Girls Like Me

Emma Kennedy has been through one of the worst experiences anyone can go through; she's been raped by the boy she likes, Ross Schroder. Readers come into Emma's story just a couple of weeks after the rape happens, the point when she is suffering a miscarriage. Her parents didn't know about the rape or her pregnancy, and Emma is alone in her pain over what Ross did to her. Even her best friend Jen isn't talking to Emma because they both had a crush on Ross, and Jen felt betrayed that Ross was into Emma and not her. Things get even worse when Emma goes back to school after her miscarriage and finds out that everyone knows not only that she and Ross had sex, but that she was pregnant. One of Emma's classmates found out about her miscarriage from their brother who worked at the hospital, and they spread the rumor around. On top of that, because Ross has told everyone that Emma came onto him and the sex was consensual, the whole school now thinks that Emma is a slut, and she has no one to talk to about what she went through.

When Emma has a breakdown in the hallway, the school counsellor, Mrs. Hargrove takes Emma to her office and convinces Emma to tell her what is going on. Emma partially explains her situation, saying she broke up with her boyfriend because he was pressuring her for sex. Mrs. Hargrove tells Emma she was right to do this because he may have raped her if she kept saying no. She reiterates this point and tells Emma it is a criminal offence and that victims should contact the police. While this is very important information and something people should know, the way responding to a sexual assault is portrayed in the novel is very basic with no further conversation around it. It could stand to be expanded upon, with a more in-depth discussion about how sexual abuse victims heal, and how contacting the police can help with the process.

Following Emma’s talk with Mrs. Hargrove, she finds that, after a while, people lose interest in her and her story. When Emma goes to her doctor for a checkup, he prescribes birth control and vaguely suggests that she talk to her mother about what happened, thinking Emma is just an irresponsible girl having unsafe sex. Later, when Emma brings up her doctor's appointment with her mother, things get heated between them and Emma blurts out that she was raped. Her mother doesn't react well, asking if she led Ross on and saying Emma dresses provocatively, implying she may have asked for it. Emma is very hurt by her mother’s response, and, when her mother says to just ignore everyone at school and focus on getting into a good university, Emma gives up and stops paying attention to her.

Later, at a volleyball game with her team, Emma sees Jen talking to Ross and notices that the two of them are very close. Emma worries that Ross will hurt Jen, too, and later confronts her at school, saying that Ross raped her. Jen doesn't believe her though and tells Emma that Ross told her that she had come on to him and pressured him for sex. Emma tries to help Jen by confronting Ross later, but he tauntingly tells her that no one will believe her. When Jen learns that Emma has directly approached Ross, she gets mad at Emma for meddling. In Ross, Butcher has created an incredibly easy-to-hate villain; he is smug and acts in a truly disgusting manner towards Emma while showing no remorse for his actions.

A few days later, Emma encounters Jen who tells Emma that she was right about Ross and that he had raped her at a party. Emma tries to convince Jen to go to the police with her, saying they'll be more likely to be believed since there's two of them accusing Ross of rape. Jen rejects the idea, arguing that the police won't do anything since there's no witnesses. Nonetheless, Emma does convince Jen to tell her parents what had happened. Jen’s parents much more positively than had Emma's mother. They believe Jen and suggest she go to a counselor and to the police. Later at school, Ross comes up to Jen and tries to flirt with her, but, when Emma pushes him away, he once again taunts the girls with the fact that no one will believe them if they say anything. However, Jen receives a letter from a boy who saw her and Ross at the party. He apologizes for not helping earlier and offers his support if she decides to go to the police. With this new witness, the girls decide to file a report and stop Ross before he hurts anyone else.

Butcher has written a good introduction to the aftermath of rape; however, it's a rather cursory one. It shows negative and positive reactions to both girls' stories, but it could use more detail in how Emma processes things around her. The novel is very plot focused, but sadly readers lose out on seeing how Emma and Jen heal from their trauma. Only a couple of times do readers see Emma actually deal with what happened to her, once when she breaks down in the hallway, and again when she sees a commercial for diapers and starts to cry. Even in these instances, there isn't much introspection on Emma's part. In Emma’s quest to help Jen, her own healing is pushed aside. Readers also see Emma sacrifice so much for Jen when Jen wasn't a good friend to her. She believed Ross over Emma every time, and only trusted Emma, whom she had known for her whole life, after Ross had hurt her too. Butcher's book could have shown the girls supporting each other, but instead, Jen is catty and hurts Emma when she is already hurting.

There is also the matter of the girl's going to the police only when they have a witness. While it is good that Emma and Jen do ultimately inform the police, it would be better to see them file a report regardless of whether they have support or not, thereby setting an example for other girls who don't have witnesses.

Butcher's novel chooses to focus on a plot-driven story about Emma’s trying and failing to save her friend instead of focusing on Emma’s healing from her trauma. There are important messages about going to the police and being honest about what happened to you, but they are somewhat lost behind the idea of witness support and getting people on your side. There seems to be so much of Emma and Jen's story that isn't told, and the novel could be improved with an extension of the story that focuses on the girls’ characters and shows them healing more completely from their trauma. While the plot is fast-paced and engaging, something that young readers will enjoy, Butcher's novel seems to be only the beginning of a conversation about what happens after sexual assault, and it should be treated only as an introduction to this very complex subject.