Never Said

If your mother doesn’t protect you

you have to do it yourself.

That’s what I have found.

Found you can’t always rely on the people you should be able to rely on.

Like your father.

Your father should know better.

So it’s better than nothing that I check

on Sarah and I have been checking

for months now.

No one else does.

No one else will.

I’m scared.

Scared of what I can do.

Of what someone else might do.

Scared for my sister.

For me.

For me.

Book: Never Said by Carol Lynch Williams, Blink, 2015

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Target Audience: Girls 16-18

Subjects: Sexual Abuse, Sibling Relationships, Parent Relationships, Fear

Summary:  There’s a secret. No one knows it except for Sarah and she doesn’t know what the secret is, only that there is one. Annie has changed and it’s not an accident or some kind of weird phase. Something is going on, something that even in her own pain, Sarah can recognize in her twin sister. Annie is afraid, but even in her fear she sees the pain of her sister and wants to protect her. The problem is that neither of them are powerful enough to stop what is causing this pain and fear. And their parents are blind to it.

Notes: This is a drama of two sisters fighting to get through their difficulties. Annie has been raped by a grown married man who is a co-worker of her fathers – multiple times. As a result she has attempted to destroy her beauty by gaining as much weight as she can in a short time and chopping off her hair. Sarah’s boyfriend, the only person who wasn’t blind to her, who actually encouraged and supported her, has broken up with her. She’s no longer just anti-social due to shyness, but now due to heartbreak as well. Each sister has to find enough love for the other to face their fears and help each other. Sarah in particular finds two opportunities to stand up for her sister. The story rotates behind being written from Annie’s point of view – in the poetry style shown in the quote above, and Sarah’s point of view – in more narrative form. There really isn’t any spiritual content in the story. The answers for the characters come in caring enough about their sister to do what they fear. At the end Sarah concludes that Annie can do anything and maybe she can too. It’s all about finding the answers within oneself, not from an all-powerful deity.

Spiritual Content Recommendation Scale: 1/5

Reviewer: J:-)mi

Psalm 27:1-3 – The LORD is my light and my salvation-- whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life-- of whom shall I be afraid? When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.