even a silent cry can start a hurricane

Author : Amy Reed
Title : The nowhere Girls
Published : 10/10/2017
Pages : 416
Genre : Young Adult / Contemporary Literature
Publisher : Atom







    

Who are the Nowhere Girls? They're every girl. But they start with just three: Grace, the preacher's daughter who unwittingly moved into the old house of a victim whose pain adorns the walls. Bold Rosina, whose heart has become hardened by all of the straight girls who broke it. And misunderstood Erin, the girl who finds more solace in science and order than she does in people. They are brought together by the idea of changing the narrative of a girl they had never met, Lucy Moynihan, the victim of a sexual assault who was victimised further by people who found it easier to believe she had cried wolf than to confront what had really happened to her. A girl who, through the course of one evening, went from an excited teenager who felt wanted by a boy for the first time, to someone else entirely, with 'a voice in the darkness, giving her a new name: Slut'. Together, they form the Nowhere Girls, and decide to avenge the rape of a girl none of them knew.

 

     When I read the description for this book I realized it was something I need to read. Its subject matter is one that all too many of chose to push to one side. In the world we live in all to often the subjects of rape, sexual assault and harassment are spoken of only in hushed conversations.  Coming from the male half of our species I can say that we don't for the most part ever talk about it seriously. And to my shame, I have been around men who have made crude jokes and not said anything. In the reading of this book, I hoped to get a better understanding of it from a female point of view. And to better understand the harm in all it's forms can do.

      Throughout this book, I got to learn about three young women. The perspective shift between each of them and all of them collectively. First was grace her mother the new preacher has brought their family to town to start preaching to a new ministry. She is a natural leader whether she sees it her self or not. Grace embodies so much that is good and right. She is prepared to take on a fight for a girl she didn't even know because she knows deep down that someone must. And through her actions, she wants to make a better place for all the women of her school if not the world. Rosina on the outside Is fierce and forthright. She pushes back against most people who try and get to know her. She is angry at the world and everything that has happened to her in it. Being Latina and gay cannot by no stretch of the imagination be easy in a small near complete white and very Christian town. And finally, Erin who has  Asperger’s and struggle to deal with people and situations she can't control. I liked the fact the author chose simply to make it apart of who she is. Not using it as a plot device there is in this character something very real an genuine about how she is portrayed. The way others act around her with eye rolls and thinking she is stupid is one I have seen in real life and something I find so annoying it was a delight to see what happens in real life shown for how idiotic it truly is.

     To say these girls are broken would not be fair to them. Yes, they have cracks who wouldn't with everything they have been through and continue to do so. They show so much fight and bravery in the face of adversity. I came to have so much respect and admiration for them. They are well crafted and together I would think they represent a lot of women and girls around the globe. For me, their friendship binds together the story.  it allows the reader to experience so much that if seen through the eyes of a single protagonist I'm not sure would be possible. Much like me, I suspect you will come to care deeply about all the women and the ups and downs they go through. There ideas and values are a burning center. Their conversations about love, sex and life are deep and meaning full and show how despite there different background that they all support and grow from each other. that they are all important and that they all matter.

     This story opened my eyes to a lot of things that go unsaid. Victims are all to often dismissed as liars or having brought actions upon themselves. What the author does in this book is show how it's never the victim's fault. No matter what state they are in or how they dress no one brings it on themselves. The men that prey on them do so because they believe it is there right to do so. They think of themselves above women and can treat them how they see fit.  Reed at no point shy's away from all the damage and hurt these actions can do. When others would stop Reed goes on to give an empowering story of how these women band together with others from there school to collectively stand up and say this is enough. We cant continue on like this something has to change. In a world so toxic to young women it is no wonder that a large proportion feels so much less of themselves. What the author does is show a path for what you can be. How even small actions can lead to so much bigger things. And with everything ongoing in the news over the past few months, this book shines through as a superb example of what is wrong in the rape culture we live in.

     In what I felt was another strong decision she chose to take on the men's rights movement. It is far to easy to write them off as stupid little man baby's who somehow feel oppressed at the thought that women have rights and emotions of there own shock horror. But these men are dangerous and far too many are listening to what they say. The author chooses to show them in all there toxic and vileness that they really are.

     This book brought on so many emotions in me. I suppose the first and foremost was anger that anyone should have to go through this. While this is a story of fiction for far too many this is their everyday life. It is a battle that none of them chose to be apart of but was forced on to them. In so many ways this is a wakeup call for anyone who has spent time with this book. It is defiantly unapologetic and empowering it should give hope and just maybe give a voice to those who feel they don't have one.    Here in lies my problem and it is not with the story or the author who does an amazing job. As I scanned through others review for this book there was one common thing they all had. They were all written by women. You guys already know what these girls went through to some extent or the other. it is my side that either chose not to or does care. I wish more men would read books like this. Maybe then a light would come on in there heads and say we need to stop acting like this. Things must change women should be able to walk down the street or home alone in the dark without fear of harassment or being rapped. There is a lot more I would like to say about this book but I feel I'm ranting a bit so I will simply say this.  I hope I have done justice in my review of this book and I strongly urge you to pick up a copy.