@stacidplease

It has been awhile since I wrote a book review, but I felt like I would be doing you a disservice if I didn’t share this one.

Trigger warning: rape, sexual assault, violence – if you are not in a good headspace for this, you might want to hold off on reading this book. While it does not describe the sexual assault in great detail, it is a central theme to the story.

I will be honest with you that I had no idea what I was getting into with this book. I knew it was a tv show and I wanted to watch the tv show so I read the book first. I ended up finding myself not being able to put this one down.

Maya is the son of a hockey club manager in a small town that is infatuated by hockey. It reminded me of growing up in a small town that reminded me of growing up in a small Alabama town that fluctuated from revolving around football to softball and baseball.

When Maya becomes the victim of violence at the hands of one of the towns hockey stars, she finds herself in a situation that too many women and girls find themselves in – the middle of a supposed “he said/she said” situation in a small town where everyone knows everyone.

I found myself wanting to run to Maya and say “I believe you”. Yes, I know Maya is a fictional character; but at the same time, is she? According to RAINN, an American is sexually assaulted every 68 seconds. 1 in 4 women and 1 in 26 men have experienced sexual assault. Individuals between the ages of 12-34 are at the highest risk. So, in the end, Maya may be fictional, but she is so many of us.

She is so many who have experienced sexual violence and was brave enough to come forward only to be ostracized or have someone value the reputation or athletic skills of the perpetrator over her innate human value.

Then, there is Ramona. Ramona is the voice that so many of us need and, while she wasn’t the most prominent character for a lot of the book, ended up being one of my favorites. May we all be as courageous as Ramona when it comes to using our voice and standing up for what is right.

I have not watched the show yet so I cannot speak to it’s proximity to the book, nor have I read the consecutive books in the series, though I will soon.

Overall, this book was easily 5/5 stars for me.

You can find Beartown on Amazon or you can support Indie Bookshops by purchasing on Bookshop.

If you have been a victim of sexual assault and need to reach out to someone, please visit https://rainn.org/resources or call the national sexual assault hotline at 800-656-4673.

*Links in my posts may contain affiliate links that pay me a small commission. I only recommend products I truly believe in.