While I give this book three stars, it is still the type of story that will stick with you.

Padian does an excellent job of writing characters that are engaging and believable. The topic is not easy to read about, but the POVs bring a fresh and interesting aspect to the tragedy.

This story is a story that could so easily be real. With the statistics on rape within educational establishments being so high it is a great book to help younger teens truly understand what consent is. It is also gives a clear message that boys must be educated to truly understand consent.
Told from two points of view, the room mates of the accused and the girl who has been raped, this really shows the complexities that exist for others in who to believe.
It was a highly emotional and disturbing reading, what happened to Jenny was so upsetting. The author has really done an amazing job in covering a very difficult topic.

As you all know I am a big lover of contemporary Young Adult Fiction. I love the way it can portray real life and real life situations that we may find ourselves in at some point. When I heard about Wrecked I was instantly drawn to it. I liked the idea of the book exploring a topic that in my opinion isn’t spoken about a lot in todays society and it should be. I couldn’t wait to get stuck in.

Everyone on campus has heard a different story about what happened that night at MacCullum college. Haley, having suffered a concussion at her latest soccer game was already in bed and fast asleep when her roommate, Jenny, arrived back distressed and shocked about the party at Conundrum House which she attended. Richard, hears friend Jordan talking about his hookup with a freshman at said party. When Jenny, a few days later accuses Jordan of rape, accusations fly and sides are chosen. Both Haley and Richard find themselves on opposites sides of the investigation, with their blooming relationship riding on the verdict.

It goes without saying that this book does touch on some very serious and sensitive issues. Although it isn’t glamourised in any way the way in which the back story and the story taking place in the current time is quite gritty at times. This could distress some readers, but for me it just made me realise at how complicated this issue can be and what problems it can cause for both parties – the accuser and the accused. I know some people think that rape is just done by creepy men in alleys (although that is far from the truth), but this book goes to show that it can happen in a place where you should feel safe and by someone who is typically seen as your average young man, just trying to figure out his life and future.

I loved the realism to this story if I’m being honest. There is victim blaming, which can happen in these cases, bullying, confusion and fear. All things that you can associate with sexual assault. I liked how the story was told from the perspectives of Haley and Richard, both outsiders. When I first read the synopsis of the book I was sure it was going to be told from the perspective of the victim, but I was wrong. This allows us to find out about the accused crime from the outside. You also get to feel the emotions that some outsiders can feel about this sort of situation such as anger, frustration and doubt. Which both Haley and Richard feel throughout. I wasn’t too sure on the blossoming romance between the characters as I thought it was drag us away from the main arc of the story, but I was wrong. I think the relationship between them goes to show us that although you may be on opposites sides of the argument you can come together in the end.

It was really interesting that the gender roles of the two narrators was reversed in someway. Haley was the jock, the soccer player and Richard was the brainiac, the hopeless romantic who got in too deep when his ex just wanted a casual relationship. This I felt was very significant to the arc of the story, which is usually gendered. I found the other characters throughout the book to be interesting in their own ways. Yes, some were dislikeable but this added to the realistic plot. In these cases not everyone is going to be nice, and some are going to be downright nasty and we did see this in this story. The character of, Carrie, although I didn’t like her, could have been explored more. I think she could have been a very three dimensional character if this had been the case. I saw her as this power hungry feminist, but was she really that?

Wrecked was a very insightful read into what happens when sexual assault happens on a college campus. It was a topic that I hadn’t read in fiction before and so really intrigued me. I enjoyed reading it from the perspective of an outsider and it did really make me think about this whole issue in a new way.

Trigger warning: sexual assault, rape

Wrecked tackles a very important issue that is very real and prominent today: sexual assault on campus. It dives deep into accusations, victims, sides, investigations, school systems, legal systems, school reputations and cliques surrounding sexual assault and the repercussions, as well as how the school treats sexual assault between it's students on campus as well as how investigations go.

An important dark story about rape culture and what happens after an accusation is made. The extremely conceptualized characters bring this story to life and forces the reader to face some difficult truths.

I tried to read as the book 3 times and even bought a finished copy and just couldn't get into it.

I ended up losing interest on this book and at this point I don't think I'll read it

Really enjoyed this one! I thought that it had a great narrative on a lot of issues that are going on today.

An emotional and timely look at sexual assault on a college campus that stands out because of the extremely well-drawn characters and a unique perspective .

So i got this book for review from netgalley after the synopsis grabbed me. I'm usually not one for contemporary young adult fiction, especially one thats guaranteed to bring tears but this actually caught me and I found it really insightful.

It obviously comes with a few key trigger warnings for rape and abuse which definitely should be considered before reading, but I think it's a very interesting insight into the way that rape is dealt with in college. This book grabbed my attention and made me want to keep reading, and the ending left me feeling infurated and a little angry at the system which is proabably what the author intended to do.

What makes this book truly unique is the fact that the book isn't told directly from the victims perspective, and instead told by the victims roomate and a friend of the accused; which serves to create this atmosphere of doubt surrounding the victims story. Jenny, the victim, was very drunk at the time so the book deals with issues surrounding consent, and the fact that not being able to say no is not consent. It looks at what happens to the victim and the accused if a rape is reported, and honestly it'll make you so incredibly angry about the way that Jenny is treated that you'll want to scream; but this book presents a truthful, gritty look at the way an accusation of rape is dealt with within American colleges, and gives a look at just what blaming the victim can do to a person.

The only downside of this book for me were the two narrators, Haley and Richard, in some ways I felt that they grounded the book, and reminded me that this is real life and it could happen to anyone. I especially loved the fact that as soon as Richard even mentioned the fact that Jenny may be mistaking Rape for rough sex, Haley shut him down and I loved that. I just found that I had no real interest in them as characters, it was a classic role reversal, Haley the rough around the edges jock, and Richard as a deep, hopless romatic type of guy and their relationship just didn't grab me. I had no real interest in the romantic subplot that was running alongside the story, and I almost wanted to skip the parts where they weren't discussing Jenny.

This book is a fantastic contemporary literature novel that has taken an issue that is incredibly tough to write about, and has made it so gritty and real that I think it will make anyone angry at the treatment of women who report rape.

Recommend: Yes! but only if you are prepared to approach a book that discusses rape, and leaves no room for a traditional happy ending.

Stars
★★★★

I can never get past the first few chapters of this every time I have tried to read it. I can't give it a review.

My Thoughts:
This book has been on my "TBR List" for quite sometime and I am happy to have finally gotten around to it. I found this book to be a wonderful public service announcement of what can happen when you allow yourself to lose control. As women, we should always be vigilant of our safety and surroundings. Wrecked is a cautionary coming-of-age tale that deals with just what can happen when you let your guard down.

As for the mechanical aspects of the book, the character development was amazing. The storyline was believable and the writing was superb. What I was most impressed with is the underlying message in this book: only you have your best interests at heart.

Would I Recommend This Book:
Yes! Even though this book centers around college-aged-young-adults, I would recommend it to even high school aged kids, and maybe some mature middle schoolers. The situations and issues dealt with are relevant to both genders, even though the main characters are female.

A harrowing read, and an important one. Addresses the complicated nuances of reporting a campus assault. Raw, real, and thought-provoking.