Author: Daisy Whitney
Release Date: November 2, 2010 (hardcover)
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Pages: 339
Source: Bought
Overall: 5 Stars
Summary:
Some schools have honor codes.
Others have handbooks.
Themis Academy has the Mockingbirds.
My Thoughts:
Others have handbooks.
Themis Academy has the Mockingbirds.
Themis Academy is a quiet boarding school with an exceptional student body that the administration trusts to always behave the honorable way--the Themis Way. So when Alex is date raped during her junior year, she has two options: stay silent and hope someone helps her, or enlist the Mockingbirds--a secret society of students dedicated to righting the wrongs of their fellow peers.
In this honest, page-turning account of a teen girl's struggle to stand up for herself, debut author Daisy Whitney reminds readers that if you love something or someone--especially yourself--you fight for it.
My Thoughts:
The Mockingbirds is one those novels that everyone needs to read at least once… and that’s saying something. It’s a contemporary novel that was not only enjoyable, but at the same time, it touched on a subject that is so rarely talked about in YA… date rape. I began reading the novel late at night and the next thing I knew, I was halfway done and a couple hours had passed. I was so lost in Alex’s story and the aftermath of the one horrible night that changes everything for her.
When Alex Patrick is date-raped one night after attending a party, she turns to the Mockingbirds, her school’s secret society whose word is the law at Themis Academy. Inspired by Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, they seek to right the wrongs of their fellow students, forming their own sort of justice system as their school will only turn a blind eye. Because if Alex truly wants justice served for what happened to her night, they are the only ones who can help her.
I think anyone can picture themselves in Alex’s shoes and understand what’s she going through... or at least try to. There are so many emotions running through her mind like hurt, confusion, anger, pain, fear, and even shame, and Daisy Whitney does an excellent job portraying all of that. Like any victim, she feels like it was her fault, like she did something wrong when in actuality, she did nothing of the sort. She’s haunted by the fact that she can’t truly remember the details of the night, and while she does her best to try to move on, it’s rather difficult when the memories slowly return with no warning when she’s doing the most normal of things. Initially, Alex wants nothing to do with the Mockingbirds, but she’s lucky to have such great friends and older sister who support her from the very beginning. They’re the ones who give Alex the confidence she needs to speak up, but in the end, it’s Alex’s brave courage which stops her from remaining silent.
I do think The Mockingbirds is more intended for a mature audience. The subject of date rape is not one to be taken lightly, and there are some moments in the novel that I feel some people might find too discomforting. As Alex slowly remembers the events of that night, more and more details of the night are revealed from the eyes of a teenage girl who was frightened and in no position to understand what was happening to her. It’s enough to make you clench your fists and wish for the worst fate to happen to the boy who would do such a thing to her. But while the subject matter may be heavy at times, Daisy Whitney easily balances this by throwing in more light-hearted moments like the good-times between best friends and budding romances such as the one found between Alex and Martin. Ah, Martin. *happily sighs*
The Mockingbirds captures your attention from the very start. You’ll be intrigued by the Mockingbirds and their own form of the justice system, but most of all, your heart will reach out to a girl who only ever wanted to play the piano so she could someday attend Juilliard. It’s a novel about speaking up for what you believe in and that it takes courage to right wrongs. Daisy Whitney has written a truly inspirational novel and I can’t wait to see what she has in store for her readers next.
