Review - You Against Me by Jenny Downham

Title: You Against Me
Author: Jenny Downham
Publisher: David Fickling Books
Publish Date: Dec 2, 2010
Hardcover, 413 pages

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I picked up this book expecting fireworks. Rage. Anger. Emotion. Fighting. Blood. Sacrifice. But it was calm. It was quiet. It was inner turmoil. It was loss and confusion. And then there was the possibility of hope, finding truth and will it really prevail?

It begs the question, Does Truth Really Win?

And does winning really mean good things will happen?

You Against Me focusing on the emotional and familial ties when tragedy strikes families. It doesn't just affect the family that was attacked. It pains the family who attacked as well. I was so enthralled with the power Jenny Downham gave the family of the accused rapist. I loved her character, the sister of the rapist, Ellie. She was scared and wanted to do the right thing, but WHAT is the right thing? I wanted to put this book down and run it is such a tough subject, but it pulled me in and I found myself rooting for these people. I wanted to the truth to come out and then I wasn't sure because with truth comes consequences and in this book, no one gets out without pain.

I am very interested in checking out Jenny Downham's other book, Before I Die. I love emotional books that make me think and this one, You Against Me had me struggling with all feelings.

Summary -
If someone hurts your sister and you're any kind of man, you seek revenge, right? If your brother's been accused of a terrible crime and you're the main witness, then you banish all doubt and defend him. Isn't that what families do? When Mikey's sister claims a boy assaulted her at a party, his world of work and girls begins to fall apart. When Ellie's brother is charged with the crime, but says he didn't do it, her world of revision, exams and fitting in at a new school begins to unravel. When Mikey and Ellie meet, two worlds collide. Brave and unflinching, this is a novel of extraordinary skillfulness and almost unbearable tension. It's a book about loyalty and the choices that come with it. But above all it's a book about love - for one's family and for another.