Review: The Rivals

THE RIVALS
Daisy Whitney
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Coming back to Themis Academy after summer, Alex Patrick's first year as leader of the Mockingbirds is off to a confusing, complicated start when a new student comes to her with allegations that a widespread cheating ring, aided by pharmaceutical drugs, is being carefully planned by a large group of students. This crime is less clear-cut than anything the Mockingbirds have went after before: there's no clear victim and they're not even sure who the accused are. But as clues start piling up, some of them pointing towards people Alex hate to think of as anything less than honest and innocent, the already complicated case gets even more confusing. And Alex, pushed into the role of vigilante justice leader, learns just how tricky the role is when she's torn between her friends and those she's vowed to protect, between what's right and what the rules say.

I was wary of (but excited about) a Mockingbirds (review) sequel, and, it turns out, with good reason. The case this time isn't nearly as cut-and-dried as Alex's date rape case was -- without a clear person (or group of people, even) who are accused, much of the book is taken up by the clue-gathering on the part of the Mockingbirds board (Alex, her boyfriend Martin, and third board member Parker) before there's even an accused to bring to trial. The specifics of the drug/cheating ring are often as confusing to the reader as they are to Alex and there are plenty of misdirects when it comes to who's masterminding the ring. Whereas The Mockingbirds was focused on the date rape issue, The Rivals deals more squarely with the Mockingbirds' brand of vigilante justice and just how well it works (or doesn't). Alex struggles with where the line is when it comes to justice, morality, and who should come first: her friends, or the Mockingbirds. It's clear that this second installment is leading up to the next book and various changes in how the Mockingbirds is run, but maybe because of this it falls prey to that "second book syndrome" in that much of the book feels like a set up for what comes next. Over halfway through the story I still felt like I was waiting for it to begin. (Part of this, maybe, is because the book's title doesn't make sense until nearly the very end.)

None of this is to say that there's not some captivating, important stuff in The Rivals, because there definitely is. Just how oblivious or ignorant the faculty and administration are is brought to the forefront in stunning ways; there were scenes between Alex and the dean of Themis that had me staring in shock at how certain things were viewed and treated. Alex, Martin, and her friend Jones' thoughts on justice, right and wrong, and how the case should be handled were very interesting, especially after reading The Mockingbirds where Alex was on the other side of the fence, so to speak. Having her pushed into a leadership position gives a very "insider" look at how the Mockingbirds operates and what those inside think of it, which was pretty awesome. Unfortunately, the main storyline (the drugs/cheating ring) had so many misdirects and took so long to find its footing that it didn't quite have the heft I felt that it needed to carry the rest of the book. Additionally, second-book syndrome and the fact that I found myself disagreeing with various characters' decisions mean that this one falls a bit short of it's predecessor. This was a good read, and I'm fairly sure (though not positive) that I'll be reading the next book in the series, but The Mockingbirds can certainly stand alone, and maybe it should.

Debut Review: The Mockingbirds

THE MOCKINGBIRDS
Daisy Whitney

Alex Patrick should remember her first time, but she doesn't. She doesn't remember ending up in his bedroom, doesn't remember having sex, doesn't even remember that his name is Carter. When she's date-raped after a concert at first she just wants to forget it ever happened, pretend everything is fine. But then the boy starts spreading rumors, everyone thinks she wanted it to happen, and now Alex wants justice. She wants her life back. She wants to be free to eat in the cafeteria again and play her favorite song without feeling the horror of that night. But at Themis Academy, a utopia for the best and brightest, the faculty believes their students to be perfect. Perfect grades, perfect lives, and perfect behavior. Alex doesn't want to get the police involved, so she goes to The Mockingbirds, the somewhat-underground justice system her older sister founded years earlier. The Mockingbirds will help her. They'll protect her. They'll bring the accused to trial, because the Mockingbirds are law at Themis Academy.

This book has an incredible premise, but none of that matters if the writing and the plot can't live up to that promise. Fortunately, the plot of this book is finely crafted, winding almost seamlessly from point A to point B and everywhere in between. The protagonist, Alex, is a talented pianist in love with Ode to Joy - a piece of music that becomes tainted after this night. Her confusion, pain, and anger come through loud and clear, grabbing the reader with the first sentence and refusing to let go. Alex's story is about rape, but more than that it's about standing up for what's right, about justice, about a code of honor and right against wrong. It's about being brave and tough when those are the last things you feel like you can be. The supporting cast of this book - Alex's older sister, her roommates, key members of the Mockingbirds, and even Carter himself - are all amazingly well-written. Each character is there for a reason and each character, even the most minor, have distinct personalities that make them stand out. The cast of characters here is fairly large, but it's written in the most manageable way possible and the dynamics that exist between certain characters, such as Alex and her roommates, add additional layers and depth to the story.

The prestigious and seemingly perfect Themis Academy is wonderful, enchanting, and vaguely creepy at the same time, and I loved it. This is not a book "about" setting, but it is one where the setting plays a vital role and it works to the advantage of the story as a whole. The book is inspired by To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, and as in that book the trial plays a big part here. Because of this the messages in this issue-heavy book are often at the forefront, stated very clearly and obviously in a way that would be annoying or insulting in any other context. However, because so much of the story is focused on justice in a very real way, it works. Not only does it work, but it works so well that some of the most issue-heavy, heeere's the moral! passages were the best in the book.

For me, everything came together in THE MOCKINGBIRDS. Alex's voice was true-to-life and full of emotion; the writing was amazing; the ending was nearly pitch-perfect. This book, to be honest, blew me away. I had high hopes and nervous expectations after hearing some really great things about it, and those hopes were left in the dust. This book is spectacular. Incredible. I can't recommend it enough.