Open Up Important Discussions with "I Stop Somewhere" (YA Book Review)

            Hey folks! I am very excited to share with you today the latest young adult novel I was able to review. Unfortunately, it does not come out until February 2018, but you will definitely want to put it on your list of books to read. Even better, it is the perfect book to share with or suggest to your teenage daughter.

            TE Carter's I Stop Somewhere takes a look into the darkness of rape culture. To give you a better idea of what this novel is all about, here is the blurb from the back of the book:

Ellie Frias disappeared long before she vanished.

Tormented throughout middle school, Ellie begins her freshman year with a new look: she doesn't need to be popular; she just needs to blend in with the wallpaper.

But when the unthinkable happens, Ellie finds herself trapped after a brutal assault. She wasn't the first victim, and now she watches it happen again and again. She tries to hold on to her happier memories in order to get past the cold days, waiting for someone to find her.

The problem is, no one searches for a girl they never noticed in the first place.

TE Carter's stirring and visceral debut not only discusses and dismantles rape culture, but it also reminds us what it is to be human.

            First of all, this novel was insanely hard to put down! I'm sure this probably comes as no surprise since just the summary makes it sound so good, but it was so much more than that. I have two young children and still managed to finish it in 3 nights, if that tells you anything.

            As you can imagine, there are plenty of sad and just downright depressing bits in this novel. I would like to blame it on pregnancy hormones, but I'm sure they had nothing to do with the fact that I teared up more than once and completely bawled my eyes out at one point. I'm sure I am not the only one either. Don't say I didn't warn you!

            Although she is an outsider and doesn't really have any friends, I still found that most girls (and even us adults looking back on our younger days!) could relate to Ellie. We can think some weird thoughts as teenage girls and it's easy to feel like we have no idea what we're doing or supposed to do from day to day.

            All in all, I Stop Somewhere takes a hard, realistic look at rape culture in our society. You get a gritty inside look at what life is actually like for the victims after this crime has occurred. Although not exactly a comfortable subject to talk about, I think it is so important to have conversations about sexual assault with our youth. Not only is this novel a must-read for teenagers and young adults alike, but it provides a great jumping off point to have these difficult conversations with our children.

            You can purchase I Stop Somewhere from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and a whole slew of other booksellers. You can find a complete list on Goodreads. Be sure to also show the author some love on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.