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Spoiler-Free Synopsis
Raised in a strict household, sixteen-year-old Courtland Murphy never had a date. But that was before the guy of her every dream—basketball star Allen Benson—asked her out. She’s gone from never-been-kissed to dating the hottest guy in school. And now her new boyfriend is pressuring her to prove she loves him—by having sex. But as a member of her community’s Worth-the-Wait club, Courtland made a vow to stay a virgin. Now everyone—from friends to family to fellow club members—gives her different advice, from “do it!” to “you made a pledge, girl!” It would be so easy for Courtland to go all the way with Allen, but sometimes his charming personality leaves her wondering. Who knew being in love could be so confusing?
MY REVIEW
I love this book.
LET ME JUST SAY A HEAD OF TIME: TW, MENTIONS OF RAPE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT
This was a really good book. It's a Christian novel somewhat, but it's not in the Christian category for some reason?? Anyway, it's extremely enjoyable and there is a lot of realism.
A lot of points that made me mad, with what Allen was doing. But then I continued reading because I had to remember this: There are people in the world like this.
Basically what happened in this was, Courtland had no idea. She was blind sighted. Living by those rules that her auntie tells her; If a guy hits you, he's just stressed, he loves you, etc; which is what causes her to not realize what was going on. The writing style Chandra uses this is amazing. She had to have contacted at least one person who has experienced Sexual Assault, because this was way too detailed somewhat. Not in a bad way, though. But he had gotten closer, made her feel safe around him. Allowed her to feel nice around him, feel like she could let her guard down. But a few months into their relationship, he changes. He begins hitting her, grabbing her arm. Being jealous constantly, like accusing her of dating another person. And soon enough, he apologized, saying he was sorry. Saying he wouldn't do it again, gaining her trust once again.
What's a coincidence is right as I began reading this, my Dynamics class began a lesson on Abusive Relationships. The stages, the situations, and examples, all of it happened in this book. All of it.
He constantly teased her, bothering her about how she wanted to stay abstinent. Every time he touched her, she'd say stop, then he'd get offended.
Allen cheated on her. A lot. But the moment she said anything, he hurt her. This is where he began to become abusive. He hurt her wrist, her arms, her body. Everything.
She felt as she should forgive him. Every time he put his hands on her, she would feel as she should tell. Then eventually she would begin to feel bad. 'He's just stressed out.'
I also had learned in this class that rape and assault survivors feel like it's their fault: Which is something you see throughout this book.
This is a really good book, and I recommend for anyone to read. Even if you don't like Christian novels, or anything related, you just should. It informs of the world, and what goes on. What people go through on a daily basis, and how they feel.
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