Kirkus Finds True Narrative Voice in ‘What If It Wasn’t My Fault’

A new young adult novel in verse, What If It Wasn’t My Fault, provides an “accessible and ultimately hopeful tale that explores one girl’s resonant response to trauma,” Kirkus says. Congratulations to author Katy Farber, and pre-order this evocative work now!

Here’s a review excerpt:

Seventeen-year-old Indigo “Indie” Watson is a star soccer player at her school in Meadow Creek, Pennsylvania, and she’s also the emotional cornerstone of her family. At a Saturday night party, Indie drinks too much with her friend and crush, “Boy X”; the next morning, she doesn’t remember what happened, but she suspects that he raped her. She doesn’t go to school and takes refuge in bed, too ashamed even to confide in concerned friends and family members. She feels that telling them would be too much of a burden on them, as they already have troubles of their own. Her older brother, Dylan, for instance, nearly failed out of school, and her father has self-medicated with alcohol ever since the death of Indie’s beloved Gramps several years ago. Before long, the information spreads through the school. Later, Indie flees a soccer game, seeking refuge at Muddy Rivers Café and hiding there after closing; there, she converses with strangers, some more benign than others. … the narrative does efficiently examine ingrained misogyny in society and how it feeds into rape culture. Indie’s narrative voice also rings true, as expressed in simple but evocative prose: “We look up, together. ­/ The birds / in the tree above / sing of spring / and what is / to come. // And I believe them.” The narrative favors a clearcut message of female solidarity (“An invisible army of women stands with me”).

Read the full review here.