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The Word for Yes
After their parents’ divorce, Jan, Erika, and Melanie have to get used to the new world order: a father who’s moved to another continent and a mother who throws herself into moving on. Jan, off at her first semester of college, has plenty to worry about, including an outspoken roommate who’s kind of “out there” and an increasingly depressed and troubled long-distance boyfriend. Her younger sisters, left at home in New York City, and dealing with all the pressures of life in high school, aren’t exactly close. Erika is serious and feels awkward and uncomfortable in crowds, though her beauty tends to attract attention. Melanie is socially savvy and just wants to go out—to concerts, to parties, wherever—with her friends. The gap between all three girls widens as each day passes.
Then, at a party full of blurred lines and blurred memories, everything changes. Starting that night, where there should be words, there is only angry, scared silence.
And in the aftermath, Jan, Erika, and Melanie will have to work hard to reconnect and help one another heal.
At once touching and raw, Claire Needell’s first novel is an honest look at the love and conflicts among sisters and friends, and how these relationships can hold us together—and tear us apart.
Then, at a party full of blurred lines and blurred memories, everything changes. Starting that night, where there should be words, there is only angry, scared silence.
And in the aftermath, Jan, Erika, and Melanie will have to work hard to reconnect and help one another heal.
At once touching and raw, Claire Needell’s first novel is an honest look at the love and conflicts among sisters and friends, and how these relationships can hold us together—and tear us apart.
242 pages, Hardcover
First published February 16, 2016
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1748 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews
December 21, 2015
(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to HarperCollins and Edelweiss.)
I’m in two minds about this book, because it dealt with an important topic, but for me, it didn’t deal with it well.
I found it quite difficult to connect with the characters in this story, and while I felt sorry for Melanie and what happened to her, she wasn’t an easy character to like. Jan and Erika were also only okay characters for me, although it was good of Erika to try to help her sister, even if she didn’t want the help.
The storyline in this was about the three girls’ lives, and also about Melanie’s rape, but for me the rape wasn’t given enough airtime! The whole thing seemed to be treated as a background plot, and just breezed over all the time, which didn’t impress me really.
The ending to this was also a bit disappointing as we didn’t get any sort of resolution at all!
6 out of 10
“Something real had happened last night. Something horrible had happened to Melanie.”
I’m in two minds about this book, because it dealt with an important topic, but for me, it didn’t deal with it well.
I found it quite difficult to connect with the characters in this story, and while I felt sorry for Melanie and what happened to her, she wasn’t an easy character to like. Jan and Erika were also only okay characters for me, although it was good of Erika to try to help her sister, even if she didn’t want the help.
The storyline in this was about the three girls’ lives, and also about Melanie’s rape, but for me the rape wasn’t given enough airtime! The whole thing seemed to be treated as a background plot, and just breezed over all the time, which didn’t impress me really.
The ending to this was also a bit disappointing as we didn’t get any sort of resolution at all!
6 out of 10
August 24, 2016
This book was weird. It basically read like a short story you'd get in English class and then are asked to write a response to. You know those stories, right? Ones that read very dry and emotionless, offer you a conflict with a few different characters points of view, but don't provide an opinion of their own? And you're supposed to answer study questions like "how does this story make you feel?" and "what could Melanie have done differently?" and "how do you think society contributes to rape victims lack of reporting rape crimes?" But in this case, the story was way too long for that kind of a vibe, but too short to get invested in any plot or characters, far too bland to enjoy...and the author basically answered all the potential study questions in her own "afterword" at the end of the book. It was all very pointless and I just plain didn't like anything about it.
March 30, 2016
Please note that I gave this book half a star, but rounded to 1 star on Goodreads.
Please note that this review discusses date rape as well as the book.
I have things to do and not a lot of time to go over what made this book a truly awful book that looked at date rape.
Focusing on three sisters (college age Jan and high schoolers Erika and Melanie) who live in New York.
What can I really say. Ms. Needell did a very bad job of developing any of the characters in this book. For such a serious subject matter I was shocked at how none of the sisters individual stories really flowed with the main plot (the aftermath of Melanie being date raped).
Jan is entirely focused on herself and her up and down relationship with her high school boyfriend Adam. When she finds out what happened to Melanie, I honestly don't think it made a blip on her radar at all. All of the later chapters are still here dealing with Adam and or obsessing over what her roommate Eliza is doing and how she wishes she were more like her.
Erika I had a soft spot for from beginning to end. Apparently being model beautiful and loving math can make for a socially awkward young woman. I liked that Erika thought of others and I hated how she kept getting squished down from Melanie through the whole freaking book. There was a key scene between this character and two of her long time friends and I liked how she spoke up to her friend Morris about rape. I did hate how the author than had her call her sister a "slut" when they had another fight because once again Melanie was being an asshole.
Melanie sucks. I think for me, I found it to be an interesting choice that Ms. Needell made Melanie an abuser (she is) to her sister and a bully to those around her and in the end she's still the same person after. In the afterword Ms. Needell mentions that Melanie's father saying she's the boss in the end moments of the book and Ms. Needell later referencing that to show that Melanie was the boss in her life and it shows how she was healing. And I feel like a jackass because my immediate knee jerk response was healing from what? No one in this family discusses anything. Everything is glossed over. Melanie throws a wine glass at Erika leaving her bloody and having to get stitches and no one says a word to Melanie about it. I just have no words for this book. And I am definitely not saying that all rape victims need to be nice people. I just don't understand what the hell was going on with this book. We are given plenty of chapters to see how much Melanie hates Erika and her family just allows her to do the things she does. I was seriously outraged about that.
The secondary characters are not given much room in this one. As other reviewers noted, Ms. Needell made the "interesting" choice to include the rapist's point of view in her story. It really wrecked the flow of the book. But most importantly, it wrecked whatever higher meaning she wanted readers to take away from this book. Based on those scenes we get the boy's confusion because he didn't hear a no from Melanie. They were both drunk and the author portrayed it at the time that Melanie wanted it to happen. But I don't know if that was his own drunken thinking or what. Why you ask? Because the author doesn't allow us Melanie's perspective at all. She is more mad after the fact that she slept with the boy because she doesn't like him that way and she's angry that he wants to talk about it (i.e. he thinks it means they can be boyfriend/girlfriend) and she wants him to go away.
I just. Sigh. We have a later scene with Melanie accusing the boy of going forward with things even though she said no (though she doesn't recall once again what happened) which turns into a really awkward scene of them both coming out looking like terrible people. And once again the boy doesn't seem to get what he was doing or what he did was wrong at all and it doesn't seem to me that Melanie even gets why what he did was wrong. This whole scene read weird to me.
The writing was stiff and didn't work at all. The sister's voices were different though. Jan's voice was mostly indifferent and indecisive. Erika's voice was timid and afraid. And Melanie's voice was nasty and mean. So there was that going for the book at least. You didn't need a big chapter heading setting up who was speaking.
The flow was terrible. I felt like I was reading three very disjointed stories. And the lack of dialogue between the sisters and their parents was so weird. I just needed to see some emotion from them about anything.
The setting of New York wasn't used at all in this book besides people describing certain landmarks around.
The ending was a wash. Nothing was resolved at all. Though once again when you read the afterword you realize that the author did seem to think she wrapped things up. I really think there are other books out there that do a better job of handling the topic of rape and date rape. I read "Speak" last year and thought it was wonderful. I rarely get pissed about the amount of money I spend on books, but I am really pissed I spent $10.99 on this debut novel. If you are interested in it, I suggest borrowing from the library or a friend.
Please note that this review discusses date rape as well as the book.
I have things to do and not a lot of time to go over what made this book a truly awful book that looked at date rape.
Focusing on three sisters (college age Jan and high schoolers Erika and Melanie) who live in New York.
What can I really say. Ms. Needell did a very bad job of developing any of the characters in this book. For such a serious subject matter I was shocked at how none of the sisters individual stories really flowed with the main plot (the aftermath of Melanie being date raped).
Jan is entirely focused on herself and her up and down relationship with her high school boyfriend Adam. When she finds out what happened to Melanie, I honestly don't think it made a blip on her radar at all. All of the later chapters are still here dealing with Adam and or obsessing over what her roommate Eliza is doing and how she wishes she were more like her.
Erika I had a soft spot for from beginning to end. Apparently being model beautiful and loving math can make for a socially awkward young woman. I liked that Erika thought of others and I hated how she kept getting squished down from Melanie through the whole freaking book. There was a key scene between this character and two of her long time friends and I liked how she spoke up to her friend Morris about rape. I did hate how the author than had her call her sister a "slut" when they had another fight because once again Melanie was being an asshole.
Melanie sucks. I think for me, I found it to be an interesting choice that Ms. Needell made Melanie an abuser (she is) to her sister and a bully to those around her and in the end she's still the same person after. In the afterword Ms. Needell mentions that Melanie's father saying she's the boss in the end moments of the book and Ms. Needell later referencing that to show that Melanie was the boss in her life and it shows how she was healing. And I feel like a jackass because my immediate knee jerk response was healing from what? No one in this family discusses anything. Everything is glossed over. Melanie throws a wine glass at Erika leaving her bloody and having to get stitches and no one says a word to Melanie about it. I just have no words for this book. And I am definitely not saying that all rape victims need to be nice people. I just don't understand what the hell was going on with this book. We are given plenty of chapters to see how much Melanie hates Erika and her family just allows her to do the things she does. I was seriously outraged about that.
The secondary characters are not given much room in this one. As other reviewers noted, Ms. Needell made the "interesting" choice to include the rapist's point of view in her story. It really wrecked the flow of the book. But most importantly, it wrecked whatever higher meaning she wanted readers to take away from this book. Based on those scenes we get the boy's confusion because he didn't hear a no from Melanie. They were both drunk and the author portrayed it at the time that Melanie wanted it to happen. But I don't know if that was his own drunken thinking or what. Why you ask? Because the author doesn't allow us Melanie's perspective at all. She is more mad after the fact that she slept with the boy because she doesn't like him that way and she's angry that he wants to talk about it (i.e. he thinks it means they can be boyfriend/girlfriend) and she wants him to go away.
I just. Sigh. We have a later scene with Melanie accusing the boy of going forward with things even though she said no (though she doesn't recall once again what happened) which turns into a really awkward scene of them both coming out looking like terrible people. And once again the boy doesn't seem to get what he was doing or what he did was wrong at all and it doesn't seem to me that Melanie even gets why what he did was wrong. This whole scene read weird to me.
The writing was stiff and didn't work at all. The sister's voices were different though. Jan's voice was mostly indifferent and indecisive. Erika's voice was timid and afraid. And Melanie's voice was nasty and mean. So there was that going for the book at least. You didn't need a big chapter heading setting up who was speaking.
The flow was terrible. I felt like I was reading three very disjointed stories. And the lack of dialogue between the sisters and their parents was so weird. I just needed to see some emotion from them about anything.
The setting of New York wasn't used at all in this book besides people describing certain landmarks around.
The ending was a wash. Nothing was resolved at all. Though once again when you read the afterword you realize that the author did seem to think she wrapped things up. I really think there are other books out there that do a better job of handling the topic of rape and date rape. I read "Speak" last year and thought it was wonderful. I rarely get pissed about the amount of money I spend on books, but I am really pissed I spent $10.99 on this debut novel. If you are interested in it, I suggest borrowing from the library or a friend.
September 26, 2015
This book meandered a lot and could have been so much more. The writing made the characters dull and uninteresting. I gave up at 55% of the way through the book. A girl who got drunk at a party engages in sex (maybe it was rape/maybe not - they were both drunk and neither said no or yes) and goes about her life for a week like nothing happened. Then an off-hand conversation with a stranger makes her decide she was date-raped and she turns into being a crusader. Now don't misinterpret me, I'm not saying date rape isn't a huge problem in our society and very wrong - it's just dealt with so trivially in what I read of this book.
March 21, 2016
I thought that this was very cliche and that the whole situation was just sort of glossed over and not fully dealt with. Very disappointed in this one.
December 8, 2015
This book broke my heart. I mean in a good way because I have an older sister and I can't imagine going through what those sisters went through. I mean I laughed and I cried and I had to put the book down because I just couldn't handle one of the topics raised in the book.
***Please beware that this book has Date Rape in it***
In this story we meet three sisters Jan, Erika, and Melanie. They come from a divorced family. The mother is a little off because she is looking for love in the wrong way and the father has moved away and wants nothing to do with his old life. Instead choosing to move on with his new life.
Jan is in college enjoying her freshman year. She is trying to move on with her life and not focus on her parents. While Erika and Melanie are left at home stuck in high school. Erika is the serious sister but Melanie is the wild social savvy one. She loves to do things on a whim and she decides she needs to go to this party.
Erika and Melanie end up at the same party and things go south for one of them and when the dust settles the girls are left to fight through this situation together. They will have to fight to stay together and remain sisters and let bygones be bygones.
What happens? Will the sisters be able to fight together instead of against each other?
***Please beware that this book has Date Rape in it***
In this story we meet three sisters Jan, Erika, and Melanie. They come from a divorced family. The mother is a little off because she is looking for love in the wrong way and the father has moved away and wants nothing to do with his old life. Instead choosing to move on with his new life.
Jan is in college enjoying her freshman year. She is trying to move on with her life and not focus on her parents. While Erika and Melanie are left at home stuck in high school. Erika is the serious sister but Melanie is the wild social savvy one. She loves to do things on a whim and she decides she needs to go to this party.
Erika and Melanie end up at the same party and things go south for one of them and when the dust settles the girls are left to fight through this situation together. They will have to fight to stay together and remain sisters and let bygones be bygones.
What happens? Will the sisters be able to fight together instead of against each other?
September 18, 2016
I know that this book deals with a very important issue, such as: non-stranger rape, but I could not even make myself to care for any of the characters.
This books was mostly described from the viewpoints of three sisters whose parents split and their father moved across the world. There was no character development. There was not anything to feel for the characters. One sister was too full of herself, one was too much of a baby and another was too much of an asshole.
This books was mostly described from the viewpoints of three sisters whose parents split and their father moved across the world. There was no character development. There was not anything to feel for the characters. One sister was too full of herself, one was too much of a baby and another was too much of an asshole.
Read
July 6, 2016How about no stars, wohoo for my lowest rating yet
terrible characters
terrible nonsensical plot trying to deal with serious issues in a complete nonsensical fashion.
terrible characters
terrible nonsensical plot trying to deal with serious issues in a complete nonsensical fashion.
February 25, 2016
THE REVIEW - Visit wordcontessa.com for more reviews
The Word for Yes falls short for me because of multiple reasons - An anti-climatic ending, poor character development, lack of depth and a somewhat stilted writing style. The book itself felt like a emotionless narration of a series of events with no sense of direction.
I had high hopes for Needell's The Word for Yes partly because of the subject matter and partly because I hoped it would be a refreshing look at sibling relationships. Despite its poor execution, The Word for Yes explores some very important topics. The past couple of years have seen a rise in YA fiction that deals with consent and sexual assault including some very important additions to the discussion like What We Saw, Canary and Faking Normal. However, none of these books approach consent and rape culture the way The Word for Yes does.
Our protagonist, Melanie is a 15 year old popular, mercurial character who is constantly angry and often cruel. Her relationship with her sisters is strained at best and explosive at its worst. Their parents' divorce isn't helping matters at home either. The narration alternates every chapter between the sisters and even includes a POV from the rapist. I'm a fan of multiple POVs in general however, in this case I found them to be completely pointless. None of the characters stood out in particular and I felt no emotional connection whatsoever to them. Not only were the transitions jarring, the narratives added very little value to the overall story.
The rapist's POV however, was used to portray the perpetrator as 'nice' guy. The victim herself viewed him as harmless and mostly good guy who had a crush on her. Throughout the novel, Melanie treats this guy quite terribly and her overall attitude towards him was dismissive. On the night of the incident, Melanie is drunk and initiates contact with the perp. Additionally, throughout the novel Melanie is portrayed as a mean and 'unlikable' character. However, there is no doubt that Melanie was raped. She was too drunk to know what was happening to her or what she was doing. Melanie also struggles with her feelings post-incident and blames herself for the assault. Rape is rape, irrespective of the (inebriated) state of the victim, the length of her skirt, her lifestyle or the circumstance. The Word for Yes attempts to reinforce this fact by showing readers that there are no grey areas in rape and that even the most seemingly non-violent of individuals are capable of this heinous act.
The Word for Yes attempts to delve into multiple important subjects like divorce, its impact on family dynamics, sibling relationships and rivalry, date rape culture, non-stranger rape, the role of alcohol in sexual assault, feminism as well as the struggles of transitioning to college. This however, proves to be the very reason behind the downfall of this novel. The individual subject matters themselves were not given due importance and Needell barely skims over each topic in this 200+ page novel.
Despite its many flaws, I believe that The Word for Yes kickstarts an important dialogue on rape and consent.
THE RATING
2 and half Stars
QUOTE-WORTHY
Pain and injury were private, she knew that. If someone told you the story of a scar, a part of them was lying. They would omit the moment of shock and fear, the crying, the beating of their heart, the desperate look around for someone to make it better.
FINAL VERDICT:
The Word for Yes may have missed the mark in terms of execution however, it is important to applaud its attempt to discuss some difficult and often over-looked topics.
The Word for Yes falls short for me because of multiple reasons - An anti-climatic ending, poor character development, lack of depth and a somewhat stilted writing style. The book itself felt like a emotionless narration of a series of events with no sense of direction.
I had high hopes for Needell's The Word for Yes partly because of the subject matter and partly because I hoped it would be a refreshing look at sibling relationships. Despite its poor execution, The Word for Yes explores some very important topics. The past couple of years have seen a rise in YA fiction that deals with consent and sexual assault including some very important additions to the discussion like What We Saw, Canary and Faking Normal. However, none of these books approach consent and rape culture the way The Word for Yes does.
Our protagonist, Melanie is a 15 year old popular, mercurial character who is constantly angry and often cruel. Her relationship with her sisters is strained at best and explosive at its worst. Their parents' divorce isn't helping matters at home either. The narration alternates every chapter between the sisters and even includes a POV from the rapist. I'm a fan of multiple POVs in general however, in this case I found them to be completely pointless. None of the characters stood out in particular and I felt no emotional connection whatsoever to them. Not only were the transitions jarring, the narratives added very little value to the overall story.
The rapist's POV however, was used to portray the perpetrator as 'nice' guy. The victim herself viewed him as harmless and mostly good guy who had a crush on her. Throughout the novel, Melanie treats this guy quite terribly and her overall attitude towards him was dismissive. On the night of the incident, Melanie is drunk and initiates contact with the perp. Additionally, throughout the novel Melanie is portrayed as a mean and 'unlikable' character. However, there is no doubt that Melanie was raped. She was too drunk to know what was happening to her or what she was doing. Melanie also struggles with her feelings post-incident and blames herself for the assault. Rape is rape, irrespective of the (inebriated) state of the victim, the length of her skirt, her lifestyle or the circumstance. The Word for Yes attempts to reinforce this fact by showing readers that there are no grey areas in rape and that even the most seemingly non-violent of individuals are capable of this heinous act.
The Word for Yes attempts to delve into multiple important subjects like divorce, its impact on family dynamics, sibling relationships and rivalry, date rape culture, non-stranger rape, the role of alcohol in sexual assault, feminism as well as the struggles of transitioning to college. This however, proves to be the very reason behind the downfall of this novel. The individual subject matters themselves were not given due importance and Needell barely skims over each topic in this 200+ page novel.
Despite its many flaws, I believe that The Word for Yes kickstarts an important dialogue on rape and consent.
THE RATING
2 and half Stars
QUOTE-WORTHY
Pain and injury were private, she knew that. If someone told you the story of a scar, a part of them was lying. They would omit the moment of shock and fear, the crying, the beating of their heart, the desperate look around for someone to make it better.
FINAL VERDICT:
The Word for Yes may have missed the mark in terms of execution however, it is important to applaud its attempt to discuss some difficult and often over-looked topics.
January 13, 2016
Three totally different sisters. Jan, the college student with longtime boyfriend, the peacemaker of the family. Eliza, the pretty, smart, albeit naive, middle sister who is well, rather clueless most of the time. Melanie, the baby, the mean girl, the angry, jealous and resentful one. The characters worked for me. I thought that they were good representations of people one may know in life. And just like real life, I didnt always care for the characters. Sometimes I wanted to scream and shake them. Other times I was disgusted. But doesnt that make the characters more real and indicate more depth?
On the other hand, the central theme of the book was the date rape incident. I am a strong advocate for the prevention of sexual assault and rape. I have read books, attended conferences and written papers. That being said, the incident in this book left me more confused than angry or disgusted. I never thought I had a gray area. It was always black or white. Yes or no. Rape or not rape. Therefore, when I was questioning the validity of the rape, it made me feel guilty and like a horrible person.
For me, the author did a good job with the characters and the side stories but fell flat on her attempt at introduce the sensitive and horrific subject of date rape. A subject that should be addressed and thoroughly represented for the targeted audience of this book. I liked it but lacked the passion to love it.
On the other hand, the central theme of the book was the date rape incident. I am a strong advocate for the prevention of sexual assault and rape. I have read books, attended conferences and written papers. That being said, the incident in this book left me more confused than angry or disgusted. I never thought I had a gray area. It was always black or white. Yes or no. Rape or not rape. Therefore, when I was questioning the validity of the rape, it made me feel guilty and like a horrible person.
For me, the author did a good job with the characters and the side stories but fell flat on her attempt at introduce the sensitive and horrific subject of date rape. A subject that should be addressed and thoroughly represented for the targeted audience of this book. I liked it but lacked the passion to love it.
December 23, 2015
Huge thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy of this for review!
I really don't like to write negative reviews, so I'll keep this short. I didn't like this. I didn't connect with any of the characters. I thought Jan was blah, Erika was annoying and Melanie was blah. The mother didn't seem to care that much AT ALL that her daughter had been raped. The actual subject for rape was like 40 pages of this entire thing. It was so glossed over that I just thought it was wrong for this book to be a book about rape and rape culture.
The dialogue in this was horrific. Nobody talks this way, not even adults. Sometimes I would re-read the dialogue and just wonder wtf.
I was so looking forward to this, books about rape and rape culture are so important. But sadly this doesn't add anything to the current canon of books dealing with this very important topic.
I really don't like to write negative reviews, so I'll keep this short. I didn't like this. I didn't connect with any of the characters. I thought Jan was blah, Erika was annoying and Melanie was blah. The mother didn't seem to care that much AT ALL that her daughter had been raped. The actual subject for rape was like 40 pages of this entire thing. It was so glossed over that I just thought it was wrong for this book to be a book about rape and rape culture.
The dialogue in this was horrific. Nobody talks this way, not even adults. Sometimes I would re-read the dialogue and just wonder wtf.
I was so looking forward to this, books about rape and rape culture are so important. But sadly this doesn't add anything to the current canon of books dealing with this very important topic.
December 8, 2015
Woof. Frankly I'm kind of dumbfounded. The ending totally sealed the deal that this book was just... no. Like, what? For a book centered around such an important issue, it left such a small impression. Everything that happened was breezed over in a weird way. So surface-level, no resolution or growth, anticlimactic. It's going to take a while to form a coherent review.
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I didn’t like this book and I kind of feel uncomfortable reviewing it. I feel weird about saying that a book with SUCH an important topic… felt pointless. I actually haven’t read a lot of books that involve date rape or anything similar, but I know there are powerful ones out there. How can something like this be breezed over, when it’s meant to be the point of the book?
Let me back up a little bit. The synopsis says that three sisters try to move on from the aftermath of something that happens at a party. I mean, sure, that happens? But it wasn’t what I was expecting. They all kind of hate each other and – spoiler alert – that doesn’t really change at the end. In fact, NOTHING changes at the end!
Melanie is raped at a party by a guy who is one of her best friends. This impacts her family and her in different ways, but no one is changed by what happened. By the end of it, Melanie kind of moves on and forgets it happens in some ways. She has ONE conversation with a guy she likes and just feels completely better. It’s like in the books where the main character’s depression is ~cured~ by a boy that comes into her life. At least in those books, the guy spends time with her and maybe they fall in love. Melanie’s acceptance happened in one conversation.
Her sister Erika ends up being the one to tell her mom and the high school counselor. She hates that Melanie gets mad at her and yet there’s one incredibly random scene where Erika calls her a slut. HUH? Where did that come from? She spent the whole book being upset by what happened and wanting to help her sister. I know some people have that terrible attitude towards sexual assault victims, but Erika didn’t until that one scene?! Why.
There were so many characters and they all were so weirdly half-involved. No one was necessary and everyone blended together. Even the main characters! Jan was in college. Melanie was the one who was assaulted. Erika was the other sister. Ok. The character who I liked and related to the most was Eliza, Jan’s apparently ~crazy feminist~ roommate. By the way, Jan assumed she was a lesbian because she was a feminist and involved in women’s issues around campus. AND at one point, one of the other sisters (truly don’t remember which one) mentions that her friend’s dad is “good-looking in the buff gay-guy way.” Um, okay, then.
The writing was weird and only added to the surface-level skimming of issues that the book had. It was so detached from the characters and their storylines. I didn’t feel anything for anyone, which makes ME feel like a bad person! This book is about date rape and no emotion was brought out of me? I truly don’t see how that’s possible. So many events happened in hindsight, too. I didn’t see what happened when the guy was called to the principals office; I was told about it afterwards.
Frankly, the ending was the worst part. In the midst of all this stuff, the girls’ parents get divorced and the dad moves to Hong Kong for a while. The book ends – okay obvious spoilers ahead – with their dad coming home from China. Melanie asking for Chinese food. Melanie taking a shower and thinking about how she loves her dad. She has a conversation (before her dad gets home) with the guy, comes home and sees her dad, and feels better about everything somehow. I just… don’t get it. There was no resolution or growth or closure. So anticlimactic, I kind of sat there dumbfounded for a few minutes.
------------------------------
I didn’t like this book and I kind of feel uncomfortable reviewing it. I feel weird about saying that a book with SUCH an important topic… felt pointless. I actually haven’t read a lot of books that involve date rape or anything similar, but I know there are powerful ones out there. How can something like this be breezed over, when it’s meant to be the point of the book?
Let me back up a little bit. The synopsis says that three sisters try to move on from the aftermath of something that happens at a party. I mean, sure, that happens? But it wasn’t what I was expecting. They all kind of hate each other and – spoiler alert – that doesn’t really change at the end. In fact, NOTHING changes at the end!
Melanie is raped at a party by a guy who is one of her best friends. This impacts her family and her in different ways, but no one is changed by what happened. By the end of it, Melanie kind of moves on and forgets it happens in some ways. She has ONE conversation with a guy she likes and just feels completely better. It’s like in the books where the main character’s depression is ~cured~ by a boy that comes into her life. At least in those books, the guy spends time with her and maybe they fall in love. Melanie’s acceptance happened in one conversation.
Her sister Erika ends up being the one to tell her mom and the high school counselor. She hates that Melanie gets mad at her and yet there’s one incredibly random scene where Erika calls her a slut. HUH? Where did that come from? She spent the whole book being upset by what happened and wanting to help her sister. I know some people have that terrible attitude towards sexual assault victims, but Erika didn’t until that one scene?! Why.
There were so many characters and they all were so weirdly half-involved. No one was necessary and everyone blended together. Even the main characters! Jan was in college. Melanie was the one who was assaulted. Erika was the other sister. Ok. The character who I liked and related to the most was Eliza, Jan’s apparently ~crazy feminist~ roommate. By the way, Jan assumed she was a lesbian because she was a feminist and involved in women’s issues around campus. AND at one point, one of the other sisters (truly don’t remember which one) mentions that her friend’s dad is “good-looking in the buff gay-guy way.” Um, okay, then.
The writing was weird and only added to the surface-level skimming of issues that the book had. It was so detached from the characters and their storylines. I didn’t feel anything for anyone, which makes ME feel like a bad person! This book is about date rape and no emotion was brought out of me? I truly don’t see how that’s possible. So many events happened in hindsight, too. I didn’t see what happened when the guy was called to the principals office; I was told about it afterwards.
Frankly, the ending was the worst part. In the midst of all this stuff, the girls’ parents get divorced and the dad moves to Hong Kong for a while. The book ends – okay obvious spoilers ahead – with their dad coming home from China. Melanie asking for Chinese food. Melanie taking a shower and thinking about how she loves her dad. She has a conversation (before her dad gets home) with the guy, comes home and sees her dad, and feels better about everything somehow. I just… don’t get it. There was no resolution or growth or closure. So anticlimactic, I kind of sat there dumbfounded for a few minutes.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
did-not-finish
January 10, 2016Genre: ya contemp
Source: Harper Teen via Edelweiss
Disclaimer: I received this book as an ARC (advanced review copy). I am not paid for this review, and my opinions in this review are mine, and are not effected by the book being free.
I have done this several times on my blog. Books that just don't work for me. I know my reading style pretty well, and I can tell whether I will like the book or not accurately about 80-90% of the time. If I finish a book, then there are aspects of that book that I enjoyed. I never talk about the author in a negative way, I only say what doesn't work for me. Normally if I finish a book, I give it at least 3 stars, meaning that I liked it.
Stopped at 12%
I wanted to read The Word for Yes because it deals with a very important issue--the date rape culture, and if drunk sex counts as consensual sex. The family dynamics also seemed to be one that would appeal to me.
However, Melanie and me did not click. She seemed really whiny and judgmental, and it didn't give me any precursor, a reason to relate to her, and a reason to connect with her before thrown into what felt like an info dump of the family getting and dealing with divorce. Melanie said things like big people annoy me. and I just couldn't. I feel like the characters were all introduced too quickly, I wanted more time to figure them out.
That isn't to say that the writing is poor or the characters are poorly constructed, it's personal on my end.
Source: Harper Teen via Edelweiss
Disclaimer: I received this book as an ARC (advanced review copy). I am not paid for this review, and my opinions in this review are mine, and are not effected by the book being free.
I have done this several times on my blog. Books that just don't work for me. I know my reading style pretty well, and I can tell whether I will like the book or not accurately about 80-90% of the time. If I finish a book, then there are aspects of that book that I enjoyed. I never talk about the author in a negative way, I only say what doesn't work for me. Normally if I finish a book, I give it at least 3 stars, meaning that I liked it.
Stopped at 12%
I wanted to read The Word for Yes because it deals with a very important issue--the date rape culture, and if drunk sex counts as consensual sex. The family dynamics also seemed to be one that would appeal to me.
However, Melanie and me did not click. She seemed really whiny and judgmental, and it didn't give me any precursor, a reason to relate to her, and a reason to connect with her before thrown into what felt like an info dump of the family getting and dealing with divorce. Melanie said things like big people annoy me. and I just couldn't. I feel like the characters were all introduced too quickly, I wanted more time to figure them out.
That isn't to say that the writing is poor or the characters are poorly constructed, it's personal on my end.
April 28, 2016
NYC sisters dealing with changes in their lives after Dad takes off for Hong Kong and Mom starts flirting with another guy. The oldest starts college at Brown and has to deal with her over-the-top roommate and her boyfriend turning into Eeyore. The middle is emotive, all wrapped up in doing the right thing (like being a vegetarian and tattle telling on her younger sister). The youngest is a bitch who can't stand her middle sister.
Then one night the two younger siblings grudgingly attend a party together. Mom told Miss Perfect to keep an eye on her sister. Instead she hangs out with her friends; her sister get hammered and winds up trying to undress a guy. When he rejects her, she grabs a friend and takes him upstairs. She initiates things but then passes out; he takes advantage and rapes her. Her sister eventually goes looking for her and finds her comatose and panty-less. The victim doesn't remember what happened and there weren't any direct witnesses (the guy was in a bathroom when she was discovered); she doesn't want to discuss it and physically threatens her sister if she tells anyone.
But Goody Two-Shoes decides that, for her sister's own good, she's going to blab the story (including naming the suspected guy) to her counselor who is then obligated to tell their Mom. Needless to say, the victim isn't very appreciative of her sister's inability to keep her trap shut and their relationship implodes further (culminating in an ER visit).
Then one night the two younger siblings grudgingly attend a party together. Mom told Miss Perfect to keep an eye on her sister. Instead she hangs out with her friends; her sister get hammered and winds up trying to undress a guy. When he rejects her, she grabs a friend and takes him upstairs. She initiates things but then passes out; he takes advantage and rapes her. Her sister eventually goes looking for her and finds her comatose and panty-less. The victim doesn't remember what happened and there weren't any direct witnesses (the guy was in a bathroom when she was discovered); she doesn't want to discuss it and physically threatens her sister if she tells anyone.
But Goody Two-Shoes decides that, for her sister's own good, she's going to blab the story (including naming the suspected guy) to her counselor who is then obligated to tell their Mom. Needless to say, the victim isn't very appreciative of her sister's inability to keep her trap shut and their relationship implodes further (culminating in an ER visit).
Read
January 3, 2016This one gets to be my first DNF of 2016. From the first chapter I had a feeling this book and I weren't going to be compatible, then I stumbled across this line "Big people annoyed Melanie" and my *back away* flashers really started going off. Well I decided I would try anyways, I made it to 30% and I'm just done. The writing is rigid, and just not working for me, and the characters are unbelievably flat. After reading some reviews and talking with some people that have already read it I just definitely don't see a point to continue.
October 13, 2015
I made it over 50% with this book. many different point of views come up including Gerald. we see from Jan, Melanie and one other. an incident happens, and brushed by the topic. I couldn't get into the book anymore. just felt like more talking than anything else. also parents get separated during this book , girls are dealing with this.
March 24, 2017
Fantastic book, loved reading about these sisters, and them dealing with the aftermath of the youngest being raped. Great story, though it felt like it ended abruptly without resolving half of what was started!
Read
March 3, 2016Nope, I'm out. The writing style is awful and then there's this gem: "Big people annoyed Melanie." Ugh.
January 16, 2016
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: February 16th, 2016
Rating: 2.5 Stars
Source: ARC from Miss Print's ARC Adoption
Pages: 208
Add it on Goodreads!!
Summary (from Goodreads):
After their parents’ divorce, Jan, Erika, and Melanie have to get used to the new world order: a father who’s moved to another continent and a mother who throws herself into moving on. Jan, off at her first semester of college, has plenty to worry about, including an outspoken roommate who’s kind of “out there” and an increasingly depressed and troubled long-distance boyfriend. Her younger sisters, left at home in New York City, and dealing with all the pressures of life in high school, aren’t exactly close. Erika is serious and feels awkward and uncomfortable in crowds, though her beauty tends to attract attention. Melanie is socially savvy and just wants to go out—to concerts, to parties, wherever—with her friends. The gap between all three girls widens as each day passes.
Then, at a party full of blurred lines and blurred memories, everything changes. Starting that night, where there should be words, there is only angry, scared silence.
And in the aftermath, Jan, Erika, and Melanie will have to work hard to reconnect and help one another heal.
At once touching and raw, Claire Needell’s first novel is an honest look at the love and conflicts among sisters and friends, and how these relationships can hold us together—and tear us apart.
I was really excited for this book, but was actually pretty disappointed by it. From what I knew about this book before I picked it up, it was a book about rape culture and had the point of view of the rapist in it. I found that to be really interesting and knew I had to read it. I have read several other books this past year about rape culture that I really enjoyed and found to be powerful books. I'm no expert on the subject, but I thought this one just missed the mark.
Jan, Erika, and Melanie are sisters. Their mom just basically kicked their dad out and he is off to Hong Kong to work on his new book. Their mom works for a fashion magazine and is often off at business meetings or other work related things. Jan is off at her first year at college and it seems like Erika and Melanie are always off at parties/friend's houses or making rude comments to each other.
Jan is the oldest sister. She has just started her first semester at Brown college, I think. She starts off fairly sheltered and kind of judgmental, but really finds herself in college when she makes real friends and finds that things that she thought mattered before really don't matter now. She was probably my favorite character and the only character in this book that I felt had any growth at all in this book. I really felt like her point of view in this story was pointless though. It doesn't feel to me like it adds anything whatsoever.
Erika is the middle sister. Her point of view felt incredibly juvenile to me. I feel like there is probably a reason for that, but I never picked up on what it would have been while reading the book. She is really pretty and tall and has done some modeling. She's also really smart and into math and science. In the book everyone acts like she doesn't know how to act around people, but I guess I thought she acted fine around people????
Melanie is the youngest sister. She is a giant brat, spoiled, angry, rude, generally horrible. I hated her. Throughout this entire book, she is constantly going on and on about how much she despises Erika. I really don't even think she had a reason? It's been a couple days since I finished the book, but I don't remember any good reason she had to hate her sister so much. She literally never had anything nice to say to her or about her. Not once. Something horrible happens to her and her plan is to just pretend like it never happened and avoid the person who wronged her. But that goes out the window when Erika tells the school counselor about it, which is probably the only reason that she had to hate her. I don't think that she ever manages any healing in this book at all. At the end she is still just a horrible, angry little girl that I wanted to slap.
This book also featured the point of view of the rapist. His perspective is only featured twice. Once during the act and once quite a bit later on when he realizes how big of a pile literally everyone thinks he is. I thought that reading his perspective would be something different and interesting, but I thought that these parts were essentially pointless as well.
Like I said, I really don't think that any of the characters had any growth whatsoever. Except Jan. She's probably the realest character in this whole book. The only one that I could find myself able to relate to in any way at all.
The writing in this book was really....... vague? I don't know if that's the best word to describe it, but whatever it was, I didn't care for it. I don't feel like anything was really resolved. The way I interpreted this book while reading, I feel like at the end, you could basically just go back to the beginning and start over for how much resolution I found to be in it.
I didn't feel like ANYTHING happened in this book. It's basically just a story that follows these three sisters through the six months after their father gets kicked out of their house. Jan is finding herself at college, Erika is being generally clueless and Melanie is being horrible. There is like ONE thing that happens in this book at all.
I really don't even know what to say. I didn't hate this book, but I really didn't like it either. It completely let me down and I was really excited that I actually got my hands on this one early.
Overall, I personally wouldn't recommend this book. If you want to read a book on rape culture, read All The Rage by Courtney Summers or What We Saw by Aaron Hartzler. If you're SUPER curious about this book, well, it's short. You won't waste that much of your time.
Publication Date: February 16th, 2016
Rating: 2.5 Stars
Source: ARC from Miss Print's ARC Adoption
Pages: 208
Add it on Goodreads!!
Summary (from Goodreads):
After their parents’ divorce, Jan, Erika, and Melanie have to get used to the new world order: a father who’s moved to another continent and a mother who throws herself into moving on. Jan, off at her first semester of college, has plenty to worry about, including an outspoken roommate who’s kind of “out there” and an increasingly depressed and troubled long-distance boyfriend. Her younger sisters, left at home in New York City, and dealing with all the pressures of life in high school, aren’t exactly close. Erika is serious and feels awkward and uncomfortable in crowds, though her beauty tends to attract attention. Melanie is socially savvy and just wants to go out—to concerts, to parties, wherever—with her friends. The gap between all three girls widens as each day passes.
Then, at a party full of blurred lines and blurred memories, everything changes. Starting that night, where there should be words, there is only angry, scared silence.
And in the aftermath, Jan, Erika, and Melanie will have to work hard to reconnect and help one another heal.
At once touching and raw, Claire Needell’s first novel is an honest look at the love and conflicts among sisters and friends, and how these relationships can hold us together—and tear us apart.
I was really excited for this book, but was actually pretty disappointed by it. From what I knew about this book before I picked it up, it was a book about rape culture and had the point of view of the rapist in it. I found that to be really interesting and knew I had to read it. I have read several other books this past year about rape culture that I really enjoyed and found to be powerful books. I'm no expert on the subject, but I thought this one just missed the mark.
Jan, Erika, and Melanie are sisters. Their mom just basically kicked their dad out and he is off to Hong Kong to work on his new book. Their mom works for a fashion magazine and is often off at business meetings or other work related things. Jan is off at her first year at college and it seems like Erika and Melanie are always off at parties/friend's houses or making rude comments to each other.
Jan is the oldest sister. She has just started her first semester at Brown college, I think. She starts off fairly sheltered and kind of judgmental, but really finds herself in college when she makes real friends and finds that things that she thought mattered before really don't matter now. She was probably my favorite character and the only character in this book that I felt had any growth at all in this book. I really felt like her point of view in this story was pointless though. It doesn't feel to me like it adds anything whatsoever.
Erika is the middle sister. Her point of view felt incredibly juvenile to me. I feel like there is probably a reason for that, but I never picked up on what it would have been while reading the book. She is really pretty and tall and has done some modeling. She's also really smart and into math and science. In the book everyone acts like she doesn't know how to act around people, but I guess I thought she acted fine around people????
Melanie is the youngest sister. She is a giant brat, spoiled, angry, rude, generally horrible. I hated her. Throughout this entire book, she is constantly going on and on about how much she despises Erika. I really don't even think she had a reason? It's been a couple days since I finished the book, but I don't remember any good reason she had to hate her sister so much. She literally never had anything nice to say to her or about her. Not once. Something horrible happens to her and her plan is to just pretend like it never happened and avoid the person who wronged her. But that goes out the window when Erika tells the school counselor about it, which is probably the only reason that she had to hate her. I don't think that she ever manages any healing in this book at all. At the end she is still just a horrible, angry little girl that I wanted to slap.
This book also featured the point of view of the rapist. His perspective is only featured twice. Once during the act and once quite a bit later on when he realizes how big of a pile literally everyone thinks he is. I thought that reading his perspective would be something different and interesting, but I thought that these parts were essentially pointless as well.
Like I said, I really don't think that any of the characters had any growth whatsoever. Except Jan. She's probably the realest character in this whole book. The only one that I could find myself able to relate to in any way at all.
The writing in this book was really....... vague? I don't know if that's the best word to describe it, but whatever it was, I didn't care for it. I don't feel like anything was really resolved. The way I interpreted this book while reading, I feel like at the end, you could basically just go back to the beginning and start over for how much resolution I found to be in it.
I didn't feel like ANYTHING happened in this book. It's basically just a story that follows these three sisters through the six months after their father gets kicked out of their house. Jan is finding herself at college, Erika is being generally clueless and Melanie is being horrible. There is like ONE thing that happens in this book at all.
I really don't even know what to say. I didn't hate this book, but I really didn't like it either. It completely let me down and I was really excited that I actually got my hands on this one early.
Overall, I personally wouldn't recommend this book. If you want to read a book on rape culture, read All The Rage by Courtney Summers or What We Saw by Aaron Hartzler. If you're SUPER curious about this book, well, it's short. You won't waste that much of your time.
September 22, 2017
I was glad to see that this book is not highly rated, because I really, really disliked it. First, I did not care for the writing style - it almost seemed like the author took a young adult topic and then wrote the book in more like a middle-grade style. Second, I felt no emotional involvement with any of the characters - perhaps because none of them seemed to have any emotional involvement with the events of the book. In fact, the only character who I thought was actually sympathetic was the guy who did it! I've read several other very well-done YA books on date rape in the course of my research for my own project, and this one I thought really missed the mark.
http://lorilschafer.com
http://lorilschafer.com
January 19, 2018
Ended up DNFing at 75%. Yes I made it THAT far. But I hated the main characters. None of them were interesting. In fact one of them was a raving bitch. Sadly she was the one who was raped, so it gave me guilty feelings to hate her while reading. But i really hated her and the way she treated her family and friends. It was just so uncalled for. RUDE. The writing was also just so... bland. For such an imporatant topic, I felt like the topic was just presented and then left like well this is bad. But other ideas weren't challenged. Things are talked around. And the author seriously did a lot of telling instead of showing and discussing. I couldn't do it anymore. Waste of my time.
April 25, 2021
Favorite Quotes:
“It wasn’t true, what people said, about computers and cell phones keeping people connected no matter where they were on the planet. Where you were mattered. Especially with people. The people right in front of you were always the important ones.”
“-any of those descriptions for girls like her-girls who were pretty on a good day, but never beautiful, girls who were certainly smart, but never brilliant; thoughtful, but not radical.”
“It wasn’t true, what people said, about computers and cell phones keeping people connected no matter where they were on the planet. Where you were mattered. Especially with people. The people right in front of you were always the important ones.”
“-any of those descriptions for girls like her-girls who were pretty on a good day, but never beautiful, girls who were certainly smart, but never brilliant; thoughtful, but not radical.”
May 6, 2018
The sentences were beautiful, and I think subject matter such as this needs to be addressed for young audiences, but this book had way too many characters and things going on for me to feel much of anything for each of them.
August 11, 2017
A good generalised look at rape culture, but at times it felt like a background plot device... didn't work for me.
April 29, 2019
DNF 47%
I should have read more reviews before starting.
I should have read more reviews before starting.
Read
September 24, 2019Its a good book but not something I would read again.
February 17, 2016
After their parents’ divorce, Jan, Erika, and Melanie have to get used to the new world order: a father who’s moved to another continent and a mother who throws herself into moving on. Jan, off at her first semester of college, has plenty to worry about, including an outspoken roommate who’s kind of “out there” and an increasingly depressed and troubled long-distance boyfriend. Her younger sisters, left at home in New York City, and dealing with all the pressures of life in high school, aren’t exactly close. Erika is serious and feels awkward and uncomfortable in crowds, though her beauty tends to attract attention. Melanie is socially savvy and just wants to go out—to concerts, to parties, wherever—with her friends. The gap between all three girls widens as each day passes. Then, at a party full of blurred lines and blurred memories, everything changes. Starting that night, where there should be words, there is only angry, scared silence. And in the aftermath, Jan, Erika, and Melanie will have to work hard to reconnect and help one another heal.
The Word for Yes deals with non-stranger rape; with rape that occurs in a drunken moment; with a person who was close to you. Jan, Erika and Melanie are three sisters, who are facing a change in their lives - their parents are separating and Jan is off to college. The relationship between them is a bit complicated - Jan, being the oldest, gets her respect as the big sister. But for Erika and Melanie, things haven't been right since childhood. Melanie is mean and bullies her sister endlessly for being different. When Melanie gets raped by her friend at a party, it throws the older sisters into a chaotic moment, as to how to deal with it.
For a book that was about a sensitive topic such as rape, it mostly skims over the fact and the resultant affect on the characters. On a technical level, the voices of the characters weren't distinct, so there was a disconnect with them from the start. Then comes the fact that Melanie is not a likeable character and her 'healing' is misguided and misdirected as hatred towards Erika, who was the one who informed the elders about the incident. Melanie wants to keep things quiet and deal with it in her own way, I get it, but hating and being jealous of your own sister and being vindictive and cruel towards her when she was only trying to help? Yeah, I didn't know what to take from the story, since the focus is on her hatred towards Erika. Jan is self-absorbed and despite being the eldest, doesn't actually do anything - if she had intervened, perhaps Erika would have been spared the vitriol.
What the novel does succeed in is bringing to light the rape culture that is so unconsciously prevalent that anyone speaking up is considered radical, as evidenced by the reaction to Eliza. Also, the fact that just because a guy has been 'nice' doesn't mean he is entitled to anything, not even an excuse for his behavior. The ending felt a bit mismatched with the pace of the book (which means, the plot was going nowhere) and the confrontation felt inorganic in conception. It felt like something to just wrap up the storyline, and since rest of the book felt superfluous, I wasn't really impressed with the writing of this book.
Received a free galley from HarperTeen, via Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.
The Word for Yes deals with non-stranger rape; with rape that occurs in a drunken moment; with a person who was close to you. Jan, Erika and Melanie are three sisters, who are facing a change in their lives - their parents are separating and Jan is off to college. The relationship between them is a bit complicated - Jan, being the oldest, gets her respect as the big sister. But for Erika and Melanie, things haven't been right since childhood. Melanie is mean and bullies her sister endlessly for being different. When Melanie gets raped by her friend at a party, it throws the older sisters into a chaotic moment, as to how to deal with it.
For a book that was about a sensitive topic such as rape, it mostly skims over the fact and the resultant affect on the characters. On a technical level, the voices of the characters weren't distinct, so there was a disconnect with them from the start. Then comes the fact that Melanie is not a likeable character and her 'healing' is misguided and misdirected as hatred towards Erika, who was the one who informed the elders about the incident. Melanie wants to keep things quiet and deal with it in her own way, I get it, but hating and being jealous of your own sister and being vindictive and cruel towards her when she was only trying to help? Yeah, I didn't know what to take from the story, since the focus is on her hatred towards Erika. Jan is self-absorbed and despite being the eldest, doesn't actually do anything - if she had intervened, perhaps Erika would have been spared the vitriol.
What the novel does succeed in is bringing to light the rape culture that is so unconsciously prevalent that anyone speaking up is considered radical, as evidenced by the reaction to Eliza. Also, the fact that just because a guy has been 'nice' doesn't mean he is entitled to anything, not even an excuse for his behavior. The ending felt a bit mismatched with the pace of the book (which means, the plot was going nowhere) and the confrontation felt inorganic in conception. It felt like something to just wrap up the storyline, and since rest of the book felt superfluous, I wasn't really impressed with the writing of this book.
Received a free galley from HarperTeen, via Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.
February 16, 2016
Jan, Erika, and Melanie Russell have never been especially close as sisters.
Eldest Jan is less present as she begins her first year at Brown where she struggles with lingering doubts that her life as an overachieving high school student will leave her stranded as a mediocre college freshman.
Effortlessly beautiful Erika with her science know-how and low social cognition has always been the beloved oddity in the family. Everyone worries about Erika being able to take care of herself in a world that is far less kind than she would imagine.
Youngest Melanie, at fifteen, is still figuring out where she fits with her high-achieving parents and sisters. Perpetually angry and frustrated by everything Erika does, Melanie is eager to leverage her own social savvy against the constraints of her youth to have some actual fun at the coolest concerts and parties she can find.
When Melanie is sexually assaulted at a party, the entire family is thrown into turmoil. In the wake of the date rape, Erika is sure the crime should be reported while Melanie is desperate to get back to normal. In the weeks after the rape, questions of consent and intention swirl about both Melanie and Gerald at their private school as both of them--and even Erika and Jan--wonder how to move forward in The Word For Yes (2016) by Claire Needell.
The Word For Yes is Needell's first novel.
The narration alternates chapter viewpoints to follow each sister and even Gerald--the boy who assaults Melanie--throughout the novel in close third person. However, because The Word For Yes is so short, these chapters often feel abrupt and cursory as the novel moves from subplot to subplot.
It's hard to think of The Word For Yes as anything but an issue book since the entire driving force of the story is Melanie's rape and its aftermath. As such, certain comparisons are inevitable. While this book joins recent publications like Aaron Hartzler's What We Saw and Consent by Nancy Ohlin in the important conversation about rape and sexual assault, it fails to add anything new to that discussion. It also falls short compared to classics like Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson or Inexcusable by Chris Lynch.
The Word For Yes also touches upon issues of bullying, adjusting to college, and changing family dynamics. Sadly this book ultimately lacks the depth to offer anything but a quick read that takes on too much. Plot threads for each sister--including what is meant to be a powerful confrontation scene for Melanie--come off as decidedly anti-climactic and even clinical with so little time being spent on individual aspects of the story.
While The Word For Yes should be applauded for attempts to thoughtfully discuss issues surrounding rape, as well as some level of diversity, this novel is ultimately too slight to be anything but a forgettable issue-driven story.
Possible Pairings: Never, Always, Sometimes by Adi Alsaid, Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, What We Saw by Aaron Hartzler, Inexcusable by Chris Lynch, Althea and Oliver by Christina Moracho, Consent by Nancy Ohlin, Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between by Jennifer E. Smith
*A more condensed version of this review appeared in an issue of School Library Journal from which it can be seen on various sites online*
Eldest Jan is less present as she begins her first year at Brown where she struggles with lingering doubts that her life as an overachieving high school student will leave her stranded as a mediocre college freshman.
Effortlessly beautiful Erika with her science know-how and low social cognition has always been the beloved oddity in the family. Everyone worries about Erika being able to take care of herself in a world that is far less kind than she would imagine.
Youngest Melanie, at fifteen, is still figuring out where she fits with her high-achieving parents and sisters. Perpetually angry and frustrated by everything Erika does, Melanie is eager to leverage her own social savvy against the constraints of her youth to have some actual fun at the coolest concerts and parties she can find.
When Melanie is sexually assaulted at a party, the entire family is thrown into turmoil. In the wake of the date rape, Erika is sure the crime should be reported while Melanie is desperate to get back to normal. In the weeks after the rape, questions of consent and intention swirl about both Melanie and Gerald at their private school as both of them--and even Erika and Jan--wonder how to move forward in The Word For Yes (2016) by Claire Needell.
The Word For Yes is Needell's first novel.
The narration alternates chapter viewpoints to follow each sister and even Gerald--the boy who assaults Melanie--throughout the novel in close third person. However, because The Word For Yes is so short, these chapters often feel abrupt and cursory as the novel moves from subplot to subplot.
It's hard to think of The Word For Yes as anything but an issue book since the entire driving force of the story is Melanie's rape and its aftermath. As such, certain comparisons are inevitable. While this book joins recent publications like Aaron Hartzler's What We Saw and Consent by Nancy Ohlin in the important conversation about rape and sexual assault, it fails to add anything new to that discussion. It also falls short compared to classics like Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson or Inexcusable by Chris Lynch.
The Word For Yes also touches upon issues of bullying, adjusting to college, and changing family dynamics. Sadly this book ultimately lacks the depth to offer anything but a quick read that takes on too much. Plot threads for each sister--including what is meant to be a powerful confrontation scene for Melanie--come off as decidedly anti-climactic and even clinical with so little time being spent on individual aspects of the story.
While The Word For Yes should be applauded for attempts to thoughtfully discuss issues surrounding rape, as well as some level of diversity, this novel is ultimately too slight to be anything but a forgettable issue-driven story.
Possible Pairings: Never, Always, Sometimes by Adi Alsaid, Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, What We Saw by Aaron Hartzler, Inexcusable by Chris Lynch, Althea and Oliver by Christina Moracho, Consent by Nancy Ohlin, Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between by Jennifer E. Smith
*A more condensed version of this review appeared in an issue of School Library Journal from which it can be seen on various sites online*
August 11, 2017
DNF
Well, it's been a while since I didn't finish a book, it feels kind of strange.
The story starts out easy enough, the parents of Melanie, Jan and Erika are getting divorced and their dad is moving out. Jan, the oldest is starting college in a few days, Erika the middle child finally gets her own room, and Mel is being the spoiled little sister brat she's been all her life. This book also deals with rape, but by the time I got to that part, I was so disinterested, so I can't really say how it was portrayed.
This probably won't be a super long review, just based on the fact that I only got 100 pages in.
The story was told from the three sisters, all in third person. But I felt like they all had the same whiny voice to them. Mel is complaining about everything and tyrannizing her older sister Erika all the time. Jan is complaining about her boyfriend and how he's always pinching pennies. Erika is complaining that she doesn't get any attention (except Julia, oh I'm sorry, her mother when she decides to hang out with the cool cats and go to parties). They all complain.
I just felt like this book was so painful, it was physically difficult to get myself to pick it up and try to read it.
I think the aspect that made me officially shut down the story was the aftermath of the rape. It was like the other sisters didn't really care or notice. Jan, while away at college, is having issues with her own boyfriend and pretty much responds by saying she'll talk to Mel about it. No, did you tell mom? Did you call the police? Who do I have to go kill? You know, the questions you are supposed to ask when you're sister is raped. Maybe part of it is saying something about rape culture, where, for so long, we haven't cared or paid attention. Even still, this book needs to make its mind up and not show that this is an acceptable way to react.
Not only that, but there was sexism, racism, slut-shaming, just so many bad things I couldn't bear to read. Someone dresses up in a Hitler costume for Halloween and one of the characters comments on maybe that's considered funny on the Upper East Side. A HITLER COSTUME WILL NEVER BE FUNNY NO MATTER WHAT SIDE OF NY YOU LIVE IN.
The three perspectives were abrupt and had little flow, there were perspectives for the rapist as well, which, while I only got to a couple, showed exactly what happened, at least to his perspective and makes it seem like Mel was coming on to him. Then, I would assume, that would lead to questions of if it was actually rape, did she say no, etc. which kind of defeat the purpose of a story about sexual assault.
Overall, I'm not a fan and am seriously mad that I spend $21.99 on this book. If you want a book that deals with sexual assault, pick up The Female of the Species, it is a million times better.
Well, it's been a while since I didn't finish a book, it feels kind of strange.
The story starts out easy enough, the parents of Melanie, Jan and Erika are getting divorced and their dad is moving out. Jan, the oldest is starting college in a few days, Erika the middle child finally gets her own room, and Mel is being the spoiled little sister brat she's been all her life. This book also deals with rape, but by the time I got to that part, I was so disinterested, so I can't really say how it was portrayed.
This probably won't be a super long review, just based on the fact that I only got 100 pages in.
The story was told from the three sisters, all in third person. But I felt like they all had the same whiny voice to them. Mel is complaining about everything and tyrannizing her older sister Erika all the time. Jan is complaining about her boyfriend and how he's always pinching pennies. Erika is complaining that she doesn't get any attention (except Julia, oh I'm sorry, her mother when she decides to hang out with the cool cats and go to parties). They all complain.
I just felt like this book was so painful, it was physically difficult to get myself to pick it up and try to read it.
I think the aspect that made me officially shut down the story was the aftermath of the rape. It was like the other sisters didn't really care or notice. Jan, while away at college, is having issues with her own boyfriend and pretty much responds by saying she'll talk to Mel about it. No, did you tell mom? Did you call the police? Who do I have to go kill? You know, the questions you are supposed to ask when you're sister is raped. Maybe part of it is saying something about rape culture, where, for so long, we haven't cared or paid attention. Even still, this book needs to make its mind up and not show that this is an acceptable way to react.
Not only that, but there was sexism, racism, slut-shaming, just so many bad things I couldn't bear to read. Someone dresses up in a Hitler costume for Halloween and one of the characters comments on maybe that's considered funny on the Upper East Side. A HITLER COSTUME WILL NEVER BE FUNNY NO MATTER WHAT SIDE OF NY YOU LIVE IN.
The three perspectives were abrupt and had little flow, there were perspectives for the rapist as well, which, while I only got to a couple, showed exactly what happened, at least to his perspective and makes it seem like Mel was coming on to him. Then, I would assume, that would lead to questions of if it was actually rape, did she say no, etc. which kind of defeat the purpose of a story about sexual assault.
Overall, I'm not a fan and am seriously mad that I spend $21.99 on this book. If you want a book that deals with sexual assault, pick up The Female of the Species, it is a million times better.
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