BOOK BLURB
"Excuse me, young lady. We have the ambulance on their way, and they want to know what happened to Drew Winston." "He said he was going to rape me," Dawn replied purposefully to the administrative assistant in the high-school office. "I pushed him away and tripped him, and as he fell, he hit his head on the corner of a water fountain, which was not my intent. He's bleeding from his head and is in convulsions." Within twenty-four hours of beginning her senior year at Fair Shore High School as a new student, Dawn Mortenson had chosen to fight the town's acceptance of the bullying and sexual abuse of young women by confronting Drew Winston, the school's All-American quarterback. Following that confrontation, she received multiple death threats, so her mother had to hire a security firm to protect herself and her daughter. That move did not work, as Dawn was kidnapped soon afterwards and ended up in the hospital. When Dawn had been released from the hospital, she had already gained a national reputation, which attracted more people who wanted her dead. She survived the bombing of a building she was visiting, which prompted FBI involvement. She stunned the agent who interviewed her, when in answer to his question about people who would like her killed, she was able to provide evidence of over fifty individuals who had specifically threatened her-including a police officer from her hometown, who had told her that he hoped the next attempt on her life would succeed. Dawn also clashed at times with those who even supported her efforts. A reporter in town had presented himself as someone who wanted to help. In describing why the culture of rape, bullying, and abuse has been tolerated in town, he ended with the statement, "Everybody is seen as winning, male and female alike. It is a great American success story. Fair Shore residents have paid top dollar to join the winning team and are disinclined to raise any questions about the unsavory practices that support its continuation. There is a feeling that 'boys will be boys.'" In response, Dawn exploded, "And you choose to support this? Goddamn you. Goddamn all of you. Let's only hope, Mr. Bruschi, that the success of this 'everybody-wins' model spreads to towns all across America. Let's only hope that, within a few years, tens of thousands of young women can be treated the Fair Shore way and be raped without comment, so that 'boys can be boys.'" As she turned and headed toward the door, Joseph moved quickly to stop her. "Dawn, don't leave." "Go to hell. I thought there was hope with you because of some of the writing you've done. That series you did on the woman who overcame severe automobile injuries and resumed her career as an engineer after everybody said she would never work again was powerful." "She is a remarkably brave young lady." "And there are a lot of them out there, but your silence is ensuring that they will have to fight that much harder to create the stories they were born to tell." Dawn's battle against the status quo lands a number of friends and enemies either in the hospital, in jail, or in an early grave. She uses rock-and-roll through befriending high-school band members who write their own lyrics that challenge the status quo, along with a combination of personal courage and mental toughness, to change the town forever, although at a huge personal cost.
MY REVIEW
When I read the synopsis for this book, I was very intrigued . Why you ask well this girl has been through so much and came back swinging. Dawn, a young girl who with her mom move to a small town. Where on her first day of school is confronted with the quarterback of the football team Where he harasses her and she defends herself. Which causes him to hit his head and end up in the hospital Which doesn't sit well with the entire town, she is made to be an outcast and a target for the whole football team. But she doesn't take things lying down as she fights back
This is a book that took me totally by surprise, the characters are so real to life . You can sit there and go I know a girl like Dawn and you know the arrogant football players . You know the ones who think that just cause they play football they are gods. The main character Dawn is a strong character. She isn't a wimpy little girl that bows down to the peer pressure. She fights back and doesn't let them get her down. Even when they threaten her family she fights back. There are some really good characters . Dawn's mother is a fighter and will help Dawn out in her daughters fight to bring down the pigs that wanted to hurt her. There are a couple of good friends that stand by Dawn even when they are being harassed and hurt just for being Dawn's friends. They do stand by her and in the end
This is a book that opens your eyes to the cruelties of high school. The way that athletes are treated
like gods and rule the school. They think that they can get away with anything. There is much more going on like underage drinking and partying. The author takes us on a roller coaster ride that will make you open your eyes and realize that this goes on in our schools today. That there is a uneven playing field when it comes to the way some people are treated. I started this book when it was in the news about a rash of college football players being charged with the rape of young women. So that made me really think about what is going on when the young woman is harassed and made to feel the worst about herself, while these men were getting away with it. What does it mean when they hold athletes above all others . I think that parents of young women and every young woman out there . Should read this book to just get a idea of what could happen out there in the big bad world . So if you want a good book about the power to fight back . Check it out . I know you won't be disappointed
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