Hayley Krischer’s raw debut deals with so many important subjects such as sexual assault, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, mental illness, manipulation, and toxic friendships. The nuanced story focuses on Ali Greenleaf’s empowering journey of finding her voice and coping with the trauma after being raped by her crush, but then also on Blythe Jensen who befriends Ali in order to manipulate her into staying silent. Ali is a vibrant, artistic junior who prefers to stay in the background while Blythe is the most popular girl at her school; she’s described as perfect and everyone at their school wants to be like her. Their friendship is strange and not only because of how different they are in terms of popularity or interests, but also because despite Blythe’s motivation and Ali being slightly aware of it – they manage to connect on a deeper level. Ali sees past Blythe’s facade of ice queen, she truly sees her, not as the superficial popular girl, but the vulnerable, often angry at the world for putting too much pressure on her teenager that hides beneath. They connect as they share stories about their strained relationships with their mothers (Blythe’s mother has bipolar disorder and Ali’s mother is a recovering alcoholic) and soon, Ali understands that her and Blythe aren’t as different as she imagined at first.

Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf explores the aftermath of Ali’s rape focusing on the psychological effects, the way rape culture affects victims, how it can make them blame themselves and be less inclined to report it as well, and the ways survivors can find their voices and feel empowered. Krischer also made some great points about how toxic high school environments can make it even harder for girls to feel safe and supported enough to report a sexual abuse. These environments tend to normalise sexual violence, blame the victims for how they were dressed or for drinking too much, some go as far as accusing the victim for trying to ruin the abuser’s life – anything to make them feel ashamed and guilty.

Besides the important discussions on rape culture, victim blaming, and empowering of the survivors, there was something very original about the book and that’s Blythe’s perspective. What the author did with Blythe’s perspective was quite fascinating as in real life, people like her rarely get to talk about their motivation, what pushes them to make excuses for a rapist or an abuser. Reading her part of the story made me uncomfortable at times because even though she was obviously in denial about her own trauma and was heavily manipulated by Sean, her best friend and Ali’s rapist, and there were times when I thought she should have known better. Even after understanding the magnitude of everything Sean had done to Ali, she still did some awful things only to defend her reputation and that was inexcusable. That being said, her character was very complex and multi-dimensional, which means you can’t say that she’s all good or all bad. She’s someone with a lot of luggage, that made questionable decisions again and again, but she’s also someone who seems to want to change for the better by the end of the book.

The book also tried to address issues like drug and alcohol abuse, but the discussion wasn’t as nuanced and it felt at times like an afterthought. The fast switch between the two perspectives was disorientating at times and from time to time, especially during crucial moments, the perspectives were too short to get their point across. The secondary characters weren’t developed enough, they rarely had background stories and their personalities were quite simplistic especially when compared to Ali and Blythe.

The readers will surely appreciate the resources and the trigger warnings that the author had provided and how thoughtfully she tackles the sensitive subjects included in her book. Her note at the end of the book is especially powerful and explains very well why a story like this one needed to be written, why it’s so relevant and why it will always be. Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf will impress its readers with its authenticity and rawness. It’s an intense and emotional story with multifaceted protagonists that won’t be easy to forget.

this book was decent. It covered a very sensitive topic, but it was well executed and I thoroughly enjoyed the characters. They were unlike any other I had ever read, Blythe was just so ~weird~, but in a good way. The book isn't amazing, but it was certainly hard to put down, given I read it in two hours. There were a few issues that I personally had with the book, but I won't delve into that right now. I have a blog tour and author interview with the author going up on my blog - https://readingonastar.wordpress.com/, and a mini-review on my instagram - @readingonastar

I just finished Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf by Hayley Krischer, and it left me thinking about all the girls who’ve been victims of rape and all the misery that comes after; the misplaced anger, the shame, guilt, self-doubt … all from someone else’s vicious actions. Every painful emotion on the painful emotion spectrum is laid open and raw and why? Because that girl dared to have a drink at a party, wore her skirt too short or maybe she thought that a kiss should stop at a kiss? The victim is often shamed into silence before they even have a chance to speak.

Hayley brought Ali’s story to life in a way that felt real, like it could have been any one of our stories. She explores the complexities of relationships but hones in on female relationships and just how misdirected loyalties can become in the mass confusion of gossip and rumor, the quest for acceptance when you haven’t quite figured out just who you are yet. She also shows the positive supportive side of female friendships and the strength that can be found there. The sharing of experiences that can bond and help heal.
While the story itself is one of inspiration, strength and redemption, the main focus is on the rape culture and the stigma attached to the brutality of rape – remarkably still present in this century. I think this is a powerful novel that should be read by everyone.

The quote below is of Ali’s inner dialogue while her best friend pushes her to report her rapist, her thoughts and the fear of having her life destroyed despite the prominence of the #metoo and #girlstoo movement:

“But I’ve seen to many news stories, too many articles, to know that in real-life situations, girls don’t get the chance to defend themselves. Especially not when it comes to the captain of the soccer team.” “My whole life is on the line here, that she can’t tell anyone because if she tells even one person, my whole life is going to explode. That Sean Nessel will ruin my life.”

I would like to point out to readers to please read Hayley’s epilogue! It is moving, insightful, and courageous.
5 stars for this insightful and meaningful novel. Thank you to Penguin Teen and Hayley Krischer for gifting me a DRC in exchange for my review.

CW: Rape, drug/alcohol use

High school is difficult for many students and for many different reasons. High school students usually feel indestructible, grown up, and all-knowing (or at least act like they do), but at the same time they can be trying to fit in, be popular, not make waves, so many choices to make.
Ali Greenleaf is somewhat naive, but she is also sarcastic, funny, has some really close friends, and has a crush on Sean Nessel, a popular soccer star at her school. He has caught her watching him, but they have never spoken. That is, until the day he comes up to her friend Raj and asks him to come to a party that weekend and invites Ali, too. Ali is beyond ecstatic. He spoke to her and invited her to a party! Unfortunately, the party is where she is changed forever, and even though Ali knows she should tell someone, like so many teens, she is worried about how this will change her in others' eyes. A difficult read, but a realistic look at teenagers, parties, and self-destruction.

First of all, I really appreciated that the author included a content warning for sexual assault and drug abuse at the beginning and resources at the end. I think these are really important in any book which focuses on these topics.

Generally, I thought this book was well written and at times powerful. It looks at the importance of friendship and speaking out, and I particularly appreciated the way that Ali's friends stood by her. That being said, at times I felt like Ali was more of a symbol than a character. Blythe felt very real, in part because she was so flawed and complex. Ali had flaws, too, but I felt the story focused more on what she did rather than who she was. Also, I thought Ali's collage was really odd and, while highly discussed, mostly pushed to the side as an immature teenage girl thing. If a boy had a collage with a bunch of pictures of the same girl it would be deeply looked into as creepy stalker behavior, and Ali was let off the hook for this. It was a weird plot point, and while I could get why it was included, I also think it wasn't handled very well.

This book is such an amazing read and I think this should be one everyone picks up. I like how realistic and compulsory this book was. Thank you so much for the arc.

To start, I really appreciate that the author did put a content warning in her note at the beginning of the book, especially given the content matter and how thoroughly it was depicted. I think the dual perspectives were interesting, and appreciated that the author gave different views of manipulation and trauma. There were some things that didn't sit right with me, however. First was the choice of naming a Chinese-American character (Suki) a Japanese name, as well as her and Cate just being seen as lackeys. Also, that the background characters were not particularly developed, they had backstories, but they didn't seem to warrant them any sympathy.

I believe this book is a pretty honest look into what high school is like regarding friendships, loyalty and sex. Maybe the author did in fact try to take on too many of the topics that high schoolers might face, but again that can be real life sometimes.
This book has many graphic scenes and triggers so be prepared going in.
I was able to read this book early as I won an eARC during BookConline.

Okay this was the fastest DNF I've ever had. And I had good reasons. I knew going into this book that it wasn't going to be a light, happy read. But I at least expected to like the characters and the writing. I hated both. The characters were extremely selfish and shallow right from the first page. The writing was just not my cup of tea either. There are tons of sentence fragments everywhere, and the author chose to switch points of view MULTIPLE times within one scene. According to my studies as a university-graduated editor, doing this rarely works and often confuses the reader. It confused me. So I wouldn't recommend this book at all. A better option for this type of topic is Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson.

Although this book tackles some very important subjects, in general I found that it attempted to tackle too many subjects at once and therefore left some of them relatively unaddressed, or perhaps under-addressed. Before I begin my review I would like to point out that I am a clinician specializing in adolescent trauma, as well as a developmental researcher specializing in adolescent and youth development.

First, it's important to note that this is a very intense book, and there is on-the-page rape, as well as graphic flashbacks. However, I did not find this to be a gratuitous presentation and I think it presented a clear understanding of post-traumatic stress. Although several of the characters in this book behave in ways that a removed observer might disagree with, and that are often not in their own best interests, I found the characters' actions and thoughts most of the time to be in accordance with how individuals might react after traumatic experiences of this nature.

There is also a lot of heavy underage drug and alcohol use in the book, and although I found this both important and realistic, it often seemed to be a secondary issue that was, for the severity of the substance use, not fully addressed throughout the book or in the conclusions. This was concerning, as the topic is very important, and I felt that it was often minimized, and the severity of the substance use as well as the underlying causes for such severity, were not given enough resolution or discussion.

Another issue I had with this book was the misuse of the school "guidance counselor" or the misunderstanding of what a guidance counselor is responsible for in a school setting. Having worked at several schools in a clinical role, it is very important to understand the difference between a school guidance counselor and a school social worker. Without going too much into it, a guidance counselor has the very important job of providing academic guidance and, when necessary, providing referrals for any clinical (i.e., therapy) needs a student has. A guidance counselor is _not_ a therapist, and if a student has undergone a traumatic incident and is suffering from post-traumatic symptoms, the guidance counselor will work with other professionals to support the student and ensure the student is connected to the appropriate therapeutic intervention/clinical provider. This is important because if students (and parents) believe their guidance counselor is able to provide therapy, they will often not seek out or be provided the therapy they actually need. A school social worker provides therapy, and, if more intense therapy is needed, can sometimes refer the student to a more intense therapeutic setting (outpatient or inpatient clinic). (A school psychologist typically does testing to determine if a student needs additional accommodations at school, but this is not necessarily relevant to the story). This can be a very simple edit in the final book, and I sincerely hope that the change takes place, because I have concerns about the message this book is sending regarding who is qualified to provide therapy, or what therapy actually entails.

Wow. This was such an amazing book. As a normally fast reader, I had to take my time with this book. Dealing with such a serious subject was important to me, so I spread out my reading, leaving time for me to process and understand this fully. I definitely recommend this book and think it is a very important read!