Unspeakable

Gr 10 Up—A victim of serious abuse struggles to navigate her senior year of high school. Willow Rutherford has beauty, brains, and the love of her high school quarterback, Jaden. Underneath the exterior of her charmed life, however, lies a story of severe emotional and physical abuse. Her seemingly perfect boyfriend blackmails her into their relationship by threatening to reveal a damning secret, and her highly regarded stepfather is an alcoholic who supports Jaden's treatment of her, regularly beating Willow into submission. The teen is resigned to her misery until she falls for Brody, the gorgeous and enigmatic new student whose love and attention threatens the façade that Willow has worked so hard to maintain. Willow is a relatable and sympathetic protagonist who grows tremendously throughout the book, but her abusers and love interests exist in such polar extremes that they become immutable caricatures and unconvincing stereotypes. While Willow's story is told slowly, with painstaking detail, for much of the novel, there are large shifts in time that feel extremely rushed and create a jarring effect. Also troubling is the reaction of the main character's community to her frequent hospitalizations, unnoticed by inquisitive social workers and teachers, while Jaden faces no repercussions for punching Willow in full view of students and faculty on school grounds.