Thursday, June 27, 2013

Review: The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney


Title: The Mockingbirds (The Mockingbirds, #1) 

Author: Daisy Whitney

Rating: 2 Stars/DNF

Here's the thing about Daisy Whitney's The Mockingbirds - if you aren't invested in the characters and if you aren't a fan of the way this issue is handled, you'll likely not enjoy this book. Now, that isn't to say it's a bad book - at all. In fact, I'm more than a little thrilled that Whitney wrote a book about date rape, set in a boarding school, all with a secret society who takes matters into their own hands. From the surface, it sounds fantastic. When you dig a little deeper and really stop to think about this, though. I can't say I was wholly sold on the idea.

Alex, our protagonist, really is one of those characters you connect with from the beginning itself. Her horror at waking up in a strange boy's bed, at not remembered what happened to her the night before, at realizing she was raped while passed out and unconscious...it's all so frightening and real. Whitney does an amazing job of giving us a character who can't remember her rape, whose act of rape seems almost ambiguous but truly isn't. Yet, though these events are shockingly realistic, Alex herself and her dialogue and conversations with others, from her best friends to her older sister, felt very flat. For me, the main issue stemmed from the fact that the surrounding facts behind this story didn't feel real at all. I was unable to buy into the fact that all the teachers and adults at the prestigious academy Alex attends believe that because they teach highly intelligent and motivated students, bad things cannot happen. I'm sorry, but not even one teacher thought, "Huh, you know, there might be just ONE kid who gets bullied in this school..."?

The Mockingbirds requires this type of suspension of belief, for without the lack of adults in this story, how would we have a secret society on our hands? And still, this society disappoints. The Mockingbirds only operate if/when they've been asked to, which means they don't help people unless they want help. Which I think is ridiculous. If a member of this club saw someone being bullied, they wouldn't be able to actively help them unless that person themselves asked for help. In one way, I almost admire this concept - I love the fact that people have to want to stand up for themselves to be helped and I also love the idea that teens can find strength after horrible events such as rape and bullying without having to rely on adults. Yet, this book was hardly written in that manner; instead, it blatantly forces you to suspend your belief to enjoy it, which is something I find very difficult to do as a reader.

Additionally, the secondary characters in this novel were very flat. Not only did the dialogue seem forced in some parts, but the friendships in this also seemed highly superficial and a bit too perfect. I do think Whitney did an amazing job of portraying the horror and fear that a victim of rape feels - especially the acknowledgment that they suddenly are a victim - but truly, I can't say I enjoyed this book. I went into The Mockingbirds looking for a book that was more about coping with rape than dealing out punishments; a book that was more introspective than a mock trial by teens. I'm sure the idea of The Mockingbirds appeals to many readers and doubtless this book has - and will - resonate with many readers, but my idea of an issue book isn't this. If you go into The Mockingbirds with the right mindset, though, Whitney doesn't fail; on the other hand, she may sometimes disappoint.

13 comments:

  1. Aw, it's unfortunate you didn't enjoy this one much - I see where you're coming from though, suspending your belief with a realistic fiction book can be difficult. As for the flat characters, dialogue, etc. that's not a good sign in any type of novel. I hope you enjoy your next read much more than you did this one!

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  2. Aww man, I've been looking forward to this one for quite some time! I think the concept does sound cool, but the fact that it wasn't realistic at all definitely disappoints me. I'm pleased to hear the Whitney was able to portray the feeling of being raped and the victimized emotions very well, but other than that, this book doesn't sound all that splendid. That awkward, flat, forced conversation and dialogue is just awful to sit through! When I pick this book up (someday), I'll definitely be more wary and I have certainly lowered my expectations. Thanks for the honest review, Keertana!

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  3. I'm sorry that you weren't able to enjoy The Mockingbirds as much as you'd hoped Keertana, but I totally understand why this book didn't work for you. Not being able to form strong connections with the characters would leave me disappointed too, I think I still will end up giving this book a go, but maybe not just yet. Great review!

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  4. The opening scene sounds so horrifying and seems so realistic too, even just from your explanation. I can imagine thinking that you were going to be in for a very good, intesnse read.

    It's a shame the characters weren't able to back up this subject matter, K!

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  5. Bummer. I really wanted to read this one, and I like Whitney a lot - she's everywhere right now! I really like that it tackles a real issue, and I'm a sucker for secret societies. But I want an issue like this to be handled realistically, and I'm already a bit turned off the behavior of adults. High intelligence does not equal a strong moral code. I really like how this subject was tackled in What Happens Next, so I think I'll just stick with that one.

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  6. Keertana, I'm with you on this one. I read it a long time ago, and I couldn't deal with it. With a great, issue-based premise, this story could have been fantastic, but it was so flat and so boring. It just felt...fake. Good thing she's improved with WHEN YOU WERE HERE. Great honest review :)

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  7. Sorry this one just didn't work for you Keertana! I have yet to read it, mostly because I tend to avoid issue books in general (despite thinking they're important to have out there and available to all types of readers), so it's not something I rushed to pick up. I'm glad Alex is easy to connect to from the beginning, but it's a shame the dialogue and secondary characters were a bit flat for you. Hope the next book you read works far better!

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  8. Oh I don't think this one is for me. I would have problems with those points as well. I could believe that many adults just couldn't believe that bad things happen (I've met several of those kind unfortunately) but to have to ask for help? Might work with adult, but these are kids. Na, I think I'll pass. Brilly review!

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  9. I agree — this is exactly the kind of book that you cannot study too closely, because it logically does not make sense. Book 2, The Rivals, is even more that way. Like you said, it's so improbable that every single teacher at this school is apathetic and oblivious, and that if Alex had confessed to being raped she would have been set aside. And personally, I didn't find the end to this book to be satisfying at all, so you probably didn't miss much by deciding not to finish.

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  10. I'm sorry this book didn't work out for you, Keertana! I also think the whole concept is rather interesting - but I also found myself agreeing with you during this review. Such a concept definitely does require a suspension of belief, and sometimes those can be hard to swallow. I appreciated reading your thoughts on this one. I'm thinking that Whitney's novels just may not be for me - at least, none of her currently published ones.

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  11. The premise really doesn't do it for me, so I doubt that this would have been my sort of read anyway. It's a shame that it wasn't very realistic either. I just don't think I could accept that adults (particularly teachers) could be so oblivious. Sorry that it fell flat for you, Keertana, but lovely review as always!

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  12. It's been so interesting to me to watch you tear through Daisy Whitney books and have such mixed feelings about all of them. I'm sorry this one didn't work for you, particularly since on a surface level it's pretty intriguing to me. I can totally understand the suspension of disbelief required, and the flat characters getting to me though. Totally back off the contemp train after the recent reading fail that was Second Chance Summer for me.

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  13. It sounds like this one has the promise of a fantastic premise, but ultimately doesn't deliver.

    Flat character relations and flat secondary characters rules me out I think, as characters are the most important aspect for me in reading.

    Lovely review, dearest and sorry to hear you didn't enjoy this one as much as you wished!

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