The Mockingbirds (The Mockingbirds #1)
Daisy Whitney
Published November 2, 210 (Paperback release January 2012)
Little, Brown Books
Review Copy
Reviewed by Rachael
Some schools have honor codes.
Others have handbooks.
Themis Academy has the Mockingbirds.
Themis Academy is a quiet boarding school with an exceptional student body that the administration trusts to always behave the honorable way-the Themis way. So when Alex Patrick is date-raped during her junior year, she has two options: Stay silent and hope someone helps, or enlist the aid of the Mockingbirds-a secret society of students dedicated to righting the wrongs of the student body.
In this account of a teenage girl’s search for her voice and the courage to use it, debut author Daisy Whitney reminds readers that standing up for someone, especially yourself, is worth the fight. –Goodreads
I received a paperback copy of this to get me up to speed before reviewing the second book in Mockingbirds Series, The Rivals, which came out in February 2012. I instantly fell in love with the people of Themis Academy and was sucked into Alex’s story from the very first page. The Mockingbirds are a secret student council of sorts that provides disciplinary oversight to the students of Themis, which according to the teachers and administration can do no wrong as they are all brilliant (either in math, science, the arts, athletics, etc.) The hands-off approach of the faculty have made The Mockingbirds organization a necessity, even smart people do bad things (who knew?!)
The book deals with the tough subject of date-rape in, what I felt like was, a very real manner. The internal mental debates Alex puts herself through. The support of her friends and sister vs. the perceived alienation of the student-body and mockery of the guy’s friends. Most importantly, I feel like this book also gives hope. Hope to victims of all sorts of injustice in a way that is very empowering. I can’t wait to see what Alex and The Mockingbird gang are up to next, stayed tuned for that review soon!