Age: High School-College
Tough Issue: Rape

This needs to be required reading in high school classrooms. On top of the excellent writing and the suspense of the book, Summers provides a hard and emotional journey of a high school senior who has been raped by the town star and sheriff's son. When no one believes her, even her best friend, Romy is left in a victim's silence, blaming and hating herself while trying to forget her trauma.

After it is finally revealed who killed Penny, Summers contrasts the reader's horrifying realization with sound bites from a radio show of people trying to justify the crime and humanizing the male aggressor. Using the power of fiction to highlight this grotesque societal norm is absolutely heartstopping and why every teen should read this and discuss it. (However, upon further thought, it would be horrifying to sit through a lengthy discussion about rape if you yourself have experienced it. I still think that this book is very important for opening up discussion, but it should be voluntary.)