Fault Line
Gr 9 Up—High school senior Ben is busy working on getting a swimming scholarship, dealing with life at home as his father transitions to a new job, and looking out for his younger brother. The teen's life takes a quick and dizzying turn when he falls for Annika, the hot new girl at school. Ani's sexy quips and artsy, adventuresome spirit dazzles Ben, and the connection and chemistry between them grows the more time they spend together. Ben misses a fateful party, while she goes alone with her friend Kate. The next day, he's at the hospital, waiting as Ani gets prepped for a rape kit. Ben and Ani's lives descend rapidly into a nightmare as she reacts to the firestorm of ugly rumors and Ben becomes obsessed with finding out what happened that night. The novel is a grim take on the horrible ramifications of date rape, which impacts not only the victim but all those around her. Similar to Steven Levenkron's The Best Little Girl in the World (Contemporary Bks., 1978), author and rape-victim activist Desir is clearly knowledgeable about this important subject. However, the choice to tell Ani's story from the perspective of an outsider does not help readers understand her or other survivors. Instead, teens' experiences will mirror Ben's own helplessness and frustration as he tries, and fails, to help his girlfriend. A grueling, if unfortunately timely, read.—Evelyn Khoo Schwartz, Georgetown Day School, Washington, DC