey towards truly knowing someone.

Everyone has a Margo Roth Spiegelman in their lives. That one person that almost seems mythic in their conception. Floating just above the mundane nuances of everyday life. Any time I surrender to a fevered crush, I look at each guy as if he's the single most fascinating person on the planet, and everything from the velvety tone of his voice, to the sound of his dress shoes on the carpet carries some form of poetry. And then one day, I walk into the communal area on my job, and watch as he nervously sops up steaming coffee frothing over the edge of his styrophone cup, and I realize he wakes up just as disgruntled on Mondays as everyone else does.

One of the most eye opening facets about this novel is how it reveals the ideas we have about people. Fantasies that we often choose over the real thing because it can be more fun to piece a person together like a paper doll, than to deal with someone of flesh and bone with feelings, emotions, and a host of flaws. This is the thing I think I love about John Green the most. He has the ability to make human again the person once untouchable. It's a lot of fun to read novels where the main character attracts that seemingly unattainable character, but it's gold to observe an author turn fantastical ideas on their heads, and make real life that magical thing we all should seek after.

I'll say that I wasn't as moved by this novel as I was by The Fault In Our Stars, but that doesn't diminish the truth it holds, and I recommend that you read this novel at least once.

Also, if you've read Paper Towns, you know how strongly Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass pulses through it. I've never read any of Whitman's work, but John Green has inspired me to jump in. Who knows. Maybe I'll highlight passages and leave it for someone special to find.

 Hugs and Love, 

 Britta