slatebreakers

The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney. Little, Brown, and Company, 2010. Currently available.

Genre: YA Realistic Fiction

Face Value: I love a bold graphic, and this cover delivers. There is an air of mystery about this cover. The bird and tree on the front don’t give the reader any clue what this book will be about – you have to read the front flap of the dust jacket to get a real feel for the story. Tidbits of text on the cover hint at the subversive nature of what happens in the book: “Hush little students, don’t say a word….” With a great-looking cover like this, I had no qualms about reading this book in public.

My only complaint: too many YA books published in 2010 had mockingbird related titles. This one does, as well as Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine and Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. Both Mockingbird and Mockingjay were high-profile books, and I fear that Whitney’s book perhaps didn’t receive as much attention as it deserved because of title mix-up. Also, the similar titles make it difficult to discuss these books with fellow YA readers because it takes us a few minutes to figure out which book we are talking about.

Does it break the slate? Thoroughly. The central character, Alex, is date-raped, and the book explores the aftermath of fear, anger, and activism that results. Rather than being a silent victim, however, Alex chooses to speak out and bring charges against her rapist. She does this with the support of her equally Slatebreaking female friends. Her friends refuse to let social stigma prevent Alex from finding justice. I was repeatedly impressed and thrilled with the complex and generous characters that formed Alex’s social circle. There is a delightful abundance of Slatebreaking females in this book.

This book goes beyond Slatebreaking characters and introduces a Slatebreaking social concept: a board of students who serve as the judicial branch of a boarding school. They are self-governing and self-policing, because the adult administration of the school ignores any unrest among the student body. The board was formed by a female (Alex’s Slatebreaking sister Casey), and is currently run by a female. Female leadership is an admirable and Slatebreaking part of the Mockingbirds’ culture.

Who would we give it to? I’m going to steal this idea from my sister, who recommended the book to me: I would give this book to teen court peer adjudicators and advisors. Any adult or teen that works in peer justice should read this book. I would also share it with young men or women who are beginning to explore their sexuality, because this book does an excellent job of addressing issues of consent that are often neglected in sex ed classes or parent/child “birds and bees” talks.

Review: Alex attends Themis Academy, a private boarding school on the East Coast. Themis students are the best of the best. Alex is a skilled pianist with a penchant for Beethoven. The rest of the Themis students that we meet throughout the book are equally talented – so much so that the administration believes that their students are perfect angels. Such wonderful and dedicated students would never break the rules, right? Because of the administration’s ignorance, there are no formal structures in place to deal with problems among the student body. This doesn’t bother Alex until she encounters a situation that indelibly alters her life at Themis Academy. Continue reading →