Review: "Inexcusable" - When good guys do bad things

Another day, another YA read. I don't know what it is about me but these days I am really in a YA mood, reading all young adult books to come my way :-) In my mailbox this week, yesterday actually, I got "Inexcusable" by Chris Lynch which I ordered after reading "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson as this book tackles the same difficult topic. Date rape. This is a topic that I think is really important and I commend these writers for dealing with it and making it approachable for teens.
In "Speak" we heard the story of Melinda who was date raped and suffered from a depression as she failed to cope with the emotional turmoil that the assault left her in.

In "Inexcusable" we meet Keir Sarafian, a senior at the local high school, a prominent football player and allround good guy. At least this is how he sees himself - but just like Eva in "We Need to Talk About Kevin", Keir insight into his own personality and he reflections on his own actions are lacking... To say the least. As Keir sees it, he is a the American Good Guy. He has come to fame in the local community after a game in which he - accidentally, maybe - hurt a player from the opposite badly. He lives in perfect bachelorhood with his dad, as his sisters Fran and Mary have left for college and he has a teenage crush on Gigi Boudakian.
However, the book alternates between scenes from a room, a situation where Gigi is accusing Keir of having raped her, and the past few months leading up to this where Keir argues his case. He is a good guy. And good guys do not rape the girls they have a crush on.

This book was a really quick read. It is written for teens and the language and the style is perfect for this segment. If I had read this when I was 13, I would have been so crazy about it and I have to say that I am impressed by the way that Lynch handles this subject. The story line is a difficult one - it is not a main character that you easily find yourself liking but somehow, despite all his flaws, Keir is quite likeable. He is a spoiled kid with a bad grip on reality and no understanding of himself or his actions but he is not mean.

I will save this books and give it to a teen someday. It is a really good YA read in the sense that it does not condescend, it understands and explains. If you are an English teacher teaching 13-15 year olds, this is a great read to introduce them to, just as "Speak" is.

Review: "Speak" - Let's talk about this

This book has been reviewed extensively in the blogosphere and that is where I first stumbled over it. "Speak" is written by Laurie Halse Anderson and published in 1999 and it has even been made into a movie starring Kristin Stewart as Melinda - the main character.

Melinda is starting her freshman year in highschool in the worst way possible. Something happened at a party during the summer, something which Melinda cannot think about not to mention talk about.
So Melinda has gone from being part of a gang of girls to being a social outcast. Her only friend is new-in-town Heather who have ambitious plans for how they will become part of the social scene at the shool. However, Melinda is slowly spiralling into a depression and she has no interest in social ladder climbing. Instead she locks herself in - both physically and mentally - and the only subject in school that she has any interest in is art. Art class is a free space and the teacher Mr. Freeman supports and encourages her but even this in time becomes unbearable for Melinda who shies away from the world, skips classes and withdraws from the parents and Heather.

"Speak" deals with an incredibly difficult subject - daterape - and it has been one censured in some countries for its outspokenness and honesty. In my opinion this is a book that all girls should read when they become teenagers because it is so absolutely honest, heartbreakingly so. It is a story of all of the difficulties that an emotionally incompetent young man puts an innocent young woman through. It touched me and even gave me tears in my eyes. It is beautiful and Melinda is a sweet, good, clever girl who when she is confronted with evil tries to protect herself as well as she can. I will read this book again and I will recommend it to anyone who likes a good book about being teenager.