The amount of tears I cried during this should be illegal.
CW: rape and sexual assault
So this book sounds heavy at first and it does deal with heavy tThe amount of tears I cried during this should be illegal.
CW: rape and sexual assault
So this book sounds heavy at first and it does deal with heavy topics, but please know that the entire mood is very much a "fuck around and find out" and also "queers for the goddamn win".
Ariana is autistic and deals with selective mutism. She doesn't talk outside of her home or with folks she's VERY comfortable with. When she is raped by her supposed friend Luis, she doesn't realize at first that it was rape. She tries to justify that he just didn't know she didn't want it because she didn't say anything but as the story progresses, she realizes just how much of a fuckwad Luis Ortega is and ends up joined with others who have also been harmed by him.
The Luis Ortega Survival Club is headed up by Shani, Luis' ex girlfriend and has members who have been assaulted or bullied by Luis Ortega. They want revenge and telling their story is the best way they can think of. Except telling your story is harder than it sounds.
So I have a collection of books that I have labeled the "get to know me " books and they all have representation of some piece or part of me. I wasn't really expecting this book to go into that pile but it most certainly is. I am someone who hates touch. I don't like to be touched and I don't want to touch anyone. I get startled by unexpected touch. My whole family knows better than to just hug me or touch me in any way without asking first. I was always the problem child because I didn't want to give hugs at family parties or events as a kid. I have never ever read a book where a character is as touch averse as I am. I cried so many times during this book throughout a lot of it, but a lot of my tears were for finding a character who feels the same way I do. So often it's this really negative thing that people portray it as and it's easy to always feel cold or frigid because you don't want human contact but seeing someone go through the same thing I do everyday is invaluable. It's not as though we dislike ALL contact but I have to be ready for it. Much like Ariana, I LOVE a good hug but I'm extremely selective with when and who is getting that hug. I also go through bouts of not talking when I'm in heavy overstimulation or autistic burnout and it isn't the same severity as Ariana's, but seeing a character deal with that as well was really important for me. I just loved it a lot....more
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