This is my post during the blog tour for You Won’t Know Her Name by Shanti Hershenson. You Won’t Know Her Name is written by a fourteen year old author and is based on a true story.
This blog tour is organized by Lola’s Blog Tours and the tour runs from 21 February till 6 March. You can see the tour schedule here.
You Won’t Know Her Name
By Shanti Hershenson
Genre: Contemporary
Age category: Young Adult
Release Date: July 27, 2021
Blurb:
“I thought they were my best friend…”There lives a little girl whom you will never know the name of, and for her, a terrible storm is coming. She is going to a new, public middle school knowing no one but her sister, and the horrors are absolutely endless.
But she doesn’t expect what is to come.
In her first few months of school, terrible and unspeakable things begin to happen, that go beyond what is considered “normal”. Finding the courage to get away from the wrong people is a difficult thing, but when a horrific incident occurs, she finds herself running from who she once thought to be friends.
Now lost and alone, The Girl turns to one thing to help her get through her darkest moments. Writing poetry is the one way she can express her anger, and when her school announces that they will be hosting an open-mic night, she knows she has to enter. But entering means that she will have to face her demons, and it could be her worst nightmare…
From a teenaged author, You Won’t Know Her Name shines a light on a heartbreaking reality that often goes unspoken about – the issue that is bullying in middle school. From hateful comments to real, shocking violence, this book shares what cannot be ignored.
Links:
– Goodreads
– Bookbub
– Amazon
– B&N
– Kobo
About the Author:
Shanti Hershenson’s first two novellas were published when she was in the sixth grade, although her writing journey started long before then. Ever since she could hold a pencil, marker, or crayon, she was creating stories. They started from pictures, mere scribbles, and eventually, turned into captivating tales.
Author links:
– Website
– Twitter
– Instagram
– Tiktok
Before I begin my review I quickly have to say thank you to Lola’s Blog Tour for allowing me to be a part of this book tour and for the ebook to read for my stop today.
I have to mention right away that You Won’t Know Her Name is told in verse format and it’s a format that I want to read more of this year. I have read a few books in this format over the years. I also have to mention that Shanti mentions right from the beginning that this has a lot of trigger warnings. Each new poem lists the trigger warnings so you will know beforehand what it will discuss. Some of them include verbal abuse, bullying, and assault.
This was a quick but heavy read. Our main character is a young girl who is attending a new school with her sister. Not long into the school year, it begins. At first, it’s little things but then it quickly escalates. She knows she needs to find a new group of friends to hang out with because this is trouble but yet she can’t.
Before long a person she thought was her friend decided to take it to the next level. She knows what this person did is wrong and is brave enough to speak up. To cope with all this our character takes to writing poems. It’s a place she feels comfortable expressing herself. When the school announces they will be hosting an open mic she decides to take part. She knows it will be tough but she is determined to face it head-on.
This definitely hit home for me. It was only when I hit junior high that I started to get bullied. There was making fun and name-calling and no one spoke up or defended me. They always said something when no teacher was around. It was stuff that I had no control over. I always wondered how can kids be so mean to someone. I tried not to let them get to me but it was hard. I didn’t fit in. I felt like a little fish in this huge pond. I never told anyone what was going on because I thought no adult would believe me and they would bully me more if they knew I told someone.
It’s heartbreaking that in this day and age that adults ie teachers/principles/adults still don’t believe a child when they tell them what is going on and if they do they don’t protect the victim.
This is definitely a must-read. I plan on picking up a physical copy of the book very soon.
Giveaway
There is a tour-wide giveaway for the blog tour of You Won’t Know Her Name. 5 winners will win a paperback copy of You Won’t Know Her name by Shanti Hershenson (US Only).
For a chance to win, enter the rafflecopter below:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
