ISBN-13: 9780385613507
Publisher: David Fickling Books
Published: December 2010
416 pgs
Source: Personal Library
Before I start off with the review, I have to thank Kristy for recommending this book to me. Kristy is not a fellow bookblogger, but a staff (who is also a friend to me) working at a bookstore which I used to patronise frequently until my office relocated. Anyway, I was on leave from work the other day to collect some books from her when she shoved this book, You Against Me by Jenny Downham to me. "I think you might love this," that's what she said. I took the book from her, thinking it is a contemporary YA romance based on the cover. However, there isn't a blurb behind the cover except one short sentence printed on it: "You want this to be a love story?" Of course my curiosity was piqued.
Seeing my perplexed look, Kristy plucked the book out of my hands and began to tear off the plastic sheets that wrapped the book neatly and securely. "There, now you can find out how you like it." I flipped the cover and I read the blurb on the bookjacket. And I liked what I read, so I bought it together with those books she had reserved for me. I read this book the following day, and couldn't put it down. Are you still with me? I'm sorry I rambled, but I just want to share with you how this book came to me, and that I owed Kristy for recommending such a great book to me.
The story begins with Mikey McKenzie's family crumbling down when his younger sister, Karyn, being sexually assaulted by a guy named Tom Parker; a guy whom most of her school mates knew she had had a crush on him. The thing is, they were drunk with their friends at a party at his house and no one knew what happened except his younger sister, Ellie Parker. Though Tom is being charged, there are also some speculations surrounding Karyn though it is minimal. Just when you already felt the tension there, the momentum shifted when Mikey and Ellie met each other. Mikey wanted revenge for his sister, so he thought Ellie would be a good target to start with. However, the more Mikey knows Ellie, his feelings start to change.
Ellie, on the other hand, is a lonely girl who doesn't has many friends in school. To make things worse, her life has became a scrutiny to others in school now that her brother is charged for sexual assault. However, her world changes after she befriended with Mikey and she felt he is the only person who could understand her. For the first time in her life, she felt loved until she began to realise who he is.
You Against Me is a terrific contemporary YA novel that touches on family, loyalty, choice and of course, love. However this book is not suitable for younger readers for its topic, plus it has themes on alcohol and drugs. What I loved about this story is aside from the story is told, the characterisations are great and though Mikey and Ellie have their flaws and all, the way they are portrayed are real and honest. I felt for them, and I sympathised with them for the situation they were in. And then of course, I didn't know who I was angry with most. Mikey for his revenge plan, Ellie for her lies (I wouldn't want to say more to avoid spoilers), or Tom being the one who has started it all? I could only describe my reading experience is equivalent to riding a roller coaster ride, because I just don't know where it would take me and how far/steep the fall would go.