I could not put this book down. It is not an easy subject matter. It is definitely not an easy book to read. I do think it is an important one. It is one I would tell friends to read with their teenagers and talk about it. It is one that I would tell those moms and dads listen carefully and with an open, no judgment mind when they talk to their teenager. Nothing will be easy about that. The act and what happened after will make you uncomfortable. Listening to your child may make you, and them, uncomfortable. That’s okay because that is how you know growth and change are not only possible but happening. Read this book. Talk about it. Pass it on. ( )

Maddy is gang raped after a play in March and her life spirals downward. When she has to be in class with two of the boys who were there, she almost cannot cope. She is threatened so she won't tell ans in fear most of the time. A class story in English, where everyone writes a chapter even turns into a form of bullying for Maddy, as it tells the story of Farang, the pain eater. But she finds the strength through her art to finally get help.

Things I liked--Maddy's parents weren't clueless idiots; they noticed that their daughter wasn't the same girl she'd been. After a while in class Maddy makes a friend who sticks up for her a bit, or at least covers for her.

Things I didn't like--Maddy's parents didn't insist on getting her help, I fell like they let her parent herself. It worked out, but for many it wouldn't. The English teacher's sometimes obliviousness to her students behavior in the classroom.

I wish we could give half stars, because I'd give this one 3.5. ( )

Maddie Malone has been a train wreck since that terrible day last March. She tries to control her nightmare pain so it does not consume her, but the only method she has found to make it bearable may consume her first. No one knows why she changed, or just how deeply-- not even herself-- but as her English class progresses on an assignment to write a collective novel, she begins to discover the missing pieces of her own story.

This was a difficult story to read, not because it was bad, but because it forces the reader not only to witness a young girl’s agony in as raw and terrible a state as it can get, but also face down aspects of victimization that are unusual to have in the forefront such as self-blame, self-destruction, and remorse. This is not just the story of Maddy’s pain, but the lingering effects and the coalescence and evolution of the many unintended individual pains surrounding her and the awful event.

Beth Goobie did a great job on this book. It is complex and tightly woven. The characters are deep and I felt I could understand them, even when they were not being nice people. The story was fresh and revealed itself over time to be full of surprising layers of meaning. The ending was perfect for the story. Overall, I really felt this was a stellar offering from Second Story Press and Beth Goobie.

A hard 4.3 stars.

Thank you to the publisher for a copy through Netgalley in return for this honest review. This review and more at annevolmering.com. ( )