You Against Me

A well-written and compelling story of a boy who seeks to avenge the sexual assault of his sister by meeting and extracting information from the 15-year-old sister of the perpetrator...only a problem develops...he is attracted to her and she to him. Ellie, the sister of the perpetrator is forced to make difficult decisions involving family loyalty, the truth, and her burgeoning love for the brother of "the enemy". It sounds like the book shouldn't work, but the story is in skillful hands and is well and movingly told. Recommended for readers 14+ Many adult women would enjoy the book also.

Det blev en positiv överraskning! Älskar- Hatar är en ungdomsbok men den funkade hur bra som helst att läsa som vuxen, kanske t om får man mer ut av den. Författaren skildrar relationer mellan människor att det känns äkta. Tyckte mycket om Mikey, den äldre brodern som inte bara är en äldre bror utan en skildring av medberoende och att vara ett vuxet barn. Mamman i familjen är ingen pålitlig vuxen, det är inte hon som tar hand om familjen, utan när hon behövs som mest försvinner hon.
Mikeys desperation och längtan bort var starkt påtaglig, och det var många känslor som väcktes inom mig.

Handling & Tema : 4/5
Karaktärerna: 4/5
Miljöbeskrivning: 3/5
Språk och berättarkonst 3/5

4/5 i helhetsbetyg

You Against Me is the second novel of Jenny Downham, whose first offering Before I Die I couldn't connect with. Though I found it well written, there was something missing that just didn't make it work for me. I did not have that problem with You Against Me.

I was drawn straight into the very different worlds of Ellie and Mikey from the start. At that point, I could understand both of them and what they were fighting for - Mikey to protect his sister, Ellie to save her brother. I couldn't imagine a worse position to be in and I questioned everything as I was reading - what would I do in the same position? With Mikey and Ellie so clearly attracted to one another, how on Earth do you make that work with the shadow of what happened hanging show more over you? I wanted them to work through it somehow, I cheered for them, but once more of the truth came out it was hard to feel for Ellie.

Family ties are very important in this novel, and for Ellie to fight them must have been so hard, I realised more as I thought of it. Especially with parents so adamant their son was right, and Ellie questioning everything she thought she knew about the brother who had always loved and protected her. The moment she found herself scared of him, I thought, was the moment she should have told the truth. But reality is a lot more complicated and people don't always do what you think they should. Downham showed this in her novel, as well as how the event impacted the people involved, in a realistic and believable manner. The ending was quite sweet and I liked it, yet I'm still dying to know what happened next and am worried that Tom gets off. Still, the ending leaves you with the hope that what's good and right will prevail. I don't feel sorry for him at all and I don't believe he's realised what he has done to the people around him and to the girl he hurt. That's frustrating.

Still, a fantastic novel that will leave you thinking, I am looking forward to more from Downham. show less

This well-written novel addresses the very real issue of sexual assault in high school. I believe it was an accurate representation of what it would be like for a high school girl who got drunk at a party and was taken advantage of, only to face people who either don't believe her or believe she invited the assault because of the way she chose to act and dress. One surprising element to me was that it seemed all the high school kids were on her side, and against the accused assailant; I would think it would be more split and he would have people in his camp as well.

The writing here is casual and easy to read even if the subject matter is not; the author definitely invited you to be an up-close observer of the action. The novel featured show more well-flushed-out main characters that were distinct and had a clearly defined role in the plot. The best character by far was Ellie, the sister of the alleged assailant (Tom); her being torn between what she knows she saw and the story her brother and parents have told her to tell is very real and a bit heart-wrenching -- she's only a kid, and has to decide between telling the truth and saving her beloved older brother.

I was disappointed by how the parents of the accused rapist are portrayed - never once do they ever act as though their son did anything wrong, they never ask him if he actually did it, they never seem upset - only angry at their daughter for not being willing to blindly follow the family's story. They were infuriating (presumably by design) and I found it very difficult to relate to them as characters.

A good read about an intense subject - I give it 4 stars. show less

Well... finally, a much-anticipated book that actually delivered. After being so hyped up about 'Matched' and then being let down with it's mediocrity, I tried not to get too excited about this book and prepared myself for another monumental disappointment.

But no.

I'm always rather dubious when it comes to romance novels; if you find a good one then you can be reeled in and swallowed up, it can stay with you for a very long time... but so often this is not the case. The amount of times I've dared to enter into a romance story with high hopes and found nothing but cheesy, star-struck "I can't live without you"s are countless. They are often plagued with cliched characters and storylines and I found myself awaiting something similar from show more 'You Against Me'.

And I loved it. No, seriously, I really did. The chemistry sparked off the pages without being over-emotionally cheesy. There was no getting lost in their eyes, no "oh gosh, did our hands just accidently touch?"



I liked and genuinely cared about both characters. Plus, it was so much more than a love story, the dark backdrop of sexual abuse is told through different eyes, tackling the 'slut' issue that is a very real hindrance to prosecutions in rape cases. The fact that anyone can even ask the question: "If a girl is wearing revealing clothing, is she asking for it?" just shows how important this novel is.

Was it perfect? No. I had an issue with the ending, or lack of if you want to be precise. Perhaps the author was leaving it open for a possible sequel but nothing has been mentioned so far. There are very few cases where ambiguous endings work (The Handmaid's Tale is one) and this book required something more at the end. But I liked it so much that I would happily say yes to that sequel. show less

This book packs a punch. It makes you ask all kinds of questions. Where do you draw the line between right and wrong? How well can you ever really know a person? How much deception are you willing to overlook for family? What do you do when the one person you feel like you can trust, is kind of your enemy?

We start out the book with Mikey. His sister won't leave their home, because she says she was raped and doesn't want to face the world or chance running into her rapist. All Mikey wants to do is find the guy and bash his face in, because what kind of brother would he be if he didn't? And maybe that's the only way he knows how to help.

On the other side we have Ellie. Her brother is the one who is accused of the rape, but he swears he is show more innocent. Ellie knows her brother would never do something so horrible and wants to do whatever she can to support him.

When Mikey and Ellie first meet, he is crashing the "you got released on bail" party they are throwing for Ellie's brother. Ellie doesn't know Mikey is related to the girl accusing her brother and that's just how Mikey likes it. His plan is to get information out of her he can use to help his sister and then he doesn't have to ever see her again. Of course she's not anything like he expected and they start to form a sort of relationship. I was actually surprised the author had Ellie discover his real identity so soon into the story, but I definitely didn't expect the story to go where it did once she found out. This is a hard one, because picking sides in a situation like this isn't easy. You fell terrible for Mikey's sister and want the person who did this to her to pay, but you also want believe that Ellie's brother couldn't have done something so terrible. Obviously one of these two characters isn't telling the truth, but it's not an easy road figuring it out.

At it's core this is a truly hearbreaking story, nothing good ever comes from a rape accusation, whether true or false. The thing I admire most about it is that most of the characters come out better in the end and there is a definite feeling of hope as the story closes. I really loved the last line of the book, it was a perfect ending. show less

I'll state up front that You Against Me by Jenny Downham is not a book for everyone. As the summary suggests, it deals with content that will be difficult and inappropriate for some readers. However, if the content is not an issue, I strongly encourage you to pick up this book.

It's no secret I'm into psychology. I love thinking about how people handle difficult situations or looking at a situation from an alternative perspective. You Against Me does that. At the heart of the book is an alleged sexual assault. The readers don't know exactly what happened in the beginning of the book and neither do the main characters. What Mikey and Ellie do know is that this event has completely altered their lives and the lives of their family. Each show more character struggles through a different side of the situation.

Did Ellie's brother assault Mikey's sister? If so, how can Ellie live with that knowledge? Her brother would never do anything like that, right?

Was Mikey's sister really assaulted or make poor decisions? Either way, she's closed herself off from the world. Can he help her open herself back up? How does he make sure Ellie's brother gets what he deserves?

These are the types of questions that each character explores. On top of that, the two meet each other. Their interactions together are just as confusing as the situation with their siblings.

What I loved about You Against Me is the exploration of all these questions in a realistic way. When people think of sexual assault, they often only think of the two people involved. However, there's a lot more than two people effected. This story explores the family of these characters and how people respond to each other. What would you do to protect your family? I think that's one of the main questions in this book and it is explored fully for both characters. Both Mikey and Ellie have many decisions to make and they have to decide what's right, what's wrong, what's in the best interest of their sibling, and what should they be doing for themselves.

You Against Me is the perfect book for readers who like introspective reads with realistic characters. There is no happily ever after in this situation, but there is moving on and making the best possible decisions with what you've got to work with. The novel reflects this.

Final thoughts: Borrow or buy. show less