The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney

Summary:
Some schools have honor codes.
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. (from GoodReads)

Review:
This wasn't on my To Read list, but when I saw it at my library, I decided to get it. And now I'm so glad I picked it up because The Mockingbirds was amazing!

The Mockingbirds had a lot of great elements but my favorites were the secret society aspect and all the homages to To Kill a Mockingbird, which is a fantastic novel. I think secret societies are extremely fascinating and I love that this one focuses on helping students get justice. They're like nice vigilantes who use means other than violence to prove a point. The point they proved in The Mockingbirds was that date rape is not okay, ever.

I was a little nervous reading about date rape, especially because it's something that a lot of girls and women go through, but I think the author handled the subject very sensitively. That's probably because she went through something very similar and it definitely shows in the narration. The main character, Alex, is just like any other girl until she is date raped. She can't remember exactly what happened (though she starts to get flashbacks) and I'm so glad she decided to stand up for herself and go to the Mockingbirds. Part of me wished she went to the police, because date rape is a very serious crime, but I can totally understand not wanting your parents/the whole world to know. So at least she was proactive in doing something.

This book was very readable and I couldn't put it down because I wanted to know how the case turned. The Mockingbirds ended in a way where I want to see what happens next. Luckily for me, there is a sequel, called The Rivals. So overall I think that any girl can relate to The Mockingbirds and I hope that it inspires girls and young women to speak out when they are in trouble or hurt.

Rating: 9 out of 10.
FTC: borrowed from library.

2010/Little, Brown/332 pages.