Das Privileg

by Mary Adkins

From the beloved author of When You Read This , a smart, sharply observed novel about gender and class on a contemporary Southern college campus in the spirit of The Female Persuasion and Prep.Carter “The Harvard of the South.”Annie Stoddard was the smartest girl in her small public high school in Georgia, but now that she’s at Carter, it feels like she’s got “Scholarship Student” written on her forehead.Bea Powers put aside misgivings about attending college in the South as a biracial student in take part in Carter’s Justice Scholars program. But even within that rarefied circle of people trying to change the world, it seems everyone has a different idea of what justice is.Stayja York goes to Carter every day, too, but she isn’t a student. She works at the Coffee Bean, doling out almond milk lattes to entitled co-eds, while trying to put out fires on the home front and save for her own education.Their three lives intersect unexpectedly when Annie accuses fourth-year student Tyler Brand of sexual assault. Once Bea is assigned as Tyler’s student advocate, the girls find themselves on opposite sides as battle lines are drawn across the picture-perfect campus—and Stayja finds herself invested in the case’s outcome, too.Told through the viewpoints of Annie, Bea, and Stayja, Privilege is a bracingly clear-eyed look at today’s campus politics, and a riveting story of three young women making their way in a world not built for them.

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Dark Academia, Audiobook, Academia, Literary Fiction, Feminism

Paperback

First published March 10, 2020

Reviews

[Paris (parisperusing) · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a ruthless, dispiriting story about the innumerable concessions white men are given to lay claim to whatever and whoever they want. And with limitless impunity at that. I thoroughly enjoyed Privilege and Mary Adkins certainly knows how to strike an emotional chord with the way she nuances the myriad injustices her characters face sexually, emotionally, and systemically.

However, by the book's ending, I was still a bit unsatisfied with the moral direction of the one primary person of color, Bea, whose motivations shift from harmless and uncertain to ridiculously contradictive at times. In a way, I think Bea's being black and white tamed her from making certain decisions that would clearly undermine the system of white privilege and supremacy. I found her logic to be largely nonsensical and improbable, which angered me considering her understanding of systemic inequity completely contradicts her flimsy stance in the book. Her actions and ideas were controversial at best, and she doesn't appear to be an authentic character at all. Instead, she seemed to be a passive caricature of her full potential.

Not to take away from the story, of course. I was completely invested in the lives of these three young women and blindsided all the more by their outcomes.

[Madeleine]

TLDR: read Know My Name by Chanel Miller

Promising start and addresses a really important issue, but both the plot and the prose floundered in the second half. I did appreciate the characterization of the main protagonist (especially in the first 2/3 or so) and that the author encouraged naming the central crime and calling it out for what it was.

But I didn’t understand the justification for having a fictitiously and artificially accelerated disciplinary process, when it’s so central to the identity of the system to be tortuously slow. Even more importantly, I couldn’t get past how contradictory it was that one character so easily conflated sympathy for the cause of indigent defense with that of white-collar criminal defense. She’s what some on the right would derisively sneer at as an aspiring social justice warrior gone wrong, depicted borderline satirically as taking defense too far, even brutally slandering a victim in defense of a wealthy white donor’s son, before learning her lesson and being belatedly wracked by guilt. although the character may have been naïve, it felt borderline implausible that she would be unable to register the falsity of the conflation that was being pushed upon her by her professor. As a result, her character as a whole felt less like a person grappling with cognitive dissonance, and much more like the author’s attempt at a sloppy rhetorical sleight-of-hand aimed at critiquing defense lawyers (who may sometimes take on indigent cases). While a-hole charismatic defense lawyers certainly do exist, it just didn’t add up that this character, who had come of age during Me Too and aspired to advocate for defendants from less blatantly unsympathetic backgrounds, would really fall into the trap of taking defense that far.

At a macro level, by the end of the book, there were too many discombobulated plot threads. I haven’t even gotten to addressing the third perspective at all. The Stayja chapters, like the rest of the book, were a mixed bag, but Nicole was a gem.

[Kathryn S (Metaphors and Miscellanea)]

Let's be real: the reason I'm most excited/curious about this one is that I went to Vanderbilt, often referred to as the "Harvard of the South," which is exactly how they describe the fictional university this book takes place at. And Vandy had a lot of problems that are eerily similar to the ones mentioned in the blurb, which are too often glossed over by the administration and the general public. I hope this novel can bring some of those to light.

I'm. So. Excited. (Might be a while before I get to it, because I do have other books to get through, but...still hyped.)

Thank you to HarperCollins for providing me with an eARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

[DrunkenCherry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ich muss sagen, dass ich mir unter dem Buch etwas ganz anderes vorgestellt habe. Auf dem Klappentext wird verraten, dass es um die Geschichte dreier Frauen geht, die nur eine Gemeinsamkeit haben: Tyler Brand, einen Mann, der hier noch wegen eines sexuellen Übergriffs beschuldigt werden wird. Irgendwie habe ich erwartet, dass sich die Wege der drei irgendwann kreuzen würden und aus drei Geschichten eine werden würde, aber so richtig ist das nicht passiert, zumindest nicht so, wie ich es mir gedacht hatte.
Der Schreibstil der Autorin war für mich gewöhnungsbedürftig. Sie erschafft durchaus interessante Charaktere und hatte auch tolle Ansätze in ihrer Geschichte, brachte aber keinerlei Gefühle rüber. Ich hatte oft das Gefühl, dass es unnötige Passagen gab, die eigentlich nichts zur Geschichte beitrugen. Zum Ende hin ergibt das, was geschrieben wurde, dann schon irgendwie Sinn, es war aber weder spannend, noch wurde es befriedigend aufgelöst. Das Buch hätte problemlos hundert Seiten weniger haben können, ohne, dass etwas gefehlt hätte.
Über die einzelnen Figuren wurde viel erzählt, so dass man ein genaues Bild von ihnen vor Augen hatte, jedoch schaffte Mary Adkins es nicht, dass ich mich auch nur einer von ihnen verbunden fühlte. Ihre Geschichten waren traurig, kämpferisch und mitten aus dem Leben – aber sie waren mir einfach egal. Und das finde ich schon sehr traurig.
Am traurigsten fand ich, dass mir nicht einmal Annie, die Opfer einer Vergewaltigung wird, sympathisch war. Tatsächlich konnte ich ihr Verhalten oftmals gar nicht nachvollziehen. Dass der zweite sexuelle Übergriff nur rückblickend erzählt wird, trug auch nicht dazu bei, dass ich sie besser verstehen konnte.
Den Part von Bea, die zu Beginn Tyler Brands studentische Beihilfe ist, hätte man komplett aus der Geschichte streichen können und es hätte sich nur minimal etwas geändert.
Ja, das Buch greift mit der MeToo-Debatte ein wichtiges Thema auf, die Umsetzung fand ich aber überhaupt nicht gelungen. Das Einzige, was ich aus dem Buch mitnehmen kann, ist, dass reiche, weiße Männer mit Verbindungen es im Leben immer leicht haben werden und sich alles erlauben können. Und ich glaube, das war eigentlich nicht das Ziel der Autorin.

[Theresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Privilege" by Mary Adkins just didn't work for me. To be honest, I had problems with the writing style. I kept forgetting that I was reading about College students. The characters felt like high school students because of the immature prose. I also didn't like the 3 point-of-views. Annie's perspective should've been the only narrative. I didn't feel like Bea and Stayja's narratives were necessary. The story would've been a lot stronger if Bea and Stayja were introduced as secondary characters instead. I also didn't like the tone of this book. The story is centered around a sexual assault on a college campus, and I didn't think the subject matter was handled appropriately. It was very glossy. I found the whole plot/outcome to be convenient and patronizing.

Thank you, Netgalley and Harper Collins for the digital ARC.

[Bruna Oliveira · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for providing the digital copy in exchange for an honest opinion.

Rating: 3.5/5

In this book we three different points of view: Annie Stoddard, a nice girl who was lucky enough to get a scholarship in a prestigious school called Carter University, considered "The Harvard of the South", then Bea Powers, a biracial student who is part of Carter's Justice Scholars program, and finally, Stayja York who is not a student at Carter, but works in a coffee shop in there, dealing on a daily basis with those students. One day, Annie accuses Tyler of sexual assault and their stories intertwines, since Bea has to work as Tyler's advocate - which is a kind of counsellor giving him emotional support. and obviously, she feels really conflicted and it's her first "case".

First, I must say that I really liked the author's previous book "When you read this", which is written completely in e-mails. I thought Adkin's writing style was very gripping and I enjoyed the way she dealt with grief and still made me laugh.

However, this one is much more serious in a way, since it deals with sexual assault. The way the author shows how it happens and all the psychological reaction from the victim is really well done and of course, very uncomfortable in the way it's supposed to be. So if you are extra sensitive about this subject, I wouldn't recommend this book. (Not that It's not extremely graphic or anything).

The author shows all the bureaucracy, the investigation, how the university deals with these kinds of allegations, etc. so I really appreciated all of the way the topic is developed. Not only sexual assault, but also other kinds of harassment. However, I didn't feel any special connection to the characters, so despite feeling empathy and wanting justice for all of the three main characters, they weren't characters I ultimately loved.

Overall, It's not the best book that I've read regarding this topic, but it's definitely worth the read :)

[Henny · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tw: sexual abuse/ rape

I don’t know. If you have never read anything “me too” related (not even an article) or are really young you might enjoy this and find it generally interesting.

I on the other hand did not. It reads like an YA book and you could really feel that the author herself must be in her late 30s (or even older) imagining what 20 yo are behaving like today ( it felt very CRINGE to me and I am in my early 30s as well)

All of the characters felt totally immature and were written clichés: the good girl that plays in the Orchester and gets shivers when listening to Bach (omg really?! No offense to you fellow classic lovers out there), the smart overachiever girl with the tragic family back story and a white trash girl that wants to make more out of her life. 🙄 the whole story about Annie fighting her rapist felt somehow sugarcoated and to much like Adkins wanted to create a feel good book with a message- at least I felt like she didn’t give Annie’s story enough justice.

If you want to read something with more depth to the story I would probably suggest Chanel Millers Book - “I have a name” (I haven’t finished that myself yet but it reads entirely different, gripping, hard to take in and makes you feel A LOT)

[Kayla · Rating 2 out of 5]

In Privilege, Mary Adkins creates a complex and thoughtful tale about how the ways in which money, talent, race, gender, and violence impact our lives. The novel focuses on the lives of several students who cross paths because of an assault. Each of these students faces relevant and timely pressures such as: trying to live up to a legacy of success, grief/mourning, the influence of powerful and unscrupulous advisors, and financial woes. The book also makes the daring choice to alternate first person and third person point of view. While I think the moral ambiguities written about in Privilege are well worth thinking about and wrestling with, I failed to feel deeply for any of the characters and found it difficult to distinguish their voices. Perhaps this was part of the point; by being anchored, in some way, to the school, they all had privileges that failed to occur to them, making them all more alike than they would be comfortable admitting. Ultimately, this is a campus novel that engages with university subjects like psychology, sociology, and philosophy, but which would benefit from more attention to character development.

[Mayleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. If I hadn’t read Chanel Miller’s Know My Name last year, I probably would have given this more stars. Even though I thought the author did a great job writing their stories down to every detail I couldn’t connect to the characters.

I’m going to go back to read her first book because I like her style.

[Kelly_Hunsaker_reads ... · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank to Harper Collins for sending me the paperback copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars.

Privilege is aptly named -- about the privilege held by men, and how it impacts young women. Told from three points of view, with seemingly separate stories, the author brings the women together and knits together all the threads. It is well done.

My favorite character is Annie Stoddard. She is a nice girl from a lower middle class family. When she earns a scholarship to the prestigious Carter University her parents take extra jobs to afford the portion that is not covered. This family reminded me a bit of my own. Nobody in my family attended college. I went into my university with no knowledge of what it took to be successful and even less about how to make it happen financially. We also follow the stories of Bea Powers - a biracial student who is part of the Justice Scholars program, and Stayja York -- a local girl who works at the campus coffee shop.

When Annie accuses Tyler of rape the women's stories slowly intertwine. Bea is assigned as student advocate working for Tyler, and finds herself giving him both emotional and legal support. Stayja begins dating him, convinced that he both cares about her and is unfairly accused. While the overriding theme is rape and its impact on women, what made this book most affecting was the gentle touch by the author. This story is more about the women's attempts to survive the aftermath than it is about the events. It is about the devastation wrought by one privileged and spoiled white man. But the focus is not on him. This is the women's story.

I will say that the way these crimes are investigated by campuses is horrible, and it needs to change. I found myself angry because this is the reality for so many young women.

[Natasha den Dekker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wasn't what I expected but I enjoyed it.

The story is told from the POV of multiple women-identifying characters all of whom have interactions of a kind with the antogonist - in this case a rapist who purports to be otherwise (you can see what I think straight away). What I think is super interesting and really realistic is all of the different reactions each woman has on hearing the news about the fact that a character might be a rapist whether if it's support or outright denial. I loved the way this journey is depicted through the different characters and their backgrounds and upbringing.

The real villain in the piece is the university (well ok, I think it is) bowing to money ahead of 'justice' but also a bigger piece around how men (it is men) abuse power and how in a lot of cases women can't do anything but also the women that go along with it out of survivial etc.

There is a tragic twist to the end that feels a bit unnecessary (which stops me from giving it 5 stars) but on the whole I really enjoyed it and even now in 2021, you know there are people who say things like 'well if she didn't wear/act.....then 'it'....wouldn't happen.'

This novel shines in the it highlights how all of us, and the machinery that props up society is instrumental in allowing sexual violence to happen because 'men don't understand', 'men don't know to control themselves' and how we as women internalise that. And how if you have enough money, it really doesn't matter.

[Tess · Rating 3 out of 5]

PRIVILEGE is a solid book about campus life, the Me Too movement, and how sexual assault in a school setting affects young women. It's handled with a lightness, though, which makes it easy to read (though perhaps that isn't always the best thing). I enjoyed the book, but there are many other books like this one that I would recommend first, unfortunately. The book, like the subject matter, can often be messy but it is still a worthwhile read especially for the characters and how the book is presented.

It is of its time, and I enjoyed the writing style and the humor peppered throughout, The three women who share the narrative are well-rounded and interesting characters, and I felt very strongly for them. There are also shocking and profoundly sad moments in the book. It explores every aspect of a Title IX complaint, from the history of the relationship, to how a school handles it, to what role money and privilege play in the outcome, to how it affects interpersonal relationships between friends and family afterwards. It is stark and depressing, and though this may be well-trodden territory, it certainly doesn't mean that these stories don't need to be shared and explored as often as possible.

[saskia 🫂 · Rating 2 out of 5]

the end of this book left me hollow and i’m not sure yet if it was the good kind or the bad kind of hollow

[Stacy40pages · Rating 3 out of 5]

Privilege by Mary Adkins. Thanks to @harper for the gifted copy which is now in paperback ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Three women attend an elite college: Annie, smart but sheltered from a public high school, Bea, a biracial student in the schools Justice program, and Stayja, an employee at the college’s coffee shop saving for nursing school. When Annie accuses a fellow student of sexual assault, all three women’s lives are affected.

I loved the three women and their perspectives. It was so interesting because all three were from very different backgrounds and had different personalities. It was a fresh take being able to watch the same situation from different perspectives. I would have loved them to come together more, but it still worked well. Each of them were learning their own lessons about life, and MEN. I liked this, but as someone else mentioned in a review, after reading Know My Name,
a fiction book just doesn’t hit as strongly for me. It was still a really good read that I’d recommend.

TW before reading the below quote: Rape

“Being raped has colonized a whole district of my brain. And while I hate the person who did this to me, a person I fear and dread seeing every day- that part? I hate even more. If I want to leave you with one idea, it’s this: you don’t speak when you know no one is listening. You don’t fight back when you know you’re going to lose.”

Privilege is now out on paperback.

[CrossingJordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

2,5 Sterne

Aufgerundet durch die Thematik, den spannenden Einstieg und die guten Schlussseiten. Ansonsten ist "Das Privileg" leider eine Enttäuschung gewesen. Trotz der Thematik werden Emotionen kaum transportiert, vieles wird schon fast irritierend sachlich von den Protagonistinnen geschildert. Gewisse Schlüsselszenen werden dadurch nicht als solche erkannt. Aufgrund des Klappentextes hatte ich mir erwartet, dass sich die Wege der drei Protagonistinnen mehr kreuzen würden; leider ebenfalls eine ungenutzte Chance, mehr Emotion einzuarbeiten. So blieben die Charaktere leider blass und eher unnahbar und ich hatte länger Probleme damit, sie auseinanderzuhalten, als ich es sonst gehabt hätte.

[Anna (bibliophiles_bookstagram) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second my eyes scanned the cover of this book, I was intrigued. They say “Never judge a book by its cover,” but dang am I glad I did, as the cover drew me in.

The story in this novel is nothing we haven’t heard before: privileged male breaks the law and privileged male gets a slap on the wrist, and privileged male never needs to learn his lesson bc he never understands he is doing anything wrong.” The story Adkins weaves is simplistic and straightforward. The depth and weight of the story is so much deeper. Did the simplistic story make the themes too simplistic? Maybe? I don’t think so? I found myself pondering the situations pretty seriously. For instance, the irony is not lost on readers when the victim ponders: “...perhaps I could transfer, too. I could transfer to somewhere where I wasn’t known for this heinous thing.”

Or when the behavior is explained away by saying, “This is one sad, messed-up rich kid out of hundred sad, messed-up rich kids. They don’t know what they’re doing because they have never had to take responsibility for anything.”

Finally, readers are left pondering a very powerful passage, one reminiscent of Nick’s description of Tom and Daisy in “The Great Gatsby,” when Annie wonders, “Are some people made for destruction? Do they move through the world like hurricanes, sweeping up perfectly good lives and smashing them to pieces?”

Yeah, I think we can probably answer that as a “yeah.” You’ll need to read the book to determine if you agree, however.

Just because this didn’t earn 5 stars doesn’t mean it wasn’t absolutely readable and fabulously moving. It kept both attention and my heart the whole time. I could have used a little more character depth, but the message was there, loud and clear.

[Heather McCoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is absolutely savage in the best possible way. A portrait of life at an elite institution as seen through three different young women who experience privilege in intersecting ways. If you hate bros, you will still hate them but this dissection feels authentic and raw. An absolutely unflinching look at who gets to come away unscathed, who survives, and who is destroyed.

[mh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book mainly because the college reminded me of the one I went to. I didn’t think 3 perspectives were necessary and it was odd that Annie was the only POV written in first person.

[Joelie]

DNF

Not for me.
Writing style was awkward and trying to be too trendy, too many cliches, juvenile characters and after reading reviews it doesn’t sound like the sexual assault is handled well and ends up becoming almost irrelevant to the story. Decided to discontinue.

[Holly | Raise Your Words · Rating 5 out of 5]

-- 4.5/5 stars --

Trigger warnings: Graphic sexual assault depiction in chapter 7 (Chapter 11 on audible), death, Quid Pro Quo

Privilege by Mary Adkins is a novel that follows three main characters, Annie, Bea, and Stayja, during their journey at Carter University. Annie is a second-year at Carter who has been battling for most of her life to feel beautiful from the waist down due to the scars on her legs. Bea is a first-year at Carter who decided to attend thanks to Dr. Friedman and the Justice Scholars Program. Stayja attends Carter as an employee of the Coffee Bean, while simultaneously attempting to save for her own education and keep her family above water financially. All three of these lives intersect because of Tyler Brand.

As someone who has worked at a college for the past three years, has worked in Title IX, has held sexual assault advocacy phone lines, and is a survivor, I knew I would need to pick up this book. In the beginning, I was hesitant as the topics depicted by Mary Adkins in Privilege are not easy by any stretch, however, I find that Adkins does a phenomenal job at hitting the hard topics.

The big thing to be aware of throughout this book is that it can be EXTREMELY triggering for anyone that has any tie to sexual assault or abuse. There are many times where interactions are more life-like than we wish could be true in the real world, and Adkins does a great job at depicting it.

My main qualms with the book deals with the endings of Bea & Stayja’s sections. Without spoilers, I felt as though Bea didn’t do anything about what she witnessed in the hotel room (though it may have just not been mentioned) and Stayja could have gone to court. Overall, this book was fantastic and I would highly recommend it.

Follow all of my reviews at: https://raiseyourwords.weebly.com

[Karen Barber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Privilege is a book that I was curious about from the moment I heard it mentioned. Having finished it, I have to say that this is a book I felt angered by, frustrated by and desperately wish that it did not feel so relevant!
The book is told through the eyes of three young women. There is Annie Stoddard, a clever student who wins a scholarship to Carter and is determined to make her mark. There is Bea, a biracial student who is nervous about attending a Southern college. There is also Stayja, a young girl who would love to be a medic but who feels her financial background makes this a pipe dream. Stayja works in a cafe on the Carter campus...and before we reach the end of the book the lives of these three young women have become inextricably linked.
Following the three young women through their experience, there was much to love...just as there was much to hate.
The initial focus of the book was Annie and her encounter with privileged student Tyler Brand. She reports him for having raped her, and what follows incensed me. I felt angry on behalf of Annie and every person who has been in her situation, but I appreciate that her story is not unusual. While Annie's story felt as if it were the main focus initially, I found myself appreciating the way Adkins widens her focus to explore the varying ways in which privilege can impact on our lives.
There's no easy answers to the questions raised by this book, but I would definitely encourage others to read it and think about the part they would like to play in this horribly topical social ill.

[Janine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ich habe kürzlich ein Buch gelesen, das aus den Perspektiven von Annie, Bea und Stayja erzählt wird – drei Frauen, die sich nicht kennen, aber alle auf ihre eigene Art Tyler begegnen.
Trotz der tiefen Einblicke in ihre Lebenswelten bleiben die Frauen jedoch unnahbar und distanziert. Ihre unterschiedlichen Herkunfts- und Charaktere wurden gut herausgearbeitet, was die Diversität im Buch schön unterstreicht. Tyler hingegen wird eher stereotypisch als reicher, privilegierter weißer Student dargestellt, was etwas plump wirkt und der Nuance fehlt.


Der zentrale Fall des sexuellen Übergriffs wird zwar objektiv beleuchtet und die verschiedenen Seiten werden gezeigt – was ich sehr gelungen fand. Doch nachdem der Fall abgeschlossen ist, bleibt die Handlung ziemlich gleichförmig, ohne viel Neues zu bieten. Das war für mich etwas ermüdend zu lesen.

Die wiederkehrende Frage nach sozialer Gerechtigkeit und die wichtigen Themen, die das Buch anspricht,fand ich dennoch gut und vor allem wichtig. Dennoch hatte ich beim letzten Drittel das Gefühl, dass die Autorin den roten Faden verloren hat und die Kernthese aus den Augen gerät. Schade, denn das hätte das Buch noch stärker gemacht.

Insgesamt ist es ein Roman, der wichtige Themen aufgreift, aber mich persönlich nicht ganz so tief erreicht hat. Trotzdem ist es eine lesenswerte Geschichte, die zum Nachdenken anregt! 📚✨

3,5 von 5 Ottis 🦦 🦦 🦦

[Jodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Privilege is another book I picked up on the New Release shelf at the library and I was pleasantly surprised to find I read When You Read This by Mary Adkins last year. This is the story of three very different woman at Carter University, a place very similar to Duke University. Annie, is a small town girl attending Carter on a music scholarship. Bea, is also attending Carter on a partial scholarship in the Justice Scholar program but has spent her childhood among the upper class attending boarding school and raised by a high achieving, single parent. Finally there is Stayja, she is from the town of Carterboro and young woman working at the campus coffee shop while working her way through community college. The three woman are connected by Tyler Brand, a wealthy student with deep ties to the college. I found the characters interesting, the story very current with the exploration of power, wealth, and class. While the buildup to the ending was somewhat predictable, I was satisfied with how the whole story was wrapped up.

[Ellemir · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dieses Buch ist wirklich heftig - aber wichtig. Es erinnert daran, dass Vergewaltigung häufig im direkten Umfeld stattfindet (in diesem Fall Date Rape), dass der Vergewaltiger nicht von Grund auf böse und in jeglicher Hinsicht ein Monster sein muss und es tatsächlich gar nicht so selten vorkommt, dass das, was eine Frau als Vergewaltigung erlebt, für ihn wie normaler Sex innerhalb einer Beziehung aussieht, besonders, wenn Alkohol im Spiel ist. Und auch das Umfeld der Beteiligten ist sich häufig nicht sicher, wem sie glauben sollen, Institutionen wie die Universität in diesem Buch geben sich zwar vordergründig offen und bereit, dem Opfer zu helfen und für Gerechtigkeit zu sorgen, lassen sich aber offensichtlich von großzügigen Geldgebern beeinflussen.
Ein wenig unzufrieden bin ich mit der Darstellung von Bea,

Natürlich ist das Buch nicht eins zu eins auf unsere Verhältnisse in Deutschland zu übertragen, aber es regt zum Nachdenken an.

[Kit · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was alright, falls a little flat for me as compared to Adkins' When You Read This, which is probably in my top 20 books. Title is While Justice Sleeps level direct so -1. The characters were interesting enough, but I wasn't as taken with them as her other writing. I think I was most interested in Stayja, she felt the most dynamic to me. The story was interesting, although I do feel like characters leaned more into trope territory/simplistic views of things at times. Didn't care much for the descriptions of improv, it made sense for the character and I loved that journey for her but there's only so much written description of a spoken act I can take. Overall pretty satisfied with the book and enjoyed reading it; gasped out loud at the ending.

[Elizabeth Rogers · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's ok.

It is well written, the characters change and grow, and it's an important topic/message that needs to be shared.

There are a few twists...

The characters will get on your nerves at times because of all of the dumb choices they make, but they're in college so that's par for the course.

The ending is disappointing, but it's kind of the whole point of the book (note the title). I will say the author does a good job of tying up loose ends. You get closure, but you're not going to be happy about it.

3 stars - mostly because this just wasn't my cup of tea.

[Nora Krauss · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ich habe sehr gemischte Gefühle für dieses Buch. Inhaltlich finde ich es sehr stark, das sind kluge Gedanken und zeigt verschiedene Facetten auf das Thema sexueller Missbrauch auf. Gleichzeitig habe ich wirklich Mühe gehabt dieses Buch zu lesen, weil es mich sprachlich nicht fesseln konnte und ich bis zum Ende nicht mit den Charakteren mich richtig anfreunden konnte. Würde ich es weiterempfehlen? Ich weiß es nicht.

[Hillary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty slower starter, but it definitely went somewhere once it got going. Don't be put off by my shitty metaphor, this is worth reading

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is heartbreaking and frustrating and illuminating. All of the characters were realistic and well developed. I didn't always agree with their choices but I certainly understood them. I think this read will stay with me for a long time.

[maraella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eigentlich sind es eher 2,5 Sterne…
Der Versuch war ja ganz nett aber die Umsetzung sehr schwach!