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If someone hurts your sister and you're any kind of man, you seek revenge.
If your brother's accused of a crime but says he didn't do it, you defend him.
When Mikey's sister claims a boy assaulted her, his world begins to fall apart. When Ellie's brother is charged with the offense, her world begins to unravel. When Mikey and Ellie meet, two worlds collide.
This is an unflinching novel from the bestselling author of Before I Die. It's about loyalty and the choices that come with it. Above all, it's a book about love.
Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 2011:
"A tender, complex character study...Crisp, revealing dialogue, measured pacing and candid, unaffected prose round out this illuminating novel in which any reader can find someone to root for or relate to. Unforgettable."
New York Times Book Review, August 21, 2011:
"As the story builds to its tumultuous conclusion, Mikey and Ellie have to make the inevitable choice between new love and old allegiances...The hard question at the heart of this book — what would you do? — doesn’t have a single answer. For her young readers, Downham frames it remarkably well.”
Starred Review, School Library Journal, November 1, 2011:
"Downham brilliantly captures the struggle of these two star-crossed lovers as they navigate the stormy waters of family loyalty, social workers and legal systems, job and school. With touching honesty, she brings her characters to life in this poignant story of love and choice. Mesmerizing."
A tender, complex character study from the author of Before I Die (2007).
Mikey is a boy from the housing projects, working as a dishwasher in a pub to try and keep his fatherless family together. Ellie is a daughter from a privileged family whose biggest worry is passing her final exams. When Mikey's sister Karyn claims she was raped by Ellie's brother Tom at a party, Mikey cruelly plans to use Ellie to get close to Tom in order to exact revenge. Instead, the impossible happens: Mikey and Ellie fall in love. Now each feels that to swear allegiance to the other will tear their families apart. And when Ellie decides to change her statement about what she witnessed that fateful night, each family must come to terms with the inevitable consequences. In Dowham's capable hands, what could be the sordid topic of a daytime talk show instead becomes a graceful catalyst that tempers and transforms Ellie and Mikey, who only want to do what's right but aren't sure how. The secondary characters are equally vivid, especially Mikey's overwhelmed alcoholic Mum and Ellie's tormenting and tormented brother Tom. Crisp, revealing dialogue, measured pacing and candid, unaffected prose round out this illuminating novel in which any reader can find someone to root for or relate to.
Unforgettable. (Fiction. 14 & up)
One
Mikey couldn’t believe his life. Here was the milk on the counter in front of him. Here was Ajay, hand out expectantly. And here was Mikey, scrabbling for coins among the old receipts and bits of tissue in his jacket pocket. A woman in the queue behind him shuffled her feet. Behind her, a bloke coughed impatiently.
Anger stirred Mikey’s gut. ‘Sorry,’ he mumbled. ‘I’ll have to leave it.’
Ajay shook his head. ‘Take the milk and pay me tomorrow, it’s all right. And here, take some chocolate for your sisters.’
‘No. You’re OK.’
‘Don’t be daft, take it.’ Ajay put a couple of Kit Kats in the carrier bag with the milk. ‘And have a good day, yeah?’
Mikey doubted it. He hadn’t had one of those for weeks. Still, he managed a quick nod of thanks, grabbed the bag and legged it.
Outside, the rain was still going, a fine mist falling into light from the fluorescent strip above the door. He breathed in deep, trying to smell the sea, but the air smelled of fridges – something to do with the fans blowing warm from the shop behind him. He yanked up his hood and crossed the road back to the estate.
When he got back to the flat, Holly was sitting on the carpet in front of the TV, eating Cookie Crisps from the packet. Karyn had stopped crying and was kneeling behind her, quietly brushing her sister’s hair.
Mikey looked her up and down. ‘You feeling better?’
‘A bit.’
‘So, you want to tell me what happened?’
Karyn shrugged. ‘I tried to go out. I got as far as the front door.’
‘Well, that’s something.’
She rolled her eyes. ‘Crack open the champagne.’
‘It’s a start.’
‘No, Mikey, it’s the end. Holly needed milk for cereal and I couldn’t even manage that.’
‘Well, I’ve got some now, so you want a cup of tea?’
He went to the kitchen and filled the kettle. He opened the curtains, then the window. The rain was slowing down and it smelled fresh out there now. He could hear a child crying. A woman shouting. A door slammed three times. Bang. Bang. Bang.
Holly came in and dumped the cereal box on the counter. Mikey waggled the collar of her pyjama top. ‘Why aren’t you dressed for school?’
‘Because I’m not going.’
‘Yeah, you are.’
She collapsed backwards against the fridge, her head flung up towards the ceiling. ‘I can’t go to school, it’s the bail hearing!’
He frowned at her. How the hell did she know about that? ‘Listen, Holly, if you promise to go and get dressed, I’ll give you a Kit Kat.’
‘Is it two or four sticks?’
‘Four.’
He rummaged in the carrier bag, pulled out one of the bars and dangled it at her. ‘And can you wake Mum up?’
Holly looked up, surprised. ‘Really?’
‘Yeah.’ If this wasn’t an emergency, he didn’t know what was.
Holly shook her head as if the idea was crazy, grabbed the Kit Kat and ran away up the stairs.
Mum thought the police would help Karyn, that was the trouble. After taking Karyn to the station and reporting what had happened, Mum had stepped back, probably telling herself she’d done her bit. But the police were crap. They’d asked Karyn loads of personal questions, even though she was upset. Then the cop who brought her home frowned at the mess, like she was judging the whole family. Mum thought that was normal, but Mikey had bitten his tongue in frustration, tasted blood in his mouth, the rust and the thickness of it.
Later, when the cop went, Mikey got the address out of Karyn and told Jacko to bring the car. Jacko brought the lads with him too, but when they got to the bastard’s house they were too late – Tom Parker had been arrested hours ago and forensics were already scouring the place.
For nearly two weeks Mikey had tried to swallow the anger. But how did he stop his stomach tilting every time Karyn cried? How did he watch Holly stroking Karyn’s arm, squeezing her shoulder, giving little wet taps to her face, like she was a radio that needed tuning or a TV that had gone wrong?
Mum’s solution was to hide herself away. But an eight-year-old comforting a fifteen-year-old meant the world was upside down. And something had to be done about it.
He made the tea and took it through, put it on the table in front of Karyn. She’d made a nest for herself on the sofa. She kept doing that – covering herself with cushions, blankets, jumpers.
Mikey went over and sat on the edge. ‘How you feeling now?’
With the light behind her she looked so sad.
‘He’s probably out already,’ she said. ‘Just walking about having a nice time.’
‘He won’t be allowed anywhere near you. He won’t be allowed to text you or talk to you or anything. He’ll probably be tagged, so he can’t go out after dark.’
She nodded, but she didn’t look sure. ‘There’s this girl at school,’ she said. ‘Last term she had seven boyfriends and everyone said she was a slag.’
This again. ‘You’re not a slag, Karyn.’
‘And there’s a boy in my tutor group and he had ten girlfriends. You know what they call him?’
Mikey shook his head.
‘A player.’
‘Well, they’re wrong.’
‘So what’s the word for someone like him?’
‘I don’t know.’
She sighed, lay back on the sofa and stared at the ceiling. ‘I watched this programme on TV,’ she said. ‘What happened to me happens to loads of girls. Loads and loads.’
Mikey looked at his nails. They were all ragged. Did he bite them? When did he start doing that?
‘Most girls don’t report it, because hardly any boys get done for it. Something like six in a hundred. That’s not very many, is it?’
Mikey shook his head again, bit his lip.
‘When I opened the door just now, there were some kids down in the courtyard and they all looked at me. If I go back to school, everyone will stare at me too.’ She lowered her eyes and he felt the shame wash off her in waves. ‘They’ll look at me as if I deserved it. Tom Parker invited me to his house and I went, so how can anything be his fault?’ She pushed a handful of hair from her face. ‘That doesn’t even make any sense.’
He wanted her to stop talking. He felt a rising panic that if she didn’t stop right now, she was going to go on and on for ever. Maybe she’d even talk about the night it happened. He couldn’t bear to listen to that again.
‘I’m going to get him for you,’ he said. It came out loud and sounded very certain.
‘You are?’
‘Yeah.’
It was strange how words meant something when they came out of your mouth. Inside your head they were safe and silent, but once they were outside, people grabbed hold of them.
She sat up. ‘What are you going to do?’
‘I’m going to go to his house and smash his head in.’
Karyn pressed the flat of her hand against her forehead as if the thought of it gave her a headache. ‘You’ll never get away with it.’
But Mikey could tell by the sudden glow in her eyes that she wanted him to do this for her. He hadn’t done it and he should have done it. And if he did it, then she could stop hurting.
In this story, a girl by the name of Karyn (fifteen-years-old) says she was lured to Tom Parker's home and was "taken advantage of against her will." Tom Parker goes to court, and Karyn doesn't want to leave her house - simply because of the fact that society is what it is and somehow Tom is the stud and she is the harpy. But this book doesn't revolve around these two characters. The center of this tale belongs to Mikey and Ellie. Mikey is the brother of Karyn. This is a young man who takes care of his two sisters and his mother, working constantly to provide protection for his all-female family. Mikey is a good boy but extremely tired of his life, and the whole mess with Karyn has angered him beyond belief. His younger sister, Holley, is someone he wants to watch over so she's not involved in this trouble. Karyn is housebound and barely eats anymore, while his mother drinks and disappears a great deal. All he wants is to head to Tom Parker's house and make him pay. From keying Tom's fancy canary-yellow car to dreaming of beating him to death, Mikey has no idea the next steps to take. Tom Parker is a jerk. But his sister, Ellie, loves him. She is the girl who was in the house when this 'horrific moment' took place, and she is the only witness who can truly say how guilty or how innocent her brother may be. Her father is a die-hard, tough lawyer who knows he will get his son out of this mess. While her mother is basically a society woman who simply shrugs her shoulders when her friends ask about the incident, smiles, and throws a party. In fact, she throws a rather large one when Tom is released on bail. She even has caterers bring the right food so everyone can have a ball. What happens? Mikey and Ellie find themselves falling for each other in the middle of this whole mess, and romance and loyalty to one's own family meet head-to-head. The struggles, tension, and almost 'serene beauty' of watching two innocent people try to find a way to be together while staying true to their loved ones is traumatic, sad, and extraordinary. Mikey and Ellie are the center of the violent tornado as they are pitted against each other to try and deal with the harsh topic of sexual assault. This amazing writer has done it again by reaching into the YA world as deeply as she possibly can to focus on issues that are "too difficult" to even think about, not to mention see play out in the real world. Quill says: No reader will forget this story!
17 out of 19 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.You Against Me has to be one of the most touching stories I've read in a long time. It involves two families, both being torn apart by an irresponsible decision made by two immature teenagers, and two individuals who get ripped apart inside by love and doing what's right for their families.
Mikey's sister says that a boy name Tom raped her. When all this comes out in the open, their lives completely take a turn for the worse. Karyn refuses to leave the house, their mother is slowly drowning herself in pain and guilt, and Mikey is killing his brain trying to figure out how to make things better for them all. He's angry and wants justice.
Ellie's brother Tom says he is innocent. Ellie feels it's her job to protect her brother and believe in him. Her family is suffering because of Karyn's accusations. All she wants is for life to go back to the way it was before Karyn. It's killing her to watch her brother worrying all the time and always on edge.
What they both need is a way to clear their heads. For something to distract them from everything that is going on. To feel alive and pretend for one second that their lives are completely different. They find this by being with each other knowing that any minute this can all blow over their heads. They begin sneaking around with each other and giving each comfort that they couldn't find anywhere else. Of course there are trust issues between the two, but they never once doubt how they feel for each other. Neither one of them expected to fall in love. The guilt of betraying their families was big on their heart.
I was seriously at the edge of my seat with hundreds of butterflies in my stomach whenever they got together in the book. I was waiting for them to get caught, or for something crazy to happen. I felt so bad for them and their families, but I was rooting for them. They just needed to be together.
Jenny Downham touches a very scary and intense subject that I believe can help victims who have or know someone who has gone through something like this. Not so much the romance part of it, but the issue of rape. Mikey and Ellie's world was so believable, that I felt like I was going through it all along with them. I don't know what I would do if I was torn between the truth and a lie. When the truth finally comes out, things just get even more extreme for Mikey and Ellie and they find themselves even more lost and confused than before. This story was just beautiful in every way. The outcome was heartbreaking, but a relief at the same time. I loved it!
You Against Me is definitely for a much more mature audience.
5 out of 5 Stars!
5 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.MarieRyan
Posted November 25, 2011
It took me 4 hours to read this book!!!
and I would re-read it :)
usually the thought of reading a story I've already read isn't too appealing to me, but this book is amazing enough to be read multiple times!!
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted June 8, 2012
I loved this book soooo much! But i wish it wold have given a lil more at the end? What happens 2 Tom? Do Mickey and Ellie stay together??????:)
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.lovebooksMC
Posted January 26, 2012
It's an amazing story, one that shows growth in the characters and one that invokes emotion because of the topic being discussed. Throughout the book you will experience anger, frustration, sadness, and hope. It's a story worth reading, it's a story that tells both sides and in telling both sides, by the end of the book you are able to experience all characters and go through changes with the ones who change.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted October 18, 2011
This type of book isn't one I would usually read but if you're like me sometimes you read books from the library too fast and the books you have on hold are not available yet you have to pick something else from the shelf. Now I was not disappointed with the story, actually it was extremely interesting and seemed so believable. Rape is a serious issue and the way the writer delves into the characters' lives leaves you a little stunned. Not the most fast paced action packed book by far however the slower motions of the book are forgiven with the appeal of the intricate lives of these teens and their families.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Joceyxs
Posted January 3, 2013
This book was just hard for me to put down. I couldn't stop reading this book. When I first read the first chapter I couldn't put the book down I wanted to continue to read what would happen next. In this book Karyn doesn't want to leave her home because she was "taken advantage" by Tom Parker. She is afraid of what people/ society will think of her.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted December 17, 2012
One of the best romances ever! Couldn't put it down!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted December 1, 2012
Very good book!!!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted November 2, 2012
I love this book, amazing story bad ending,i like the charectors,the book was very realistic luv the book <3
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted September 13, 2012
This is a beautiful book. With such amazing characters, they all felt real. Innocent or guilty, I felt for all of them. Highly recommend!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted August 10, 2012
Great powerful plot, many girls can relate to the situation. Whether its through themselves or someone they know. Bad ending, you never find out what the verdict was on the boy charged with the assault!!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted March 22, 2013
I haven't read this book yet, but i have a feeling karyn is lying. Unless im dead wrong.
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Posted December 22, 2012
I couldnt finish it. I got to about page 150 and then I became bored. I give it two stars.
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted August 7, 2012
Lolololil
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted July 30, 2012
...
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted April 6, 2012
I just got done reading this book yesterday and I finished it in half a day. There are some points in the book I would not label for litttle kids. More for people over the age of 14.
Ellie meets Mikey who is seeking revenge on the boy named Tom who is 18 and assult his 15 year old sister Karyn.
He finds revenge in Tom's little sister who had just turned 16 herself. Ellie lies to the police in her statement and Mikey, Tom, and Ellie all have a very heated scene.
Anonymous
Posted March 27, 2012
its an amazing story and very powerfull.
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Posted March 3, 2012
This book was one of the best i had ever read. The concept was great and it was fantastically written. I highly recommend this story to anyone and everyone.
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Posted February 9, 2012
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Overview
If someone hurts your sister and you're any kind of man, you seek revenge.
If your brother's accused of a crime but says he didn't do it, you defend him.
When Mikey's sister claims a boy assaulted her, his world begins to fall apart. When Ellie's brother is charged with the offense, her world begins to unravel. When Mikey and Ellie meet, two worlds collide.
This is an ...