Saturday, April 7, 2012

The Rivals



Daisy Whitney's first book, The Mockingbirds, was an interesting look at a boarding school where students meted out their own brand of justice to those who chose not to follow the rules. Now in The Rivals, Whitney resumes the story of life at Themis Academy with the same cast of characters and a few new ones thrown in.

Alex is still getting over being date raped. Now as the leader of the Mockingbirds she is thrust into another case - a drug ring at Themis that is dealing and taking drugs in order to enhance their performance. Alex is forced to examine who the victim in this crime is and whether this is something worthy of the Mockingbird's time. In addition, there are so many lies and twists to the story that Alex (and I) were often tricked.

While this is a novel about standing up for what is right, it is also a bit scary to think of the teachers and administrators at Themis were likely to turn their head to any crime committed at their school. This left the students to try and uphold justice themselves without any adult help.

Whitney's resolution to The Rivals is such that a third installment could easily follow.

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