Author: Patty Blount
Publisher: Source-books Fire
Publishing Date: August 5, 2014
Some boys go too far. Some boys will break your heart. But one boy can make you whole.
When Grace meets Ian she's afraid. Afraid he'll reject her like the rest of the school, like her own family. After she accuses the town golden boy of rape, everyone turns against Grace. They call her a slut and a liar. But...Ian doesn't. He's funny and kind with secrets of his own.
But how do you trust the best friend of the boy who raped you? How do you believe in love?
Book in One Word: ADDICTING.
Sometimes you read a book that's jampacked with things that would usually drive you crazy, but they don't matter because you something about the book is just so damn addicting and you enjoy reading it. This is one of those books. After reading a deleted scene from Some Boys in the YA Scavenger Hunt (which I wish wasn't deleted) I wanted to read this book BAD. I immediately requested it from the library and a few weeks later I devoured it. This book definitely has its issues. But I don't really care.
Some Boys is told from the alternating points-of-view of Grace and Ian. They go to school together, and Grace used to be one of the most popular girls there. And she still is--but for all the wrong reasons. Grace says that Zac, the school's Golden Boy and Ian's best friend, raped her at a party. Zac says she's lying, and of course everyone believes him. Plus, they think Grace is asking for it because of what she wears. So Grace goes to school every day and gets called a wide variety of crude names, while everyone else tells Zac how much they support him and can't believe Grace. Even teachers didn't believe her, and the police didn't have any evidence to arrest Zac. And don't get me started on all her "friends." (I won't say how this book ends, but I will say that I was going to be pissed if she took her friends back. Those are not your friends. Be done with them.)
This is hard to review, because yes, this book tries to send a message about rape and slut shaming. But some things that happens....I just don't know. What's the protocol here? This is not an easy subject to tackle. Heck, even the romance between Grace and Ian had its side-eye issues, but I was shipping it. (Long story short: Pre-drama, they were hardcore crushing on each other, and post-drama, they're stuck cleaning lockers together.) Seriously, it's a hot mess.
When I first eagerly began this book, I quickly noticed that the writing style was one I'm not usually fond of. But I gave it some time, and I must have gotten used to it or something, because it didn't really bother me so much. And I liked the tone of the book. It didn't feel like I was reading something so serious and dark, but it certainly wasn't light and fluffy, either. The characters showed character and personality, which was nice. I just...don't know!
Some Boys wasn't sugar and spice and everything nice. In fact, it was a hell of a lot of spice. But still, I LIKED it. Something about this book was just so damn addicting and I really enjoyed reading it, enough that I can kind of overlook all the problems. Not everything about this book works, but something did. I don't know what it does for issues it addresses, but for this reader, it works. Plot-wise? Not the best. Reading-wise? Good (at least for me). Damn it, I liked it, and I don't care about all its messiness (for the most part)!
When Grace meets Ian she's afraid. Afraid he'll reject her like the rest of the school, like her own family. After she accuses the town golden boy of rape, everyone turns against Grace. They call her a slut and a liar. But...Ian doesn't. He's funny and kind with secrets of his own.
But how do you trust the best friend of the boy who raped you? How do you believe in love?
Book in One Word: ADDICTING.
Sometimes you read a book that's jampacked with things that would usually drive you crazy, but they don't matter because you something about the book is just so damn addicting and you enjoy reading it. This is one of those books. After reading a deleted scene from Some Boys in the YA Scavenger Hunt (which I wish wasn't deleted) I wanted to read this book BAD. I immediately requested it from the library and a few weeks later I devoured it. This book definitely has its issues. But I don't really care.
Some Boys is told from the alternating points-of-view of Grace and Ian. They go to school together, and Grace used to be one of the most popular girls there. And she still is--but for all the wrong reasons. Grace says that Zac, the school's Golden Boy and Ian's best friend, raped her at a party. Zac says she's lying, and of course everyone believes him. Plus, they think Grace is asking for it because of what she wears. So Grace goes to school every day and gets called a wide variety of crude names, while everyone else tells Zac how much they support him and can't believe Grace. Even teachers didn't believe her, and the police didn't have any evidence to arrest Zac. And don't get me started on all her "friends." (I won't say how this book ends, but I will say that I was going to be pissed if she took her friends back. Those are not your friends. Be done with them.)
This is hard to review, because yes, this book tries to send a message about rape and slut shaming. But some things that happens....I just don't know. What's the protocol here? This is not an easy subject to tackle. Heck, even the romance between Grace and Ian had its side-eye issues, but I was shipping it. (Long story short: Pre-drama, they were hardcore crushing on each other, and post-drama, they're stuck cleaning lockers together.) Seriously, it's a hot mess.
When I first eagerly began this book, I quickly noticed that the writing style was one I'm not usually fond of. But I gave it some time, and I must have gotten used to it or something, because it didn't really bother me so much. And I liked the tone of the book. It didn't feel like I was reading something so serious and dark, but it certainly wasn't light and fluffy, either. The characters showed character and personality, which was nice. I just...don't know!
Some Boys wasn't sugar and spice and everything nice. In fact, it was a hell of a lot of spice. But still, I LIKED it. Something about this book was just so damn addicting and I really enjoyed reading it, enough that I can kind of overlook all the problems. Not everything about this book works, but something did. I don't know what it does for issues it addresses, but for this reader, it works. Plot-wise? Not the best. Reading-wise? Good (at least for me). Damn it, I liked it, and I don't care about all its messiness (for the most part)!
Did I like it? Yes!
Did I love it? No.
Would I reread it? This could happen.
Would I purchase it? More likely that not.
Who would I recommend it to? If you don't mind reading about tough subjects, messy stories, and a story that is, at the core, addicting.
I'm adding this to my read list! It sounds so good and curious to see how it all plays out! Thanks for the heads up!
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