Then there's the other part of this story. The two girls' reasons for not reporting the crimes also differ. The author's approach to the subject was different from Anderson's and touched upon elements of child psychology as well. But, that being said, Alexi's story felt fresh and unique. They both have a lot to deal with internally as well as externally and the ultimate theme of both is about gaining an understanding of why many victims feel unable to report what has happened. The two do have many similarities: both are about teenage girls who feel unable to talk about their horrific experience. I'll be honest and say I imagined this book would be yet another poor version of Speak.

There are so many books about sexual abuse in its various ugly forms. What don't we remember from our early childhoods? What horrors did our minds automatically repress to shelter us from dealing with reality? Why are we like we are - could there be an answer hidden deep inside us, a long-forgotten memory that haunts us subconsciously? The kind of memories we push below the surface and force ourselves to hide away. The scary things in this book are the memories that people forget over time. Not even any serial killers or psychopaths. No demons or things that go bump in the night. And the worst part? This book doesn't have any monsters in the traditional sense.

I had foreseen Faking Normal having many possible effects on me but fear really wasn't one of them.

Faking normal by courtney c stevens