Although we hear how Stacey, a seventeen-year-old girl, was raped by a much older man whose brother had earned her trust and lulled her into a sense of false security, we never got to see the fallout from Stacey deciding to come forward. But then I discovered that there was going to be a sequel that dealt with the court case and the long battle that is trying to get justice.
I'd been looking forward to reading this one because it's topic I don't see much of in YA, and it's something that needs to be discussed openly to provide encouragement to the girls and women who have to face these horrible situations in reality. What I loved about this book is how true the title of No Shame really is. Cassidy gave us the journey of a young woman realising that she was not in the wrong and, whilst she might have been naive, she was in no way to blame for what had happened to her. Not only that, but we were also given characters who didn't want to come forward about rape for their own reasons, and we were allowed to understand why they didn't speak up. This book showed a lot of respect for the personal decisions of victims.
The court case and the process of Stacey trying to get justice was the main focus of this book, and it was written openly and truthfully, without sugar-coating any part of it. And god, did it make me furious at times. To see what levels people stoop to in order to get out of something they're guilty of doing. Was this system fair to Stacey? No it wasn't. But it's the harsh reality that people in her situation can face and I'm grateful that No Shame provided an in-depth look at how that process can go, both good and bad.
I'd been looking forward to reading this one because it's topic I don't see much of in YA, and it's something that needs to be discussed openly to provide encouragement to the girls and women who have to face these horrible situations in reality. What I loved about this book is how true the title of No Shame really is. Cassidy gave us the journey of a young woman realising that she was not in the wrong and, whilst she might have been naive, she was in no way to blame for what had happened to her. Not only that, but we were also given characters who didn't want to come forward about rape for their own reasons, and we were allowed to understand why they didn't speak up. This book showed a lot of respect for the personal decisions of victims.
The court case and the process of Stacey trying to get justice was the main focus of this book, and it was written openly and truthfully, without sugar-coating any part of it. And god, did it make me furious at times. To see what levels people stoop to in order to get out of something they're guilty of doing. Was this system fair to Stacey? No it wasn't. But it's the harsh reality that people in her situation can face and I'm grateful that No Shame provided an in-depth look at how that process can go, both good and bad.