Name: Fault Line
ISBN: 9781442460720

C. Desir

"After his girlfriend, Ani, is assaulted at a party, Ben must figure out how he can help her to heal, if he can help her at all"--

Fault Line

Tw: rape, sexual assault, sex 

This is the most important book every single younger person needs to read. 

It’s not lighthearted in the slightest. The first sentence is the girl going down on her teacher and then it retraces their steps to how they got to that point. It’s heartbreaking and disgustingly real. 

Though this book does have sexual scenes in it it really isn’t much, it says they do it but it doesn’t give detail so I think over fifteen can and should read this. 

This book is I can’t say it enough heartbreaking. I’ve read a couple of books that tell the story of someone that has gotten raped or someone healing and this is the most real one I’ve ever come across. 

Closer to the end, not spoiling anything, Ben meets a girl who has also been raped except she’s healed and the author demonstrates PERFECTLY how not everyone is the same.

This girl is doing amazing, she’s living life, helping others and genuinely happy.

And then there’s Ani.

Don’t go into this thinking it’s a love story, it isn’t. It’s the story of Ben and his relationship with trying to fix Ani. He was a complete obsession with trying to heal her.
He doesn’t, you don’t just snap your fingers and suddenly everything’s perfect. 

This book is so real.

It shows glimpses of Ani with how she was before that night, it shows how she loves Ben, how she goes back to doing things she loves but absolutely nothing is the same. Except sometime it is. Sometimes she’s completely normal and other times she’s absoutely insane with the idea of what happened.

Ben is just another human that has to go through watching this, blames himself and can’t help.

Seriously, amazing. Read it.

Tiffany Engler

** spoiler alert **
           This book was easy but really hard to get through. It was an easy read, I read it in one sitting. But mentally, this book was pretty draining. It's not something that should be easy to get through mentally. The characters didn't, so the readers shouldn't either.

Ben meets Ani at a 711 and is automatically transfixed with her. He likes her straightforward attitude and through the first part of the book we get see their relationship form and become something akin to love. They didn't move too fast and they kept it simple really. They really cared for each other. 

Ani ends up going to a party that Ben decides he doesn't want to go to. The next day he ends up meeting Kate (Ani's friend) at the hospital. Ani was possibly drugged (we don't know for sure) and was raped by a couple of guys. She doesn't remember anything that happened that night. 

Ani goes on an endless spiral that starts to ruin her and Ben. She is trying to cope with what happened to her. But how do you cope with that? With not knowing what happened so you're stuck assuming the worst? She gets out of Ben's control and starts treating herself as some kind of pleasure for men. 

This story is about Ben and about Ani. I feel like it's more about Ben though. He's filled with guilt for not going to that party. He thinks that if he were there, it never would have happened. I feel like he gets obsessed with trying to fix Ani. He does everything he possibly can to help her. He tries to get her to talk to someone, anyone. Much to his effort, she doesn't think it'll help to talk. 

As a result of Ani spiraling, Ben does as well. He gets into fights, he loses the swim scholarship he was working so hard for and he distances himself from his family. He doesn't realize what an effect she has had on him and he doesn't give up on her until the very end.

There's so much more I need to know about this book. How did her mom end up taking it? Did Ani ever find the help she needs? Does Ben seek the help he needs?

This book was dark. It was impossible to put down. Even when I reached the last page I wanted to keep reading more. I need more. I need some closure to this book!!!!!

Lyanni

I expected a lot more from this book. I didn't get much. Although very realistic, I didn't like how there wasn't a result. Neither did I like the way it was written. The book made me criticize the writing more than the actual plot. Two stars for the heartbreaking truth, but still not good enough for me.