ALA Booklist (Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2020)

Isabel was always Izzy until her stepdad insisted that she and her mother use their full first names, just another example of how he forces them to adhere to his rules and preferences. Soft words, teary pleas, and stolen touches interspersed with insults, criticism, and silence are his modus operandi for keeping Izzy and her mother in line. On top of this abusive homelife, one of Izzy's classmates violates her while she's drunk and threatens to expose compromising photos of her. When Izzy's mum finally absconds with her daughter to the safety of a women's shelter miles away, Izzy finds the physical and emotional strength to stand up to her abusers. Izzy is an intriguing character, as she's a victim in a household where concerns and feelings are purposefully repressed. An emotionally difficult story, this will appeal to more mature teens; however, because rape culture and its casual language and gestures ten disguised as friendly or loving ow no age limit, readers will be shocked, angry, and, hopefully, empowered by the novel's message.

Kirkus Reviews (Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2020)

A girl and her mother seek empowerment in the wake of several kinds of gendered violence.After a boy named Jacob sexually assaults Izzy at a party, she feels further traumatized by her inability to talk through the events with those closest to her. Her best friend, Grace, is distracted by a honeymoon period with her first girlfriend, and Izzy's controlling, abusive stepfather, Daniel, isolates her from her struggling mother. Soon Jacob uses nude photos to blackmail Izzy, and Daniel begins crossing more and more boundaries with her. Her mother seeks help at a women's refuge, where Izzy hopes to find respite from Jacob's harassment and her friends' willful misunderstanding; however, she soon learns that the past can catch up with her all too easily. A new love for rowing and a fresh love interest give Izzy hope, but the crux of the story stays in the family when Izzy has a climactic confrontation with the villainous Daniel. While Izzy's story touches on prescient subjects, the simplistic characterization and writing style feel condescending rather than empathetic. In an unfortunately common trope, the narration blames Grace, who is black and the sole major character of color, for prioritizing herself and her queer romance over caretaking for white Izzy.A too-simple take on painful themes; savvy readers deserve more depth. (resources) (Fiction. 15-adult)

School Library Journal (Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2020)

Gr 9 Up-Izzy was raised by a single mother. Her father comes into her life briefly, but is killed in a car accident. Then her mother marries a charming man who looks like George Clooney, but who turns out to be a controlling abuser, and who has recently begun touching Izzy inappropriately. At school, she is the victim of a social media blackmailer who threatens to expose lewd pictures of her unless she sleeps with him. She does so, and cannot find the strength to call it what it is: rape. At the same time, her best friend is increasingly involved with her new girlfriend, and Izzy feels abandoned and alone. When her mother finally leaves her husband to seek refuge in a shelter, Izzy disobeys orders and returns home to retrieve a gift from her late father, with fairly predictable results. Izzy speaks in an authentic teen voice and acts in an authentic teen manner. Her speech, with British slang and idioms that may trip up U.S. readers at times, is lyrical, but sometimes obscures the action. Near the end, as Izzy finds the strength to say no, her narration becomes appropriately more open and direct. The author takes on so many issues that the plot loses focus, making it more difficult to absorb and appreciate all of Izzy's story thoroughly. Nonetheless, there can never be too many books dealing with rape culture, LGBTQ identities, teen sex, reproductive rights, and female voices. VERDICT Mildly specific sexual content makes this a recommendation for older YA patrons. Anyone looking for a story packed with teen problems and angst, this is it. Katherine Koenig, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh