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Rape Girl (2012)

by Alina Klein(Favorite Author)

3.95 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

1608981231 (ISBN13: 9781608981236)

languge

English

genre

Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction

publisher

namelos

review 1: The 1999 publication of Speak, written by Laurie Halse Anderson, was met with a storm of both controversy from the right, and praise from the left. This was due to both the subject matter and the target audience - a novel about the realities of rape, intended for young adults. Since Speak, writers have produced similar novels: Just Listen by Sarah Dessen, Scars by Cheryl Rainfield, and many more. In her 2012 novel, Rape Girl, Alina Klein joins the growing number of writers trying to portray the effects of rape from a victim's perspective. Such a perspective is important, as many people might not understand what a rape victim goes through, and might only think of rape from a stereotypical standpoint. The most common stereotype of rape is that a rape is always a violent enco... moreunter, often done by someone unknown to the victim: for example, a rapist jumping out of a dark alley on a city street in the middle of the night to rape a lone pedestrian, or a jogger being attacked by a rapist on a wooded path. The book aims to counter common misconceptions by depicting a realistic situation, and the effects that follow. Because of this, Klein's novel is an effective depiction of the realities of rape, and helps to clear common misunderstandings to readers of any age. Rape Girl is not an easy read. But what Klein packs into its 126 pages is not overtly shocking material; rather, the normal and identifiable nature of the writing is what gives this novel the ability to affect the reader at a more personal level. The main character is a teenaged girl named Valerie who lives with her widowed mother and younger sister, Ainsley, in a small town in Utah. The book does not hesitate to present the situation immediately: Val had been raped at a party. Thus, the bulk of the work deals with the after-effects of the incident, after Val tells the police and word gets around that she did so. This includes everything from Val's social life, to her family life, to the legal ramifications. Many of the details in the story make this book seem better suited to showing a general audience what a rape victim goes through, rather than teaching rape victims to speak up about what happened to them (as in Speak). Instead of being met with sympathy, Val's confession hurts her social life, drawing comments from classmates such as “Sucks to be her” and “I used to think she was pretty, but now she just looks like all kinds of bitch” (Klein 42). People Val thought she trusted turned on her and acted differently due to her confession. This highlighting of negatives is carried throughout the book, which, unlike Speak, does not have a happy ending with Val being finally understood by her peers. Instead, this book is intended to show how difficult things are for rape victims, and to cast out misconceptions that can hurt victims even more. Before looking more closely at Rape Girl, an analysis of the social context surrounding the novel is helpful. Are people really that ignorant about rape? Wouldn't people already sympathize with rape victims as they should, without needing a book to tell them how distressing rape is? Sadly, a look at current social attitudes shows that people's views on rape are still discouragingly inaccurate. This is worsened by the fact that many people have moral objections to spreading rape awareness in an accurate and explicit way. The reaction to Anderson's Speak is a prime example of this. While the novel was met with much critical acclaim, a large number of more conservative reviewers were not so pleased. In one such negative article, “Filthy Books Demeaning to Republic Education,” Wesley Scroggins, associate professor at Missouri State University, lambasts Speak in particular, as well as similar materials used to teach sex education in the Republic, Missouri school district (Scroggins). He calls the “filthy” books a misuse of taxpayer money, and closes out his article by urging action to stop teaching these books: “How can Christian men and women expose children to such immorality? Parents, it is time you get involved!” (Scroggins). Indeed, the editor's note adds that certain books were removed from the sex ed curriculum (with others being put up for review), and that the Republic school district teaches abstinence-only sex ed - which parents can opt their child out of. So then, why should we care about spreading rape awareness in a small, southern, conservative city such as Republic (not too different from Val's town)? It certainly doesn't seem like the stereotypical environment for rape to even occur in the first place. But like many stereotypes of rape, that proves to be false, as evidenced by a despicably mishandled incident that happened at none other than Republic Middle School (Murray). A girl was harassed, assaulted, and raped during the 2008-09 school year, and told school officials about it. When school officials did not believe her story, she recanted, and was allegedly made to write a letter of apology to the boy. She was then suspended for the remainder of the school year, and referred to juvenile authorities for filing a false report. Upon returning to school the next year, she continued to endure harassment from the same boy, and was raped again. This time, she immediately sought help, and was able to provide DNA evidence of the rapist, who was taken into custody. The district denied wrongdoing, and claimed that the girl neglected to use reasonable means to protect herself. This incident shows that rape does occur in many different situations, and teaching people to speak up about rape is important – even if some have moral objections, such as Scroggins does. It's impossible to tell for sure, but perhaps a reading of a book such as Speak or even Rape Girl would have given the girl enough courage to proactively tell the truth about what happened to her, instead of crumbling under the pressure of skepticism. Clearly, people's attitudes about rape are not what they should be. Much of this is due to the common stereotypes of rape, as mentioned above. Rape Girl seeks to negate these stereotypes. In the book, the rape occurs after a party, when Val wakes up from a night of drinking to Adam, the perpetrator. “My stomach wrenched and I struggled against his weight. He laughed softly. 'Just relax,' he said.” (Klein 47). This depiction shows how rape isn't necessarily a violent incident. Some might think that a lack of violence would mean that it's not rape, but this isn't always true. In addition, Adam (whom Val had already known well) clearly didn't make himself out to be a rapist, despite the encounter being forced. He says, “It's not like I'm some pervert out lurking on a jogging trail somewhere waiting for a victim. I'm just a guy, not a rapist.” (Klein 83). The scene describes an example of a rape that many would be skeptical of from an outsider's perspective, since it doesn't follow the common understandings of rape. This is not too dissimilar to the Republic Middle School case, since a rape occurring in a middle school might seem unlikely to many, but rape can take many forms. Jessica Valenti's article, “America's Rape Problem,” talks about how damaging people's ignorance of rape is. She writes: “It's time to acknowledge that the rape epidemic in the United States is not just about the crimes themselves, but our own cultural and political willful ignorance” (Valenti). This is a very accurate assessment, as many of the problems that rape victims must deal with are due more to ignorance, rather than the crime itself (as in the Republic case). Klein's Rape Girl is an attempt to help remedy that ignorance, by presenting young people with a realistic situation, and the events that surround it. Overall, the novel does this well, and succeeds in what it sets out to do.Citations:Klein, Alina. Rape Girl. South Hampton, NH: Namelos, 2012. Print. Valenti, Jessica. "America's Rape Problem: We Refuse to Admit That There Is One" Thenation.com. The Nation, 04 Jan. 2013. Web. 07 Mar. 2013.Scroggins, Wesley. "Filthy Books Demeaning to Republic Education." News-leader.com. Gannet, 17 Sept. 2010. Web. 07 Mar. 2013. Murray, Rheana. "Republic Middle School in Lawsuit after Ignoring, Expelling Student Who Claimed She Was Raped." Nydailynews.com. NY Daily News, 21 Aug. 2011. Web. 07 Mar. 2013.
review 2: A very quick read, although, I will forewarn you that it could be emotionally disturbing for you or triggering if you have had any personal experience with sexual assault. I chose this book for a book club that I am running through the Rape Crisis Center that I work for, A Safe Place. I am hoping to have some engaging conversations about the pain and suffering that surviviors of sexual assault often face after the assault. This story truly does a wonderful job of opening ones eyes to the negative things that survivors face after an assault...loss of friends, stares, rumors, and an unfair justice system to name a few. I definitely recommend it. less

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