Exit, Pursued by a Bear

You're okay with asking a girl who was wearing a pretty dress and had nice hair, who went to the dance with her cabin mates, who drank from the same punch bowl as everyone else—you're okay with asking that girl what mistake she made, and you wouldn't think to ask a boy how he would avoid raping someone? Would it be a better story if she had known what she was drinking? If her skirt had been two inches shorter?

— A book dealing with rape and victim blaming. I loved how empowering this was: how the main character refused to let what happened to her define her, and how she had a strong support system (family, friends, etc.).

One of the toughest books to read because of the subject matter: rape.
This book doesn't whisper that it's about rape. It tells you like it is, rape is a terrible crime and shouldn't be avoided in conversations.
People can't say the word rape when talking about it. Just say it and acknowledge that it happens.

Liked Hermione's clear eyed pragmatism mixed with hopefulness. Very much liked that Johnston didn't have her waddling about her choice for abortion after her rape. Forced chooses aren't reflected enough in teen books. Loved normalized gay secondary characters. Canadian setting will be slightly unfamiliar to teens, but not jarringly so.