SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About TLT
  • Reviews
    • Book Reviews
    • A to Z Book Lists
    • Book Review Policy
  • Teen Issues
  • Middle Grade Mondays
  • Programs
    • TPiB
    • Tech Talk
  • Professional
    • Teen Services 101
    • Things We Didn’t Learn in Library School
  • MakerSpace
  • Projects
    • #SVYALit
    • #FSYALit
    • #MHYALit
    • #Poverty in YA Lit

August 15, 2014 by Karen Jensen, MLS

Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover, a guest post by Some Boys author Patty Blount

August 15, 2014 by Karen Jensen, MLS   Leave a Comment

Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover

How many times have we heard this phrase? 
In my latest novel, Some Boys, main character Grace Collier tells her best friends what Zac McMahon did to her that night at a party. Zac McMahon, captain of the lacrosse team, movie-star gorgeous and Mr. popular. Grace wears sexy clothes, too much makeup, and has a big mouth. 
They don’t believe her. They think she’s lying and take his side –  Isn’t it ironic that stories like Grace’s always come down to who looks the part? 
When I was researching the topics covered in this novel, I found a website called Project Unbreakable. It was started by a photographer named Grace Brown when she was just nineteen years old. Since its start, the website has collected and displayed over two thousand photographs of survivors of sexual assault and rape holding up signs bearing quotes that hurt them – most are from their attackers, but many are from their friends, relatives, the police, doctors, and judges – all doing their best to put blame where it does not belong – on the victims. 
I spent hours exploring this website, reading every poster, looking at every survivor’s picture. I named my heroine Grace because of this website. And when I reached the last image, one thing became abundantly clear to me. 
There is no part, no typical victim. It doesn’t matter how old you are, if you’re gay or straight, single or in a relationship. It doesn’t matter what you wear or what you said. It doesn’t matter where you went or what time of day it was. 
But lots of people will try to tell you all that stuff does matter. They’ll try to tell you it’s your fault. Do not accept it. Do not believe it. 
That’s an excuse, a defense mechanism, a way to explain the unthinkable – that yes, even good kidsare capable of this despicable crime. 
If your friends tell you a story like this, be the friend who does not ask them what they wore, how much they had to drink, or whether they’d already slept with that person before. Be the friend who holds out her arms and says, “It wasn’t your fault. Let me help you.”
Some Boys by Patty Blount
Book Description: Some girls say no. Some boys don’t listen.
When Grace meets Ian, she’s afraid. Afraid he’ll reject her like the rest of the school, like her own family. After she accuses Zac, the town golden boy, of rape, everyone turns against her. Ian wouldn’t be the first to call her a slut and a liar.
Except Ian doesn’t reject her. He’s the one person who looks past the taunts and the names and the tough-girl act to see the real Grace. He’s the one who gives her the courage to fight back.
He’s also Zac’s best friend.

Patty Blount works as a software technical writer by day and novelist by night. Dared by her 13-year-old son to try fiction, Patty wrote her first manuscript in an ice rink. A short version of her debut novel, Send, finished in the top ten of the Writer’s Digest 79th Annual Writing Competition.

Buy Links:
Amazon: http://bit.ly/1p4HWlS
BAM: http://bit.ly/1p07Plv
B&N: http://bit.ly/1kzx9uC
Indiebound: http://bit.ly/1l8krCX
Indigo: http://bit.ly/1xXHiHv
iTunes: http://bit.ly/1xXHnuN

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1peeK9a

Filed under: #SVYALit, #SVYALit Project, Patty Blount, Some Boys

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments

About Karen Jensen, MLS

Karen Jensen has been a Teen Services Librarian for almost 30 years. She created TLT in 2011 and is the co-editor of The Whole Library Handbook: Teen Services with Heather Booth (ALA Editions, 2014).

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

August 2014

Book Review: Some Boys by Patty Blount (The #SVYALit Project)

by Karen Jensen, MLS

October 2018

#SVYALit: Laurie Halse Anderson and Eric Devine talk about teaching Speak on NPR

by Karen Jensen, MLS

September 2018

Sunday Reflections: It Was a Rough Week to be a Teenage Girl

by Karen Jensen, MLS

June 2018

Sunday Reflections: In Which The Teen Writes a Poem About Sexual Harassment

by Karen Jensen, MLS

June 2018

Sunday Reflections: Dear Writers, Women's Stories Don't Always Have to Involve Sexual Violence

by Karen Jensen, MLS

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

A Book 25 Years in the Making: Marla Frazee Visits The Yarn Podcast

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Jump Into this Guest Post by Shadra Strickland About Her Latest Book: Jump In!

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

The Archie Encyclopedia | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

Heavy Medal

FREEWATER wins the Newbery Medal, live reactions from Heavy Medal bloggers

by Emily Mroczek-Bayci

Teen Librarian Toolbox

A Coming of Age Quartet, a guest post by Krystal Marquis

by Amanda MacGregor

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

A Book 25 Years in the Making: Marla Frazee Visits The Yarn

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

Summer Camp and Beyond: 24 Middle Grade Graphic Novels | Summer Reading 2021

2 Middle Grade Novels About Becoming Big Sisters

Not Just for the Pre-K Crowd: Picture Books To Share with Tweens and Teens

Three Resonant Historical Fiction Books for Young Readers

11 Middle Grade Series Updates for Eager Fans

Commenting for all posts is disabled after 30 days.

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

Follow This Blog

Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

Primary Sidebar

  • News & Features
  • Reviews+
  • Technology
  • School Libraries
  • Public Libraries
  • Age Level
  • Ideas
  • Blogs
  • Classroom
  • Diversity
  • People
  • Job Zone

Reviews+

  • Book Lists
  • Best Books
  • Media
  • Reference
  • Series Made Simple
  • Tech
  • Review for SLJ
  • Review Submissions

SLJ Blog Network

  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal
  • Neverending Search
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn

Resources

  • 2022 Youth Media Awards
  • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
  • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
  • Summer Reading 2021
  • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
  • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
  • Summer Programming Survey
  • Research
  • White Papers / Case Studies
  • School Librarian of the Year
  • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
  • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

Events & PD

  • In-Person Events
  • Online Courses
  • Virtual Events
  • Webcasts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Media Inquiries
  • Newsletter Sign Up
  • Content Submissions
  • Data Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Terms of Sale
  • FAQs
  • Diversity Policy
  • Careers at MSI


COPYRIGHT © 2023


COPYRIGHT © 2023