Shelf Addiction
  • Home
  • The Podcast
  • Blog
  • Monthly Read-Alongs
  • About Shelf Addiction
    • Media Kit
    • Advertising
    • Privacy Policy
  • Support Us
  • Shop
  • Tee Public Merch Store
  • Book Club Guide
  • Giveaways
Sign up for the FREE Shelf Addiction Newsletter!

Book Review | What We Saw, by Aaron Hartzler

6/20/2016

0 Comments

 
Today I have another good read! Read on to find out why this thought provoking and emotionally stirring book is on my book club recommendation list!
Picture
Publisher: Harper Teen
Release Date: September 22, 2015 
Format: 
ebook (Kindle)
Pages: 
336
Source: 
Amazon 
Genre: 
YA Contemporary Fiction
Review Date: 
June 20, 2016
Rating: 
4 bookmarks

Synopsis: Kate Weston can piece together most of the bash at John Doone’s house: shots with Stacey Stallard, Ben Cody taking her keys and getting her home early—the feeling that maybe he’s becoming more than just the guy she’s known since they were kids.

But when a picture of Stacey passed out over Deacon Mills’s shoulder appears online the next morning, Kate suspects she doesn’t have all the details. When Stacey levels charges against four of Kate’s classmates, the whole town erupts into controversy. Facts that can’t be ignored begin to surface, and every answer Kate finds leads back to the same question: Where was Ben when a terrible crime was committed?

This story—inspired by real events—from debut novelist Aaron Hartzler takes an unflinching look at silence as a form of complicity. It’s a book about the high stakes of speaking up, and the razor thin line between guilt and innocence that so often gets blurred, one hundred and forty characters at a time.



What We Saw is loaded with themes of consent, rape, group think mentality, cyber bullying and more. The story really emphasizes how everyone is responsible for their actions, directly or indirectly. This is one of those books that every high schooler should read. For that matter, every college student should read it as well. In light of recent events that have gotten media attention, and seems as though a lot of kids, teens, young adults, could learn a thing or two about the word consent.

​The story takes place in the small town where the basketball team can do no wrong. A lot of times and small towns, or even large cities, the sports players are really worshipped , and are never at fault for anything. This is sad, because it gives these men and women in some cases, the idea that they can do whatever they want without any consequence. It's a real sense of entitlement that these kids feel when they are being worshipped like gods.
Aaron Hartzler Explains What We Saw &
​The Importance of Discussing Tough Topics
At a party, Stacey while in a drunken and passed out state, was the victim of her classmates taking revealing photos and video, while boys on the basketball team did some really horrible things to her while she was unconscious. What makes it even more sad, is that not only did anyone try to stop them, they blamed her! She was labeled as a slut, easy, and anything horrible that you can label a woman. They even went to the extent of blaming her for what happened because of the scantily clad clothing she was wearing. As the story goes on, we get to the bottom of what really happened that night and who witnessed it.

One thing that really stood out to me, is that Katie, our protagonist, at times seemed much more mature than the average high schooler. She's giving speeches and lectures to her little brother, her friends, and other people as if she is an adult. I personally felt that if a teen had experienced things that she had they might not have been so forthcoming and verbal about the issues that they were experiencing. She or he might have even went along just to not lose their friends. On the flip side, that was really refreshing as well. To have a young person go against the grain to do the right thing was memorable. While Katie is being mature and how she's handling this whole situation, she's also came across very teenage angst as well. Not to measure some of the dumb things she did. For that matter, while Katy seemed older, she did still retain a lot of features that a teenager would have.

As the story goes on, in the background Ben and Katie are growing closer. Katie and Ben are falling in love. They're childhood friends who are seeing each other in a new light. I like them as a couple, I wanted to root for them. But of course, something is just too perfect about Ben, and that's all I'm going to say about it.

When it was all said and done, the story did somewhat remind me of a cross between Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll and the most recent season of the anthology style TV show, American Crime on ABC.

This was an excellent read for book club. It motivated a lot of thought-provoking conversation. As adults, the book really emphasizes the issues that teens and kids are going through today. While the story is somewhat predictable, it's an important story. It's a heartbreaking story. It's also a story that I recommend to everyone.

Happy Reading,
​~Tamara
Get the Kindle version here:
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Gain access to exclusive content!
    Picture
    Click for Shelf Addiction merch!
    Follow on Bloglovin

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Get ONE month FREE!

    ​Rating Scale: 

    Picture
    Wonderful! Loved it! Add it to your shelf!
    Picture
    ​Very good read! It's bookshelf worthy.
    Picture
    ​I liked it. Borrow it from the library or a friend.
    Picture
    I got through it...barely! If you must read it, borrow it.
    Picture
    Don't waste your time.

    Picture

    Currently Reading

    Somebody I Used to Know
    Hidden Bodies

    Follow on Bloglovin

    Read the Printed Word!
    Picture

    DISCLAIMER 
    All affiliate links used on this site are links which I will receive a small commission if you purchase using them. A percent of all monies earned goes to help pay for this website and giveaways hosted by me .
    Click here to read the 
    Privacy Policy for Shelf Addiction


    Categories

    All
    1 Bookmark
    2 Bookmarks
    3 Bookmarks
    4 Bookmarks
    5 Bookmarks
    Aa Fiction
    Armchair Bea
    Audiobook
    Author Features
    Autobiography
    Biography
    Blog Tours
    Book Conventions
    Book Haul Tuesday
    Bookish Bargains
    Bookish News
    Bookish Pod Chat
    Book To Movie Adaptations
    Book To TV Adaptations
    BookTube Weekly
    Buddy Reads
    Chick Lit
    Christian Fiction
    Contemporary Fiction
    Contemporary Romance
    Cover Reveal
    Dystopian
    Erotica
    Fantasy
    Fantasy Series
    Feature & Follow Friday
    General Fiction
    Giveaways
    Guest Posts
    Historical Fiction
    Horror
    Inspirational
    Literacy Events
    Memoir
    Movie Reviews
    Mystery
    Narrator Interviews
    New Adult
    Non Fiction
    Paranormal
    Paranormal Romance
    Pop Culture Sunday
    Read Along
    Read A Thon
    Romance
    Romantic Suspense
    RTU
    Sa-book-club
    Saturday Book Chat
    Science Fiction
    Seasonal Reading
    Shelf Byte
    Short Stories
    Steampunk
    Summer Of Indie
    Suspense
    TBR Jar
    The Book Exchange
    The Recap!
    Thriller
    Throwback Thursday
    TPCP
    Tv Show Reviews
    Urban Fantasy
    Why I Love Wednesdays
    Womens Fiction
    Ya Dystopian
    Ya Fantasy
    Ya Fiction
    Ya Historical Fantasy
    Ya Historical Fiction
    Ya Mystery
    Ya Paranormal
    Ya Retelling
    Ya Romance
    Ya Science Fiction
    Ya Steampunk
    Ya Thriller
    Ya Urban Fantasy

    Reviews Published

    Sponsor Love

    Picture
    Advertise on 
    ​Shelf Addiction!

    Picture
    Picture
    We can't do this without you!! Support this podcast! Use the referral links, leave a review on your platform of choice, donate a coffee or checkout the merch store. Even show your support on Patreon!

    Podcast Book Chats, Bookish Topics, Book Reviews, Audiobook Reviews, Author and Narrator Interviews, Online Book Club

© 2012-2023 shelfaddiction.com. All rights reserved.