Blog Tour- Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf

Item: Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf (Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf, #1)
Rating: 4
Author: stuckint

Posted October 11, 2020 by stuckint in Blog Tours / 1 Comment

Hello everyone, we are so excited for our stop on the blog tour for Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf by Hayley Krischer through TBR and Beyond Tours. You can find the schedule for the rest of the tour stops here and look below for our spoiler free review of the book.

About the Book

Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf (Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf, #1) by Hayley Krischer
Published by Razorbill on October 6, 2020
Pages: 320
Goodreads

Perfect for fans of Rory Power and Laurie Halse Anderson, this sharp, emotional debut follows two girls as they navigate tumultuous relationships, the effects of trauma, and what empowerment means to them.
Ali Greenleaf and Blythe Jensen couldn't be more different. Ali is sweet, bitingly funny, and just a little naive. Blythe is beautiful, terrifying, and the most popular girl in school. They've never even talked to each other, until a party when Ali decides she'll finally make her move on Sean Nessel, her longtime crush, and the soccer team's superstar. But Sean pushes Ali farther than she wants to go. When she resists--he rapes her.
Blythe sees Ali when she runs from the party, everyone sees her. And Blythe knows something happened with Sean, she knows how he treats girls. Even so, she's his best friend, his confidant. When he begs her to help him, she can't resist.
So Blythe befriends Ali in her attempt to make things right with Sean, bringing Ali into a circle of ruthless popular girls, and sharing her own dark secrets. Despite the betrayal at the heart of their relationship, they see each other, in a way no one ever has before.
In her searing, empowering debut novel, Hayley Krischer tells the story of what happened that night, and how it shaped Ali and Blythe forever. Both girls are survivors in their own ways, and while their experiences are different, and their friendship might not be built to last, it's one that helps each of them find a way forward on their own terms.

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About the Author

Hayley Krischer is a writer and journalist. She is a regular contributor to The New York Times, where she covers women, teenage girls, celebrities, and cultural trends. Her work has also appeared in Marie Claire, The Atlantic, The New York Times Magazine, and more. She lives in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, with her husband, two kids, one dog, and three cats.

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

Our Thoughts

Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf is a heavy and important YA contemporary discussing sexual assault, what it means to wrestle with the reality of trauma, and female friendship. This is a difficult book to read and should be approached with caution by those sensitive to such subjects. There are brutal scenes depicted rape and drug addiction.

The book is told through two alternating perspectives: Ali, who is raped by soccer darling Sean at the beginning of the novel; and Blythe, Sean’s closest friend who has agreed to befriend Ali to mitigate any potential problems she might cause for him.

I have seen a lot of reviews about this frustrated over the likeability of the characters. I could see why people didn’t like them but I can also see why Bythe and Ali acted the way they did and, in both cases, I think it was because both of them were wrestling with sexual trauma. Beyond Ali’s rape, there an “initiation” that a handful of freshmen girls go through at the hand of some of the boys. Afterward, they are accepted by the boys and enter popular circles. It is brutal and wrong but plays a major role throughout the story.

All of these aspects might make for a depressing read but I honestly found the story so compelling and unputdownable. I am always looking for books that elicit a reaction and Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf definitely accomplishes that.

Overall, I gave this book 4/5 stars and would recommend it for anyone who enjoyed titles such as Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis and Girl Made of Stars by Ashley Herring Blake.