Customer Reviews

The Mockingbirds

5 star:		(50)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

They say to write what you know and the author's blurb says Daisy Whitney was date-raped in college. That is probably why her portrayal of the aftermath of a rape feels very real. This is the author's debut novel and it is worth reading.

After drinking too much and waking up in the room of a boy she barely knows, Alex feels extreme guilt and shame. But she listens to her friends when they convince her that even if she did drink too much, it doesn't make it okay for a boy to have sex with her while she's passed out. Alex's rapist, Carter, is a popular water polo athlete at Themis Academy. He and his friends snicker about her in class and in the common areas until Alex ends up eating her meals in her room and taking different routes to her classes. But Alex has good friends, especially her new friend Martin, who stand by her and make sure she always has an escort to classes and sometimes bring her food in her dorm room.

At Themis Academy, the students are held to high standards. The problem is, the academy seems to think that just being accepted into the school makes the students above reproach. The students don't feel like there is any real justice system. That's why, years earlier, Alex's own sister created a secret group called The Mockingbirds. Their name comes from To Kill a Mockingbird. The group consists of students of all grades and has built-in checks and balances to assure fairness. They listen to evidence and declare the defendant guilty or innocent. This system can only work, of course, if both parties agree to accept the ruling of the Mockingbirds.

Alex's roommates convince her to take her case to the Mockingbirds. In the weeks leading up to the trial Alex becomes close to Martin, her roommate's boyfriend's roommate. She never knew he was in the Mockingbirds. They develop a sweet romance as Alex slowly tries to get back to normal in the aftermath of the rape. Although it takes weeks before the 'trial' finally happens, it is over pretty quickly. I won't give away the verdict.

I liked the fact that, even though Alex felt stupid and guilty for getting drunk and going to Carter's room with him, she still had the good sense to know she was victimized and that Carter broke the law. She felt a lot of guilt, but she was sensible, too. It would have been nice if she had gone to the police, but with little or no evidence they might not have been able to help her. I think the concept of a group like the Mockingbirds is nice, but I really don't see such a thing working in real life. The idea of students policing themselves and the offenders agreeing by the decision of the Mockingbirds seems a little too good to be true.

The book had nice characters and moved quickly. Even though it had a serious subject matter, I'm glad there was a little romance sprinkled in. I would recommend this to girls aged 13 and up. I will be watching to see what Daisy Whitney does next.

Daisy Whitney's debut novel is an outstanding YA novel that addresses the issue of date rape.

The story is set at a boarding high school and features Alex, a junior music major whose one goal is to attend Julliard. The morning after she attends a concert with her friends, she wakes up in the bed of Carter, a member of the water polo team, and has no memory of how she got there or of what happened. It soon becomes evident that Carter had sex with her. Mortified that she had sex with a stranger and can't remember it, Alex confides in her roommates. They put the name of date rape to what happened to her. They also urge her to seek out the Mockingbirds, a student group that metes out punishment to those found guilty of breaking the school's code of conduct.

Whitney unfolds Alex's story slowly. The reader is privy to Alex's thoughts and, her memories as they slowly begin to return, usually at the worst possible times. Alex, at first, just wants to forget what happen that night, but eventually comes to understand that that she can't forget the events that occurred. To make matters worse, she must deal with the whispers of her fellow students as Carter spreads his lies about her. She must also endure her self doubts about who she is and how this could have happened. As the last bit of her memory returns, she is horrified. An understanding teacher helps her come to grips with what Carter did was wrong because Alex had not consented to what happened. As she and the Mockingbirds move forward to the trial of Carter for date rape, Alex begins to understand that not saying no doesn't mean yes.

While this story is about Alex and the effects of rape, it is also a story of the Mockingbirds and how they understand the mores of a high school campus. The Mockingbirds mete out justice in ways that the school's administration wouldn't even think of doing. How they effect the guilty party's cooperation is clever and effective.

This is a fast paced book, a real page turner, that is hard to put down even in the wee hours of the morning. Young women will love this book because Whitney doesn't sugar coat the facts nor does she dance around the issue of date rape. This should be mandatory reading for every young man.

The Mockingbirds deals with a tough subject matter in date rape, but I'm glad I read it because first time author Daisy Whitney handles the subject matter with sensitivity, skill and honesty, while introducing us to a cast of well developed teen characters. It's really a story about justice as the main character Alex, hesitant to go to the authorities, seeks the assistance of a secret student society called The Mockingbirds which investigates student complaints and holds trials. In the end, what Alex really needs perhaps more than justice is regaining her sense of self, something she struggles with throughout the book as she also has to get through her junior year at an elite high school. I particularly liked the very carefully handled romantic subplot that played out post-rape and how Alex tries to overcome what has happened to her. Also the detail presented in Alex seeking solace in her music, she's an accomplished pianist, was quite lovely and touching.
The writing is tight, the plot moves along quickly and I think it's one of those YA books that will cross over to many adult female readers. This also has the feel of a potential series the way the ending is set up. It earns a five stars from me as I rated it in relation to how quickly I wanted to finish it based on the writing engaging me, how original I thought the story was and how it stacked up to other YA novels.

Starting the morning after that night, The Mockingbirds is an intense book. The reader, like Alex, starts out not knowing what's going on and, with her, pieces that night together over the course of the entire book. It isn't until almost the end that Alex remembers the entire night, or as much as she's ever going to, and by then she's come to terms with a lot of it and had some time to heal. It's still horrible, clearly, but presenting the rape in that way, in short pieces over the course of the book, takes away the shock and some of the horror of it. It's not graphic, though it may still be triggering for some people.

Alex's big conflict for most of the book is accepting what happened to her as rape. She has loads and loads of guilt about being drunk enough to be taken to the room of a guy she didn't know. If she can't remember getting to his room or even large chunks of the party before hand, maybe she's also simply not remembering that she wanted to have and enjoyed having sex with him. While she knows this isn't true, the dirty and used feeling won't let her actually think that, she knows she has to prove that she wasn't "asking for it," something no sexual assault victim should ever have to do. It's bad enough hearing other people recount her drunken exploits of that night in front of the Mockingbirds while she's building her case; she could never explain her drinking and other bad decisions to the cops, her parents, or the administration of Themis Academy. It takes her a really long time to really believe that though she made bad decisions, being raped was never her fault, but that point is eventually made very clear for Alex (and the reader) by her friends, the Themis Academy Honor Code, and during her trial.

Still, this doesn't read like a problem novel. Of course Alex is consumed with what happened to her and its aftermath, and that takes up a lot of the book. But this is also about the Mockingbirds themselves, their founding, the checks and balances in their system, and ultimately their power over the student body. It's very cloak and dagger, but on the side of truth and justice! Through her interactions with the Mockingbirds, Alex gains confidence and strength. She also makes plenty of new friends and figures out just how much all of her old friends are willing to go to bat for her. She even gets a bit of romance. And, of course, this is all set at a boarding school for the extremely gifted. This book would be just as good and just as compelling (though not nearly as heart-wrenching) if Alex were pressing charges for bullying or some other offense rather than date rape. The story is really balanced in that way. Because The Mockingbirds is this year's big book about date rape, one might assume that it should be reserved for older young adults, but all the other elements in the book make it, I think, accessible to all high schoolers, not just the about-to-go-college ones. And, as the book points out when other girls start telling Alex their own stories, it's not as though date rape is something that only happens to high school upperclasswomen or older.

The book closes with an author's note where Whitney talks about her own experiences with both date rape and a student-run justice system. Resources for victims of sexual assault as well as organizations promoting the empowerment of young women are also provided.

Book source: ARC provided by the publisher.

Why would creating a "secret justice system" be a good idea? I thought the SS and the Klan sort of ruled that idea out for the future. What could be good about a justice system that begins punishing the accused before they are ever brought to trial -- taking away their privileges, totally ASSUMING their guilt? If these kids were half as cool, smart and persistent as we are told they are, why are they too cowardly to use the existing systems and insist on transparency and accountability? It is too easy to say the adults are all clueless -- that being yet another of the book's stereotypes, though the mockingbirds supposedly abhor stereotypes. I am a fiercely feminist woman, totally agreeing that, in matters of sex, only "yes" means "yes," no excuses. The potential good that is done by writing about an abuse of power like date rape is negated by the other abusive power systems the book seems to condone. Pretty scary.

My Thoughts: Whoa Daisy Whitney, you sure do know how to get to us! This was a wonderful novel, so insightful and emotional. We meet Alex who is your typical student. She gets good grades and wants to do something with her life. She goes out with some friends one night, drinks a little too much, goes back to a guy's room, and gets date raped. She knows she drank a little but didn't think she drank enough to really hurt her. This book opens up the next day where Alex wakes up in a strange room, naked, with a strange guy laying next to her. She can't remember what really happened. He alerts her that they had sex, twice, and she was all over him.

Well, she goes back to her room and talks to her friends and realizes she was date raped. The guy who date raped her is a popular jock named Carter who thinks nothing can touch him. Carter starts rumors about Alex and how she is "easy." Alex gets help from The Mockingbirds, a secret society set up by students to enforce justice throughout the student body.

This was such an emotional and gripping novel. Whitney really knows how to make you want to beat up the jock and want to cry for Alex. Alex also has a friend throughout the book named Martin. I really liked him and I'm glad there was a forming relationship between Alex and Martin. He was also part of the Mockingbirds so we bond with him throughout the book.

Alex was brave for standing up to Carter but I felt like she needed to go to an adult and take this further but as many women are, Alex was scared and at least she turned to The Mockingbirds for help.

Overall: This is a wonderful novel. It's also raw and full of emotions. If you've been anywhere near this situation (date rape) than you will appreciate the book a lot more than the normal person. I really enjoyed reading this book, even though there were a few times I wanted to kick the guy who treated Alex like crap, and a few times I wanted to kiss Martin! I also wanted to let Alex cry on my shoulder. Daisy Whitney has written brilliant novel.

Cover: Like it. I like the bird and the black and red colors together. I read the ARC, I think the final cover may have different colors? I'm not sure.

What I'd Give It: 4/5 Cupcakes

Taken from Princess Bookie (princessbookie.com)

The Mockingbirds has a setting of a boarding school, but that was all that I knew about it before starting to read. I had seen a little chatter about it on Twitter but nothing specific or pertaining to the plot in particular.

Basically (which is ironic to say because this book is not basic at all), there is a student run underground group on campus that takes on different cases of injustice within the student body. For instance, if a student felt another was cheating on tests, the case could be brought up to The Mockingbirds, who would deal with the case. The group was founded because the faculty of the school refuse to see any negative in the students, and simply would not give punishment where punishment was due.

The BEST BEST BEST part of this book is that The Mockingbirds are named after To Kill a Mockingbird. And because they are named after this book, many of their procedures and tricks are based on characters and events straight from the classic book. SO. CLEVER. So so so clever. I loved this. I'm not going to ruin any of them for you.

This book is based around one major case, and we experience the offending event from start right through to the end of The Mockingbird's trial. I was enthralled the entire time I was reading it, especially when a To Kill a Mockingbird reference was made.

Exceeding my expectations by 1000%, The Mockingbirds is a clever read. A serious topic dealt with in a unique way - a definite WOW read of the year.

Book Cover: 5/5
Book Title: 5/5
Plot: 10/10
Characters: 10/10
Writing: 10/10
Ending: 10/10

Overall: 50/50

"Instant Karma's gonna get you, gonna look you right in the face. Better get yourself together darling, and join the human race." -- John Lennon from "Instant Karma," 1970

This book is a work of pure genius and each of the characters and the raw feelings described in this book feel very real. It's a wonderful in-your-face kind of book. Daisy Whitney is a genius. It's as simple as that.

The story is set in 2007 (the date March 12 is given as being a Monday), yet January 10, the night Alex was date raped was given as being a Saturday. In 2007, January 10 was a Wednesday. A minor thing.)

Alex, 17 is a gifted pianist and high achieving student at the prestigious Connecticut Themis Acadamey. Her sister Casey, 20 attended the school. The story opens with a bang. Alex goes to a concert with some dorm friends, drinks too much and wakes up in the room of a boy named Carter, whom she doesn't know very well. It becomes apparent to Alex that the boy had nonconsensual sex with her twice during the time she was inebriated. Alex has to confront the traumatic realization that she has been date-raped.

She leaves the boy's room and prays she makes it back to her dorm without anybody seeing her. Unfortunately a few students do see her and jump to conclusions about her disheveled appearance and point of departure. Alex tries to hide in her own room, but her kind and very persistent classmates T.S. and Maia won't stop hounding her until she tells them what really transpired in Carter's room.

T.S. has a very smart, savvy and kind boyfriend named Sandeep who verifies that he saw Alex drinking at that concert. A brilliant student with a flair for mathematics, Sandeep points out that at roughly 110 pounds, the amount of alcohol he saw Alex consume would put her over the legal consumption limit. He estimated her intake to be about 0.8, which he said in her case was enough to knock her out for hours.

"Who on earth do you think you are? A superstar?" -- John Lennon, from "Instant Karma," 1970

Carter is on the boys' water polo team at Themis Academy. He and his sidekick Kevin Ward and a few of their satellites snicker and make rude comments to and about Alex. Carter goes around telling other boys that she "begged for it" and that he was all to happy to "give it to her." Carter was, in my eyes a thoroughly disgusting and reprehensible character.

Luckily Alex has really good friends who stand by her. Her roommate Maia, a brilliant student with extraordinary reasoning skills rushes to her defense. A skilled debater, Maia will no doubt make a wonderful attorney one day. Sandeep's friend Martin, an aspiring ornithologist takes an interest in her that segues into a dating and romantic relationship. A kind, perceptive young man, Martin takes her under his wing. His Mockingbird wing.

His interest in ornithology includes Mockingbirds, a secret student society dedicated to bringing honor and justice to Themis Academy, where the emphasis is on high academic performance and presenting and maintaining a pristine image. Dark covert cruelties have taken place at Themis, including other forms of violence. Students feel there is no real recourse or protection at Themis. The only way to get expelled is to flunk out and nobody is held accountable for their behavior. The Mockingbirds, an honor system group that Alex' sister Casey started there during her senior year is ready to step up to the plate for her.

The Mockingbirds are an incredibly well run and well organized justice system. They base their actions on a Code of Conduct & Honor. Their name came from Harper Lee's classic book, "To Kill a Mockingbird." Passages from the book are taken and passed along in a cryptic code form. The Mockingbirds are a several-tiered justice system that hears both sides of each case brought before them and ensures fairness. They are a very advanced system and a Godsend to those who need them.

They do clever things such as leave things on the trees, just as Lee's character Boo Radley left little gifts in a knothole for his neighbor Atticus Finch's chidren, Scout and Jem. An astute lawyer, Atticus Finch says that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird, a gentle bird that harms no one. The Mockingbirds use this as their motto.

Alex and Martin begin dating and she is initially unaware that he is a Mockingbird. She also did not know that her own sister started the Mockingbirds after a traumatic incident with devastating repercussions. The Themis way is to sweep everything under the rug. Goodness forbid anything should mar their ideal image!

Themis is an unusually permissive school where teachers and students often act with impunity, such as when Alex' English teacher assigns her two Shakespearian plays with rap scenes to enact before her class. Paired with a loutish oaf named Henry who pulls her hair and hurts her during the attempted rape scene in one play. I just loved it when Alex gave her acting partner a well placed kick with her knee. It served him right, after he told her she deserved what she got and for being rough and violent with her during the scene. What was that teacher thinking!

I was glad that Alex realized that Carter was the one who was wrong. He took advantage of her when she was in no condition to give consent. Carter broke a law and twisted the story so as to make himself look macho and to defame Alex. Like so many women who have been raped, Alex does not view going to the police as a viable option. She has the natural feelings of guilt and shame and avoids eating in the cafeteria and makes an effort to avoid Carter at all costs.

She was fortunate to have the Mockingbirds. How I wish such a group had existed during my campus days! As much as I love the Mockingbirds, the way they somehow stayed below the radar and were able to get offenders to agree to abide by their rulings does seem quite too good to be true. Even so, I love it!

This book handles a very serious topic which is not talked about enough. Date rape is, unfortunately, not uncommon on campuses. Very often survivors of date rape feel they have no recourse. There have been some genuine horror stories. In fact, I have known people who have had similar experiences as Alex (only without alcohol) who were tricked, coerced and even threatened into nonconsenusal sex. I have known people who did exactly what Alex did, which was to avoid places where they might encounter their attacker(s) and to have people bring food to their rooms so as to avoid eating in the cafeteria. This excellent book was wonderful, in your face and so vivid readers feel as if they are at Themis as well.

I loved the rich character development and the story is riveting. In fact, this entire book is diamond sharp, precise and cutting edge. Despite Alex' trauma, it was nice to see her enter into a healthy and loving relationship. Her friend and music partner Jones, who stands by her side is just delightful. I love his resourcefulness and the way he had her back and got her acting partner to take his medicine.

Daisy Whitney is an author to watch for and I am already looking forward to her next book. I highly recommend this one and have suggested it to people.

John Lennon's 1970 classic "Instant Karma" and his 1971 classic "Crippled Inside" are the soundtracks to this book.

The title of this book will catch the eye and ear of everyone who loves and adores the perennial classic by Harper Lee To Kill A Mockingbird, which is exactly what the author, Daisy Whitney intended when she chose that title. Set in a contemporary, prestigious boarding school for high achievers of all ilks, the opening scene finds the main character and narrator, Alex awakens in an unknown boy's room, naked and hungover. To her shock, she realizes she has had sex (for the first time, as well) with this "water polo boy" ( great care to identify people with their area of expertise is given in this novel; Alex is herself a piano player extraordinaire)and without her consent, as she was very drunk at the time of consummation of the actual act.

Alex turns to her close friends and roommates for comfort and help. She is introduced to the secretive world of the on-campus student justice system, The Mockingbirds, not so subtly named for the much treasured novel about justice in a small Southern town. As she tentatively pursues her "case" against Carter, the boy who date raped her, she remembers more and more about what happened to her, and also develops a closer relationship with another boy who is part of the Mockingbirds group, as well as friendships with other students she never would have anticipated otherwise, without her involvement with the group.

Fairly compelling reading, this book should appeal to those teens (and adults)who enjoy books like Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson and To Kill A Mockingbird, of course. The settings and characters are fairly realistic, even if a little stereotyping is going on. The writing is fairly descriptive and frank, definitely for ages 14 and up (grade 9 is the recommended age from the publisher). I highly recommend and my girls will be reading this one too.

The Mockingbirds is a story of a girl who was date raped standing up for herself and speaking out. Through the help of a secret student run disciplinary society she is able to face her attacker and deal with her pain. Alex was drunk when she was raped and initially has no memory of the incident.

What I loved about this book is that the blame for the incident was fully placed on the boy. While there is no doubt that Alex put herself in a bad situation her friends tell her over and over that it was not her fault. That it is not ok for a guy to sleep with a girl who is so drunk she can't consent or who is sleeping or passed out.

Appropriateness: This book is appropriate (and important) for high school readers to read independently and for middle schoolers to read with adult to discuss the issues that are presented in the book. Obviously this book includes drinking and cursing and rape. However, these things are presented in a manner that makes for a great teaching tool. The things that each player in the rape did that contributed to the incident are clearly stated and the message is clear as to the many different ways the rape could have been prevented. The rape scenes are disturbing but not exceedingly so (I found the harassment scenes that happened afterword more disturbing because they rang so true).