What We Saw by Aaron Hartzler - Restarting September 4th 2016

[Sarah Elizabeth]

Kate Weston can piece together most of the bash at John Doone’s house: shots with Stacey Stallard, Ben Cody taking her keys and getting her home early—the feeling that maybe he’s becoming more than just the guy she’s known since they were kids.

But when a picture of Stacey passed out over Deacon Mills’s shoulder appears online the next morning, Kate suspects she doesn’t have all the details. When Stacey levels charges against four of Kate’s classmates, the whole town erupts into controversy. Facts that can’t be ignored begin to surface, and every answer Kate finds leads back to the same question: Where was Ben when a terrible crime was committed?

This story—inspired by real events—from debut novelist Aaron Hartzler takes an unflinching look at silence as a form of complicity. It’s a book about the high stakes of speaking up, and the razor thin line between guilt and innocence that so often gets blurred, one hundred and forty characters at a time.

[Kim at Divergent Gryffindor]

10%(view spoiler)[ After 10% of this book, it's still not looking like the one on the synopsis, and there's still nothing mildly interesting enough to hold my attention. Ugh. (hide spoiler)]

[Kim at Divergent Gryffindor]

20% (view spoiler)[I'm already 20% in but there's just a super tiny bit of resemblance to what was described in the synopsis (hide spoiler)]

30& (view spoiler)[WTH, the girl was sexually abused and somehow it's her fault? Is this the reality of it? I know that there are some similar cases, but only a few. (hide spoiler)]

34% (view spoiler)[Gosh, there are so many characters that it's so hard to keep track. (hide spoiler)]

[Kim at Divergent Gryffindor]

54% (view spoiler)[Ben is so sketcy… At times he just seems unbelievable perfect that I feel like something wrong is bound to happen. (hide spoiler)]

69% (view spoiler)[The point the main character made about the Grease! musical is really beautiful in my opinion, although I've never seen the musical myself. (hide spoiler)]

[Kim at Divergent Gryffindor]

End: (view spoiler)[ The message of this book is so important that I feel like it's a must read, but at the same time it's so hard to recommend it since I felt bored in the first 40% and even after then, I found myself skipping some of the narratives. (hide spoiler)]

[Abi]

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Reading from the 4th of September 2016

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[Laura]

I'm starting the book today so I'd like to join the BR.

[Anna]

Welcome Laura! I'm starting it this morning.

[Carrie]

Chapter 1 (view spoiler)[ This opening seemed to me leading to build the MC as someone caring and innocent that maybe things will lead to her doing something later? (hide spoiler)]

[Carrie]

Chapter 8 (view spoiler)[ Ok, so with what is happening with Stacy I have to question whether Kate even really made it home without incident herself since she was so wasted that night too. (hide spoiler)]

[Laura]

I'm now in the middle of chapter 7

(view spoiler)[I don't even know what this book is really about but I've read that it has some trigger warining so now I'm expecting something big to happen at every moment. At first, the book looks like a contemporary novel ¿maybe a romance?, but it has to be something more, right?

Now everything that Ben says seems fishy to me. Did something happen at that party? (hide spoiler)]

[Carrie]

Laura wrote: "I'm now in the middle of chapter 7

I don't even know what this book is really about but I've read that it has some trigger warining so now I'm expecting something big to happen at every moment. At..."


You are very close to the real story starting up Laura. It's kind of slow moving in that regard because up to that point it really does seem like it's going to be a teen romance story.

[Carrie]

Chapter 22 (view spoiler)[ Amazing how they are just out and about... this story shows why people lose faith in the legal system, pictures out there showing what these boys did but yet they are still free. (hide spoiler)]

[Anna]

31% (view spoiler)[the beginning was kind of slow. once the story started i got more into it, even though the students' reactions to the arrests were gross. i like carrie's theory about kate doing something suspicious later. (hide spoiler)]

[Anna]

53% (view spoiler)[i do believe in 'innocent until proven guilty' but that doesn't mean i automatically think the accuser is lying. it's so frustrating for me to see everyone ignore that and act like the basketball stars can do no wrong. it's nice that the reporter cares so much but getting all up in students' faces isn't going to give her the answers she needs. (hide spoiler)]

[Carrie]

78% (view spoiler)[ The blame the victim mentality is just soooo wrong. Yes, she should be more careful than she was, all women should be alert and safe but that doesn't take the blame off the ones that actually committed the crime. (hide spoiler)]

[Anna]

66% (view spoiler)[i don't want ben to be involved because him and kate are so cute but i get the feeling he was. how disappointing. (hide spoiler)]

[Laura]

Chapter 15 - 34%

(view spoiler)[I also find really gross and annoying the way some of the students talk about the rape, blaming the girl. We don't know yet what really happened but nobody should ever talk like this about anyone.
I'm liking the book so far and I'm flying through it. I wish I had started it earlier because I'll have to go to sleep soon and I won't be able to finish it today :( (hide spoiler)]

[Carrie]

Chapter 40 (view spoiler)[ Now we know why the focus was on that accident when they were young. The scar identifies him on the video, I had a feeling all along he had to be there. (hide spoiler)]

[Carrie]

Ending (view spoiler)[ Less than a year each?? So so wrong. (hide spoiler)]

[Anna]

80% (view spoiler)[i can't believe there were so many people in the video who didn't do anything. it's so gross txt they could watch and laugh it off as stacey just being "trashy". (hide spoiler)]

[Anna]

Carrie wrote: "Chapter 40 [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[i pretty much guessed he was going to be there when it happened as soon as kate started searching for the truth. (hide spoiler)]

[Laura]

80%

(view spoiler)[I also can't believe that someone can watch something like what was happening to Stacey and laugh it off and even blame her. And I can't believe the boys don't even think they did something wrong... It's really disturbing.

And I was so sure that Kate was going to see Ben in that video... but she didn't. However, I'm still not sure he wasn't involved somehow. (hide spoiler)]

[Laura]

Ending (view spoiler)[I guessed he was involved when she told him about her and Stacey's photo and he acted so weird. I felt really disgusted with everything that happened and I'm glad that she finally decided to identify him in the video because I though she wouldn't. (hide spoiler)]