What happens when, being a hater of Issues Books, you're confronted with an Issues Book concerning an issue you actually feel strongly about?

Every element of plot in The Mockingbirds -- every character -- has some function in the task of showing that sex without explicit consent or ability to consent is rape; that though rape may be a difficult crime to prosecute and so humiliating to the victim going through the process, those victims who speak out are validating victims everywhere. I agree with all of that, passionately.

But there is no character who feels like a whole, complex, spontaneous and individual person, which made it tough for me to enjoy as a piece of literature. Every character is an avatar for a stance or a stage in our main character's coping process. All of Alex's friends understand what she's feeling immediately in the aftermath of her being raped twice by a water polo player she met at a show while drunk, and they hop in line to help seek justice for her. There's a boy who has a crush on her and is respectful of her, who helps her build back up her comfort level with sexuality. Her unmarried female teacher explains that having a physical response to the sex doesn't mean consent. The date rapist is a complete villain who taunts his victim and lies to evade conviction.

Are there rapists who make the lives of their victims hell? Sure. There are also many date rapists who are not mustache twirling, dastardly liars. They're men who, for lack of self restraint or poor decision making or selfishness, proceed with what they were doing without regard for their partner. That doesn't make their actions any less wrong or any less a case of rape. But it does mean that rape happens with nuance, too, and that's something that young women especially have to be aware of. With all of the focus that Whitney gives to consent and to the thoughts and actions that blur the line of what we call "rape," I think that nuance is important to her too, that nuance in rape is something she wishes to convey to her teenage readers for the purpose of empowerment. That's great. But I only wish it had come through in her characters.

It's hard to write a book for teenagers about date rape, I'm sure. It wasn't until college that I started exploring feminist thought and truly comprehending how deeply entrenched sexism and victim blaming is in popular culture. Given how thoroughly exposure to feminism shakes up your worldview as a young woman (and gives you a feeling of worth, which is why it's important), maybe a plot like The Mockingbirds needs to be written in an obvious way for this age group. But I also think...maybe it doesn't? I don't know.