CW: heavy drug use
TW: Rape, Flashbacks

Stories like this one are important to have, yes. But I honestly feel like this book is not the kind of portrayal we want on topics like these. I DNFed this book about 10% of the way through due to multiple problems I saw.

For one, both Blythe's and Ali's characters are problematic. Blythe goes out of her way for Sean after he basically admits to raping a girl and tells him that she's going to make sure the girl doesn't make a big deal about it. Along with that, she's just a crappy person in general. One of her friends brought up a past eating disorder, and the rest of them just brushed it off like she was trying to gain pity or something. Ali's character wasn't as bad but still not one I was very fond of. She seemed more inclined to worry more over her priorities instead of her mom's efforts to become sober again by moving to New Mexico for help (called it a "hippie" place). Both characters just came off as really crappy to the people around them and/or their family, to be short about it.

Along with this, I wasn't a big fan of how teenagers were portrayed in this book. There was very heavy drug and alcohol use throughout, and it seemed like everyone was just class-a jerks. It came across as very out-of-date, stereotype-influenced.

All in all, I was severely disappointed. I was expecting a well-written book that shined a spotlight on important topics, and that was not what was procured.

Thank you PenguinTeen for a copy in exchange for my honest review!

Ali Greenleaf and Blythe Jensen couldn't be more different.

Ali is sweet, bitingly funny, and just a little naive. Blythe is beautiful, terrifying, and the most popular girl in school. They've never even talked to each other, until a party when Ali decides she'll finally make her move on Sean Nessel, her longtime crush and the soccer team's superstar. But Sean pushes Ali farther than she wants to go. When she resists--he rapes her.

______________

This isn’t a just a book.
This is a story, a real story, a voice for people dealing with things like this.
A story shared by countless people throughout the world; It is poignant, heartbreaking and outrageous.

The author took something real and put it to words, it was gut wrenching to read as this girls story spilled out on the pages knowing that things like this go on today. At times I felt like I was reading diary entries. I wanted to cry and scream at the universe the further I went into the book. Was it perfect? No, but life isn’t perfect and the imperfections made the story that much more human. If you need to know how a teenage girl deals with trauma this is a must read, the author has depicted the twists and turns of the emotional rollercoaster in such a real way.

TW: rape, description of rape, overdose, drugs, alcohol usage

Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf is a heart-wrenching story about a girl’s journey with her rape and how the rapist’s friend befriends Ali in attempt to make amends. This story is so raw and real. As someone who has experienced those experiences and feelings, the story was an accurate depiction of the inner-struggles of a victim.

Ali is such a strong character that grows and develops to be able to tell her story throughout the book. Nothing is held back and the reader gets a sense of what it feels like to be a victim of assault.

Blythe, the other main character, is very complex. She’s stuck in a situation where she is best friends with a rapist, but also forms a relationship with Ali. Her character was very interesting to me and her characterization throughout the book really surprised me.

Overall, the raw and realness of the book really resonated with me. This is a must read for everybody. Rape is a real issue that is affecting a large portion of our society and needs to be talked about. Find your voice in Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf.

**Disclaimer: I was given a free e-ARC of the below book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**

Title Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf

Author Hayley Krischer

Release Date October 6 2020

Initial Thoughts

It ended up taking me longer than I thought it would to read this book, not because of anything bad, but because it was so completely accurate to my own experience with my own trauma that I had to read it a little bit at a time. While Ali’s story is not the same as mine in many ways, it is close enough that I could so easily see myself in her shoes.

Some Things I Liked
This was such a breathtakingly honest and raw book exploring what it’s like to be a highschool girl navigating what it’s like to deal with an assault not in a vacuum. It would be great to be able to take the time to process what happened without having to focus on friends and family and school and keeping all the other plates spinning, but that wouldn’t be accurate to real life. This book doesn’t shy away from the many ways that your life is impacted by assault that aren’t the things everyone thinks of. Ali and Blythe were both so strong and so broken in such different ways and I was so attached to them.

One Thing I Wasn’t Crazy About
There were just a couple too many places where the book veered into unbelievability that held it back from being a five star read for me. The fact that there was a bathroom in the school where the girls could just so smoke with no repercussions, as well as some of the aspects toward the conclusion of the book were just a little too much for me.


Final Thoughts
I thought this was incredibly well written and so beautifully raw and honest. The afterword from the author was beautiful and as a survivor of high school sexual assault I felt very seen in this book.


⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 Stars



Thank you so much to NetGalley and Razorbill Books for a copy of this book!

This book is gut-wrenching. Trigger Warning: Talks about sexual assault. Perfect for fans of Saints and Misfit by S.K.Ali. It's loosely based off of the Brett Kavanaugh case and the author's own experiences.

I just finished Something Happened To Ali Greenleaf and I’m unsure of how to feel.
This was a tough book to read.
It deals with rape, bullying, drug abuse, and mental illness. It talks about rape culture in our society and shows us how victims are shamed.
So keep that in mind before picking this up.

The story follows Ali trying to deal with the aftermath of sexual assault.
I think this is an important book for young adults. It’s something that needs to be read by girls everywhere!

I had a hard time getting into the book at first. It just felt kind of slow and the characters did not help. I did have to remind myself a couple times that these are teens and are acting as such.
But once it picked up I pretty much stayed up all night and devoured it.
I’m not gonna lie. This was a tough read. But it’s a necessary read.
My heart hurt for Ali.
My heart hurts for all victims of rape. As someone who experienced sexual assault as a teen I related to this book a lot.

I highly recommend this book. It was powerful, heartbreaking but also empowering.

Thank you to Penguin Teen (partner) and netgalley for the eARC of this book

Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf is a heavy and important YA contemporary discussing sexual assault, what it means to wrestle with the reality of trauma, and female friendship. This is a difficult book to read and should be approached with caution by those sensitive to such subjects. There are brutal scenes depicted rape and drug addiction.

The book is told through two alternating perspectives: Ali, who is raped by soccer darling Sean at the beginning of the novel; and Blythe, Sean’s closest friend who has agreed to befriend Ali to mitigate any potential problems she might cause for him.

I have seen a lot of reviews about this frustrated over the likeability of the characters. I could see why people didn’t like them but I can also see why Bythe and Ali acted the way they did and, in both cases, I think it was because both of them were wrestling with sexual trauma. Beyond Ali’s rape, there an “initiation” that a handful of freshmen girls go through at the hand of some of the boys. Afterward, they are accepted by the boys and enter popular circles. It is brutal and wrong but plays a major role throughout the story.

All of these aspects might make for a depressing read but I honestly found the story so compelling and unputdownable. I am always looking for books that elicit a reaction and Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf definitely accomplishes that.

Overall, I gave this book 4/5 stars and would recommend it for anyone who enjoyed titles such as Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis and Girl Made of Stars by Ashley Herring Blake.

I consumed Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf in less than 24 hours. I did not know much about the book going into it, and I am so glad I went in blind. It gave me the opportunity to really go on a journey. It is a powerful story of sexual assault, female friendship, and the power of truth.

High school junior Ali Greenleaf is head over heels in love with Soccer Star Sean Nessel. On the night she decides to attend a party in hopes of finally catching his eye, a night to remember quickly turns into the worst night of her life. Sean rapes Ali Greenleaf. Sean's best friend and Queen Bee Blythe Jensen decides to befriend Ali in hopes of protecting Sean. However, Ali's strong and resilient personality surprises Blythe and together they discover commonalities that bring them together- and rip them apart.

I recommend this book because it shows what its like to live with the reality of being assaulted. Though this is just through the perspective of these two characters and does not represent all survivors, it give readers a lens into the repercussions of assault. Both Ali and Blythe are in the wake of traumatic events, and it is important that we as readers open our hearts to them. This book is absolutely a lesson in compassion and empathy- and what it truly means to be a good friend. Hayley Krischer puts a magnifying glass to our society and the importance of always believing survivors. What I find most inspiring about Krischer's debut novel is the hope for a better day. The book depicts the lowest of lows for both Ali and Blythe, but within that sadness and anger, Krischer incorporated the bravery and fire within them (especially Ali).

This is a book for women of all ages. We are not alone.

Pros:
This book definitely put my emotions through a ringer throughout it. I know, I know. This is an emotionally impacting read, but it felt like Hayley Krischer put a little something extra in there to get create this emotional mixture.
The decision to go duel-narrative. Having this story be in duel-narrative was a risky move, but it pays off in the long run in terms of connecting to this story.

Cons:
The characters. Okay, this sounds like a cop-out, but I honestly am not sure. This book is complicated and my feelings on the characters are the main point of this complication.

Overall: My opinions on the characters were the downfall of this for me, but I really appreciated the emotional journey I went on.

Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf is dark and crushing, exactly how I like my YA contemporary! It is about fundamental rage, twisted friendships, and misplaced loyalties.

I’ll be upfront and say there are very few likable characters in here. If you told me you thought a single one of them (except perhaps Ali) was admirable or good, I’d give you a side eye. Blythe in particular is interesting to me because she is a terrible friend, a bad person, and for most of the book she’s not even trying to be good. I’m a firm believer in morally grey characters, especially ones with complex motives who wouldn’t usually be allowed to exist in YA. This novel is a necessary departure from the complete forgiveness narrative, the one with little tied up bows on the ending. It simply exists for readers, exists to tell Blythe and Ali’s stories, and that can be enough.

Another thing Krischer did well was addressing sexual assault and rape. Now, there are some aspects of the content that would probably never happen at a high school, and for that I make allowances (I wouldn’t expect the novel to sacrifice good storytelling for moral realism, because frankly I’m not interested in every book having a lesson to teach) but rape is absolutely an issue young adults should address. Krischer’s sensitive response to victim blaming, shame, fear, and all the powerful emotions that Ali experiences after her rape made this an absolute 5 star read for me. It wasn’t just her hurt that bled off the page, it was her absolute uncertainty as to a path forward. I won’t spoil anything for you, but I’ll say that this novel had an incredibly satisfying emotional resolution and I think Hayley Krischer is a debut voice to keep an eye on.

This is a daring story with diabolical characters, at times difficult to read, but deep and gripping.

The main theme of the story is rape, which is a very serious and sensitive issue and one that should be handled carefully. I thought the author did a very nice job in writing the story. The characters deal with the situation in a very realistic manner. Moreover, I applaud the author for providing the resources for victims to have a platform to reach out to.

Also, this is one of those stories where I really didn’t like the characters, yet they are compelling and I was drawn to them. Both Ali and Blythe’s perspectives were very gripping and it was interesting to see how they get together because of Sean. None of the characters are black and white, which makes the story very interesting.

More than Ali, I felt Blythe was the highlight of the story. Blythe is an interesting character because you don’t know what her intentions are. Is she using Ali? Is she feeling sorry for her? She has many layers like her obsession with Sean and her issues with her mother. She makes the story very interesting with her perspective.

Similarly, I did feel sorry for Ali on the other hand. While I hate what happened to her, I thought she was a very weak character initially. I didn’t understand why she let Blythe influence her in such a way. However, as the story progressed, I started to root for her and wanted to stand by her side. She was a powerhouse one she got a backbone get back in the world.

Overall, this is a gripping story about high school popularity, revenge, and standing up for what is right, and I could not put it down.

Thank you to TBR and Beyond Tours, Penguin Young Readers Group, Netgalley, and Hayley Krischer for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Most importantly thank you to Hayley Krischer for writing such a raw, relative, and inspiring book. This is a debut novel for Krischer and she's coming hot out the gate. This book deals with so many different issues that teens and young adults are dealing with today. Sexual assault, mental health issues, broken families, and substance abuse. While it seems that it might be overkill for a YA novel, the truth of the matter is, this life starts young for many kids. My heart broke for Ali again and again seeing the way her trauma played out. Hating herself and pushing others away. As a victim of sexual assault I see myself in this character and I know so many other will too. My heart breaks for Blythe because she is a victim herself even thought I don't think she really sees herself that way but it's heard not to hate her because of her complacency. Blythe is the "boys will be boys' voice in our world that we hear so often in these days of high school and college boys who think they can take what they want because of who they are. The substance abuse seen in this book is terrifying.......but sadly....the reality. I knew these people in high school, so high on whatever they could get their hands on they could barely stand or open their eyes. Passing out or "dozing off" here and there because they took too many. This character gets help......while so many do not. The way Ali finds her voice is nothing short of inspiring. I wish I would have found mine back then.....it took me until adulthood to be able to even say the words......I was raped. There are resource included in this book if you or seomone you know has been sexually assaulted, has a substance abbuse issue, or is struggling with depression and anxiety which I think is incredibly important. Even the author's notes were empowering. While this book does obviously need to comes with some trigger warnings, I hope this inspires girls and women to speak out. Remember that it's never too late to find your voice, to speak your truth, and to set yourself free.

This review along with quotes and the top 5 reason to read this book will be available on my blog 10.11.20

Something Happend to Ali Greenleaf was an incredible novel. It was a powerful, moving, and emotional narrative of the aftermath of an assault. It was difficult to read this at times because the author brought the story to life. The characters in this book were so incredibly vivid and relatable. The author did a beautiful job of highlighting the intricacies of friendship and loyalty (and misplaces loyalty) and how this, along with societal messages, can lead to victims staying silent. I couldn’t put this book down. I became wrapped up in the stories of Ali and Blythe. I can’t recommend this book enough. It would be a powerful book for girls and parents to read and discuss together, and for all readers.

As stated earlier, some of the topics in this book are difficult to read. Trigger warnings include sexual assault, drug use, and bullying.

Some of my favorite quotes from the book:
“This is what being an adult is, right? This is how people become mature. They suffer and move on.”

“Some friendships are about loyalty Some friendships are built on secrets Some friendships are built on mutual infatuation.”

“But I’ve seen too many news stories, too many articles, to know that in real-life situations girls don’t get the chance to defend themselves.”

I received a gifted finished copy of this novel. This does not affect my opinion or the content of my honest review.

REVIEW: Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf by Hayley Krischer

Thank you @penguinteen for providing me with a #gifted copy of Something Happened as part of your #PenguinTeenPartner program.

CW: sexual assault, rape, sexual assault of minors, gaslighting, bullying, victim blaming. Please swipe for some resources provided in the book.

I’m not giving this book a traditional star rating, because I believe the themes and content of the book are of such importance that rating it out of five stars would do it injustice. Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf tells the story of Ali, a high school student who was sexually assaulted by her crush at a party. Sean, her attacker, then enlists the help of his best friend Blythe, one of the most popular girls at school who herself is a survivor of sexual abuse, to “convince” Ali into thinking nothing happened. Over the school year, Ali and Blythe learn a lot about each other and how to cope with and address their traumas. Ultimately, Ali and Blythe both make the incredibly brave and difficult decision speak up about their experiences and process the trauma that they’ve been living with.

This book is something that will stick with me for a long time after reading. Stories of sexual assault are so important to read and share as we as a society should strive to place these discussions out in the open and engage in a national conversation about rape culture, victim blaming and shaming, and the lasting effects of sexual assault on survivors. In her author’s note, Krischer writes: “I hope reading [Something Happened] will have opened your mind to the complexities of sexual assault...into what the act of surviving looks like. But as much as this book is about female rage and the aftermath of sexual assault, it’s also about the beauty of female friendships, as well as their worrisome dynamics.” I couldn’t describe this book in a better fashion, and I encourage everybody to pick up a copy and continue this important and necessary discussion.

I would like to thank TBR and Beyond Tours, Hayley Krischer, and Razorbill for sending me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. To see the rest of the tour schedule, check out this link here or click on the tour banner above!

While I usually read fantasy novels, Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf was an enjoyable, yet challenging read for me. Krischer's writing style was easy to read through, but the plot made me uncomfortable. And you know what my first thought toward that feeling was?

Good.

We should be uncomfortable about a book detailing a girl being raped and the guy who raped her blaming her and dismissing the fact that it was rape in the first place. No one should be okay with the fact that books such as this one have to be written.

And I think that that is the point. Ali Greenleaf's progression to acceptance of her rape and the slow-and-steady recovery from the mental and physical repercussions was so vivid that you find yourself as a reader wanting to cry, scream, and protect her from the world. Now, while we may all expect that from a book from the victim's point of view, what makes Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf stick out so greatly was the new perspective that Krischer presents: the abuser's confidant.

Blythe's story absolutely gave me chills. While Ali's story was the one we were all prepared to hear, Blythe's was nothing that I had expected. I fell in love with Krischer's ability to show the many ways in which sexual abuse can present itself: in both the more obvious and not-so-obvious ways. She took the time to define the multifaceted act of abuse and show how abuse can influence someone's life. I loved the way she brought the events together in the end, realistically tying together the loose ends that had been created throughout the novel.

While a book written with present tense normally would make me DNF a book, I am so thankful that I got over my style preference and dove into this novel of self-discovery, survival, and friendship. If you are someone who becomes triggered by the content warnings above, I would not recommend Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf due to the vivid details throughout; however, I highly recommend Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf to anyone who can read it.

I tried very hard to like and stick with this book, but I ended up DNF at 35%. It was not for me. I hope to read another by this author in the future.

The Story

This is a story that needs to be told. Everyone should read this book. The way that this novel handles many triggering topics is very well done. Writing about rape and the events that follow the victim afterward can be tough to stomach and difficult to get through, but reading about Ali reminds me of the constant struggles that victims face in our current society. They wonder “will people shame me for accusing someone of rape,” “will the police believe me”, “what if people don’t believe because I drank right before it happened.” A lot of this book is very sad, and rightfully so, but there is also hope and friendship within this story as well. We see a lot of support for Ali from her friends even though she may not follow their advice all of the time. And we do see a lot of growth from Ali as she struggles to understand what happened to her. This leads to the hope aspect of the story in a touching and heartbreaking way.

The Characters

Krischer really knows how to write a teenager. While I never had to experience a social hierarchy while I was in high school, these girls’ attitudes towards life and their individual problems is spot on. They felt that they were better than everyone and that sexual experiences made them more mature and more important. But in reality these girls were all suffering from the pressure put on them to be popular and cool and someone to look up to.
I would like to sincerely thank TBR and Beyond Tours and Razorbill (Penguin Random House) for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Ali and Blythe could be very unlikeable at times, but the more you read about them the more you understand why they act the way that they do and why they may not make decisions that you personally would’ve made if you were in their shoes.

The Writing

I really appreciated the writing in this story. This story wasn’t written sweetly and romantically, it was written as if both Ali and Blythe had to hurry and finish their thoughts before they disappeared. There was a rush to the writing that fit perfectly with the topics involved. The inner monologue of both Ali and Blythe was very realistic and it really did hurt to read about what both of the girls thought of themselves. Krischer made it a point to paint this story as realistically as possible and it pays off with wonderful character development and surreal plot points.

Wow! This book! I am so glad that I read this one. This topic needs to be talked about! We need to have books that explore sexual assault and not just fade to black. This book, although uncomfortable to read at times because of the content, handled everything so well. There were moments where I felt so overwhelmed by Ali's experiences that I had to stop reading, but I always wanted to read more.

Ali was written so realistically. Everything she did seemed so realistic and logical in the circumstances that it felt like this really happened. It's hard to talk about this book without looking back on my own experiences and how I reacted. Although my own experiences were not the same as Ali's, I felt that, in some cases, we reacted fairly similarly. To read a book that represented me in some where, a way that I have never seen in a book before, was overwhelming at times. There were moments where I was crying alongside Ali.

I wasn't expecting to have the perspective from Blythe as well. I'm glad we did. We got to see just how manipulative Sean was to everyone in his world. It helped us see Ali's world a little better and get a better understanding of what Blythe was going through. If we had only experienced this book from Ali's perspective, we would not have been able to gain the empathy towards Blythe and her actions would always seem negative. I felt, although Blythe's actions were horrible, I could see why she was doing what she did. There were "reasonings" behind them. I do not believe her actions were right or moral by any means, but she is an imperfect character that helps make this story even more believable.

As for the other supporting characters, I HATED the majority of them. Again, this seemed to be done on purpose. We got to see Ali's support system and just how they interreacted with her and her distancing. We also got to see just how the popular kids acted in this situation. They are all horrible people - the ones from Blythe's life (well almost all). We got to see just how toxic her friendships were.

The overall story arc was well written and followed a logical chain of events. Without going into spoilers, it felt very much like how one would experience this type of trauma, but still managed to explore it more. It felt more in depth than I had experienced in a book before. No fade to black; no tiptoeing around the idea of it. We get to see how this rape affected Ali and those around her and Sean.

Thank you NetGalley and PenguinTeen for allowing me to have an advanced copy of this book to read and review. As this book held many triggers for me, I will be reviewing this at a later date as I just finished this read. I am giving this book a solid 4 star - I thoroughly enjoyed it. Full review to come.

I spent this whole book going back and forth about whether I liked it, whether it was well done, whether I thought the writing choices were smart, and in a lot of ways I still don't know how I feel. On the one hand, I think the dual perspectives, one of the person who was raped, one from someone who is a friend of and enabler for the rapist, were a powerful combination. However, I found Blythe's POV particularly difficult to connect with perhaps because it felt almost unrealistically dark (not perhaps as dark as Hannah Capin's Foul Is Fair, but also not as soaked in fantasy), leaning toward ritualized high school sexual assault and a group of cigarette-smoking cool girls completely lacking in empathy. While Ali's side seemed written as a stages of grief, "this happens every day, it could have happened to someone you know" sort of story, and is powerful because of it, Blythe's narrative seemed separated and less relatable, not necessarily because of her choices but because of the side plots which pepper her sections. I think this is also the sort of book which focuses on plot much more than characters: many of the secondary characters were not particularly well defined within themselves. What exactly is the functional difference, for example, between Suki and Cate? What do we know about Sammi and Raj other than one to two facts about their families, and that they are good friends to Ali?

I don't think this is too much for teens to read, and I think for some - for too many - it will be a story which resonates with events in their own lives. However, I couldn't help feeling that parts of it were not really written for a teen audience, but just happened to feature characters who were the right ages.