There were a couple of moments in this book that I really didn't like. I could talk about a number of them, like how Toby tuned out a doctor because he didn't understand how information about epilepsy was relevant to him, or the moment where Toby's friend asks why they don't just leave their dirty laundry for his mom to do, or how epilepsy and/or having seizures would be great because you could get away with anything...
Instead I'm going to talk about how Toby at least on some level thinks that certain groups of people are "asking" for harassment or bullying. Yep, Toby is just the greatest. Since the book isn't out yet I can't quote exactly, and keep in mind it may not appear in the final version, but the gist of the scene was Toby has just woken up in the hospital after being found in a dingo pen. The police have come to ask Toby questions about what happened, Toby doesn't remember anything, so the police suggest that maybe he has a enemy at school or someone who pulled a prank on him. Toby denies this, and then goes on in his narrative to say he's not a geek or a nerd or one of those other groups that is a "natural born target".
*Sigh.* I guess I can't blame Toby for thinking this way, because throughout the book he is a very self-centered 13-year-old boy, but I can be upset by his mentality and the problems surrounding it. No one is a natural born target. In order to become a target, someone has to be aiming at you and only assholes, murderers, and war criminals target people. I think I was particularly upset to read this little bit of victim blaming mentality because of the incident that happened recently in Cleveland, Texas. I just want to say something, because apparently people just don't understand:
Nobody. NOBODY wants to be raped, harassed, threatened, abused, beaten, or otherwise physically, mentally, or emotionally harmed no matter how they act, dress, who they love, or any other qualities or attributes they might have.
If you have ever caught yourself thinking that anyone deserved harm who had not first caused harm to others, then you need to seriously rethink exactly why you have those thoughts and feelings. Because you may not think you sound like a crazy person, but you are going down that path. And no one wants to end up sounding like this.* / **
My review can be found on Goodreads.
LibsNote: Free review copy provided by Netgalley.
*I don't have a problem with prayer, I have a problem with the idea that God KILLING PEOPLE because they are atheist somehow makes him a GOOD and AWESOME God and that it is something we should ask him to do.
**edit: Supposedly this is someone who made a trolling video. Personally, I didn't think it was funny, and I find it suspicious that she was not upfront about her activities before being harassed.
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