After reading and falling completely in love with Jenny Downham's 'Before I Die' (placing it in my top 10 books of all time), I expected great things from 'You Against Me.' I'm in the process of reading it for the second time and I think it's definitely worth a read.
Downham likes to write about difficult and sometimes controversial topics and does so in language that is almost poetic. 'You Against Me' is no different.
Written in third person, from both Mikey and Ellie's perspective, this novel is not a typical love story. Ellie Parker's brother, Tom, has been accused of rape, the victim being Mikey Mckenzie's younger sister, Karyn. We see an unlikely relationship develop between Mikey and Ellie, but it's in no way cliche.
However, I don't feel this review should focus on the 'love' aspect of the novel. 'You Against Me' presents to us the bleak society in which we live in. A society that when a woman is the victim of a sexual crime, some element of blame is placed upon her.
Being an avid follower of twitter accounts such as 'Everyday Sexism,' I'm quite passionate about cases such as these. One of the most recent cases of victim blaming is the Jennifer Lawrence nude scandal. Whereas she is being ridiculed for taking the photos in the first place, the hacker is being congratulated (of course I know not everyone feels this way.)
In 'You Against Me', it is almost uncomfortable to read the instances of victim blaming. Especially when Karyn's mum asks herself whether things would be different if Karyn didn't go back to Tom's house/ drink so much/ stay with her friends. Ellie's parents are infuriating. Never has a character made me grit my teeth in anger as much as Ellie's dad in the last few chapters.
The only issue I have with this book is that although Mikey and Ellie's relationship is portrayed beautifully, it sometimes appears unrealistic. It moves too fast for me, and I don't feel like the correct emotions are explored thoroughly enough. Anger between them seems to last the whole of two minutes before they are cosying back up into each other's arms again.
Ellie is a particularly frustrating character to me. I didn't find her completely likeable, which is odd for a main character. I'm not expecting all female characters to be like disney princesses, but I expect some qualities I can allow myself to be drawn into. There's nothing outrageous about her to dislike, and I think Downham does an incredible job of describing a sixteen year old girl whose older brother has been accused of rape, with her being the only witness. She's just a bit of a drip.
Overall, I give this book a 4 out of 5. It had me hooked enough to read it in a couple of sittings (I find it really hard to concentrate when reading books since doing my degree. Does anyone else find that?) However, I honestly don't think it's as good as her first novel. But saying that, it's still worth a read, and is one of those books that I think should be taught in school to create discussion.
However, I don't feel this review should focus on the 'love' aspect of the novel. 'You Against Me' presents to us the bleak society in which we live in. A society that when a woman is the victim of a sexual crime, some element of blame is placed upon her.
Being an avid follower of twitter accounts such as 'Everyday Sexism,' I'm quite passionate about cases such as these. One of the most recent cases of victim blaming is the Jennifer Lawrence nude scandal. Whereas she is being ridiculed for taking the photos in the first place, the hacker is being congratulated (of course I know not everyone feels this way.)
In 'You Against Me', it is almost uncomfortable to read the instances of victim blaming. Especially when Karyn's mum asks herself whether things would be different if Karyn didn't go back to Tom's house/ drink so much/ stay with her friends. Ellie's parents are infuriating. Never has a character made me grit my teeth in anger as much as Ellie's dad in the last few chapters.
The only issue I have with this book is that although Mikey and Ellie's relationship is portrayed beautifully, it sometimes appears unrealistic. It moves too fast for me, and I don't feel like the correct emotions are explored thoroughly enough. Anger between them seems to last the whole of two minutes before they are cosying back up into each other's arms again.
Ellie is a particularly frustrating character to me. I didn't find her completely likeable, which is odd for a main character. I'm not expecting all female characters to be like disney princesses, but I expect some qualities I can allow myself to be drawn into. There's nothing outrageous about her to dislike, and I think Downham does an incredible job of describing a sixteen year old girl whose older brother has been accused of rape, with her being the only witness. She's just a bit of a drip.
Overall, I give this book a 4 out of 5. It had me hooked enough to read it in a couple of sittings (I find it really hard to concentrate when reading books since doing my degree. Does anyone else find that?) However, I honestly don't think it's as good as her first novel. But saying that, it's still worth a read, and is one of those books that I think should be taught in school to create discussion.
This book sounds so interesting! My usual reading list just involves girly romances but this sounds like it has a bit of an edge so I might have to check it out ! Great review xx
ReplyDeleteAisling | rosysmiles.blogspot.co.uk
I love books that are a bit controversial! xx
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