Honor Code by Kiersi Burkhart

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

***Let me start off this review by saying that it may be the most disorganized review I've ever written, and give a huge trigger warning for rape/sexual assault. I'm writing this not caring about grammar, or flowy writing, or anything else, because I walked away from this book so rage-y that I can't really put into appropriate words all the things I felt. Also my reviews usually do not contain spoilers, but this one does because it's the only way to accurately express my full range of emotions. If it turns out you love this format of review, let me know because this is different than what I normally do but I'm happy to change up my style if that's what you guys like reading!***

Honor Code by Kiersi Burkhart follows Sam, a fifteen-year-old girl who gets into an elite private school, where behind closed doors she learns and experiences things she never expected. From having to line up naked and be ranked by upperclassmen, to being forced to join a sports team, Sam isn't sure she's ready to handle what's in store for her, but her desire to earn a scholarship to college keeps her motivated to tough it out. When she gets matched with the hot upperclassman she's been drooling over for the school mixer, she thinks that she's finally fitting in, until that upperclassman takes advantage of her attraction to him and her naivety and rapes her when she went to him for help with schoolwork. Wanting to keep the school honor code sacred, Sam seemingly tries hard to avoid exposing the incident or identifying herself or the prosecutor, but she still fights in her own way to seek justice.

My thoughts through the first 2/3 or so of this book were all positive. We need more books about rape culture to bring the issue to light. This showed why girls don't come forward when they've been sexually assaulted, and details all the fallout that happens when they finally do. YAASSS, I thought, this book is everything. Until the plot twist happened that had me raging until the very last page (and I'm still raging, as evidenced by this review).

SAM DIDN'T ACTUALLY GET RAPED. It was her roommate Gracie that went through that traumatic incident, and Sam in some deranged quest to help her decided to make the story her own and go public with it. Yes, the boy who raped Gracie attempted to rape Sam too, but she was able to escape before anything happened. THIS MADE ME SO ANGRY. DO NOT TAKE SOMEONE'S SEXUAL ASSAULT EXPERIENCE AND MAKE IT YOUR OWN. I don't care if you want to help them. I don't care if you're trying to expose someone and make them seek justice. Rape is such a terrible and deeply personal occurrence that if the person who experienced it doesn't want to pursue reporting/exposing it or do anything about it, THAT IS THEIR DECISION, not yours. Please, come forward with your own experience of how he attempted to rape you, and make him face justice for that, but DO NOT MASQUERADE. 

Now I do think this book had some great themes. Exposing corruption in private schools, showing how girls are treated cruelly after coming forward with this type of information, and how rich white male privilege is unfortunately alive and well today are all things that it is important to address, and it did all these things extremely well. That being said, I just couldn't wrap my head around what Sam did and why this is ok. I'm not sure if it was her fifteen-year-old mind and care for her friend that made her think this was a good idea, or if she just wanted the spotlight, but this just does not sit right with me. And judging by the Goodreads reviews, I'm the only one that thinks this.

I've struggled a lot with my rating for this book because while the false rape report really set me off, I think it tried and succeeded to shine light on the overall rape culture issues our society faces today. I originally wanted to rate it as 2 stars, but I think I'm going to bump it up because despite the problematic plot twist, the message was good and the writing was fantastic, and I did really enjoy reading it.

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

Thanks to Lerner Publishing Group for allowing me early digital access to this book. Honor Code by Kiersi Burkhart releases on March 1st!

Anatomy of a Scandal by Sarah Vaughan

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

WOAH. This book was a rush. I flew through it and I can tell this is one that will stick with me for a while. Anatomy of a Scandal by Sarah Vaughan is set in London and follows a cast of characters, Sophie, James, Kate, Holly, and Alison. After owning up to an affair, prominent government worker James gets accused of rape and must face trial for his supposed actions. Told in both present day and flashbacks, the reader soon realizes that there are more ties that bind this group together than originally thought, and that everyone is not always who they seem to be. 

This novel deals very heavily with sexual assault and rape. As this is a prominent topic in our society today, I think this book is both timely and necessary. Revealing how deeply a rape can impact an individual, how celebrity and prominence can play a role in prosecution, and how easily someone's guilt can be questioned, it speaks to the deep set issues that for many years our society has ignored that are finally coming to light. 

While this was a tough topic to swallow, I loved everything about this book. I loved the characters, especially Kate. The plot was fast moving and interesting, and even though there were flashbacks it was very easy to piece together. The ending was so satisfying as well, even if it isn't what you initially expect it will be, and there are a few plot twists along the way that keep you engaged. Each character's section was the perfect length, enough to let you know what was happening and what they were thinking but not too long to get bored of them before moving on, and I really enjoyed Vaughan's detailed yet simple writing style.

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Anatomy of a Scandal by Sarah Vaughan releases TOMORROW so be sure to pick up a copy!

A huge thanks to Atria and Goodreads for allowing me early access to an ecopy of this fantastic read.