Thursday, December 29, 2016

Shelton, Donna. Sticks and Stones.

Shelton, Donna.  Sticks and Stones. (Gravel Road Rural)  Saddleback  2016  106p   $9.95  ISBN 978-1-68021-103-0       jr/sr  Realistic fiction, Hi/lo  VG-BN

At a party, Peyton gets drunk. A boy drives her home, asks to use the restroom and proceeds to rape Peyton even though she says “get off me” and “no”. With feelings of guilt and shame, she must navigate the next day at school and the weeks that follow. In this short novel, with an easy vocabulary, many themes are covered and play out in a realistic way: the trauma of date rape for the victim, the slurs by her rapists and others at school, the need for immediate health care, and concern about contacting the police when the boy involved is a school hero. For victims of date rape, this is familiar territory that has the ring of truth. As a cautionary tale, it makes reference to the Plan B pill being available or not, the help offered at clinics for emotional counseling, medical care, tests for STDs, and the role clergy can provide. Geared to small towns in rural America, this story will resonate in large cities as well. The Gravel Road Rural series offers short novels about life in small towns where contemporary teenage problems exist.  Told with easy to read vocabulary. Grades 8-12.  Strongly recommended for any high school library collection.
                       
Summary: At a party, Peyton gets drunk. A boy drives her home, asks to use the restroom and proceeds to rape Peyton even though she says “get off me” and “no”. With feelings of guilt and shame, she must navigate the next day at school and the weeks that follow.

Date rape-Fiction                                                                                                        --Lois McNicol

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