Darkness Before Dawn by Sharon Draper

Year Published: 2001
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN:0689851340
Pages: 276
Price: $11.26
Classification:Fiction
Genre: Suspense, Drama, Romance
Interest Level: 7-12
Reading Level: 4
Rating: 4 Stars
Subjects: Rape, High Schools, African American

Reader's Annotation: Handsome, mature, smart, fit and he is attracted to me. He seems like a sincere guy. Perhaps one date will not hurt.


Summary: This is the third book of trilogy. Keisha Montgomery has a lot of things going on in her senior year while coping with her ex-boyfriend’s death. She is the class president and a track athelete of Hazelwood High. She gets really close to the new tract coach, Jonathan. She develops a serious relationship with him even if he is older and the principal’s son. She soon discovers herself entrapped in this handsome man’s dark motives.

Evaluation: This is a fast-paced romantic book that teens will enjoy reading and can also learn valuable lessons about date rape. The attempted rape scene can be graphic and disturbing for some teen readers.

"The graduation scene, in which class president Keisha gives the closing speech, is moving and triumphant, showing Draper and her vibrant characters at their best." Booklist (January 1, 2001 (Vol. 97, No. 9))

Awards: ALA Booklist, ALA/YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, IRA Young Adults' Award, School Library Journal, Voice of Youth Advocates

Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

Year Published: 2002
Publisher: Little, Brown & Co.
ISBN: 0316168815
Pages: 328
Price: $18.66 (Library Bound)
Classification: Fiction
Media Format : Book
Genre: Mystery, Romance, Adventure
Interest Level: 9-12
Reading Level: 6
Personal Rating: 5 Stars
Subjects: Murder victims families, Teenage girls, Crimes against, Rape

Reader's Annotation: Will you just watch and wait from heaven if you see your killer get away and your family fall apart because of your death?

Summary: Susie Salmon takes a shortcut home from school. She takes the cornfield route and meets George Harvey. He tricked her to go to the underground den, traps her, rapes her, kills her, dismembers her body and drops them in a sinkhole. Only Susie’s hat and elbow is found. Investigators did not find suspects for the death of Susie so they drop the case. Susie’s family falls apart. Her father goes through depression, her mother having an affair with one of the detectives and her sister feeling abandoned and confused with her sister’s disappearance. As years go by loved ones and friends find clues, sometimes with the help of Susie, from her personal heaven. It took years for them to figure out who killed Susie and by then Harvey is free to harm other girls. His final attempt to rape another lady in a bus depot lead to a freak accident. Harvey got knocked out by a fallen icicle and tumbled down on a ravine to his death.

Evaluation: A chilling book about a teenager's unsolved murder. The author gave some grotesque description of Susie's body being dismembered. A little rape scene was also described in the book.

Reviews and Awards: Library Journal, New York Times Book Review, Publishers Weekly, Wilson's High School Catalog

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Publisher:Viking Penguin
Year Published: 2001
ISBN: 0142407321
Pages: 197
Price: $14.26
Genre: Drama
Interest Level: 7-12
Reading Level: 5
Personal Rating: 4 Stars
Subjects: High school, School stories, Rape

Reader's Annotation: A vow-of-silence as way to tell people about a tragic event that happened in your life. Will people finally listen to you when you tell them you've been raped? How will you tell your story?

Summary: Melinda Sordino becomes a selective mute as she enters high school. She has been ostracized by her friends for calling the police on one of the summer parties. She finds support and comfort in her art teacher and friend, David Petrakis. Melinda finds her voice to speak about her traumatic summer experience. She learns to cope after being raped.

Evaluation: A powerful book about rape and paints a realistic truth about how some teens deal with life after being raped.
Reviews and Awards: ALA Best Book For Young Adults, ALA Booklist, ALA/YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, Michael Printz Honor, Publishers Weekly, Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, Wilson's High School Catalog, Wilson's Junior High Catalog

Author Information: www.laurieanderson.com