Rape is a serious crime, and the guilty one needs to be punished. But what if the wrong person is accused?
Remember Ahmed and Tashera from Retaliation? They are now students at Georgia State University, and Ahmed is a star with the basketball team. Life is good for them until Ahmed is accused of date rape by another girl. A number of date rapes had occurred at the university, and everything points to Ahmed being the guilty one.
Right before this happened, Tashera had joined the group STOP (Students Tired of Predators). Tashera knows that Ahmed isn’t the guilty, and she sets out to prove it. Much to her horror, she finds that the members of STOP have already tried and convicted him. Disgusted by their belief in his guilt, she sets out to prove Ahmed’s innocence on her own.
What Tashera and Ahmed go through at the university is something no one wants to experience, and the way Ms. Shiraz tells the story makes it hard to stop reading. I became so wrapped up in the characters’ lives that I tuned out the world around me and didn’t even notice when my husband and son were talking to me.
Date rape is a horrible thing. Any kind of rape is horrible. From reading this book, I discovered that rape in Georgia, especially rape of a minor, is punishable by the death penalty. I think that it should be this way in every state.
I found it sad and horrible that the guy who was raping the girls didn’t see what he was doing as rape. He only saw it as taking something he wanted.
Helpful information is presented once the story is over. Date rape drugs are explained. And if you think you have been given one, advice is given on what to do. After that, questions for discussion are given.
I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. If you wish to purchase your own copy, I have provided Amazon and Smashwords links below.
Amazon Link: Accused
Smashwords Link: Accused
Recommended Articles:
Retaliation – a Review
Yasmin Shiraz Interview – Characters, Violence, and Writing
Why So Serious? – Guest Post by Yasmin Shiraz
Favorite Sentences:
The star of the basketball team received many perks.
The horror of his taunting left her drenched in sweat. For the last two nights, her screams had awakened her.
The blanket hadn’t known fabric softener since the day it’d been created.
About the Author:
Yasmin Shiraz is an author, producer, and filmmaker.
She wrote the award-winning Retaliation novel series, which received a Top Ten Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers nod from the American Library Association’s YALSA Division.
As a producer, she has filmed educational and thought-provoking documentaries that chronicle the lives, traumas, and experiences of youth. Her first production, Can She Be Saved?, is a documentary that examines violence among middle school girls.
As a speaker, she has created programs from her best-selling Blueprint empowerment series focusing on self-esteem, motivational, and educational tools. She regularly speaks at middle and high schools, after school programs, non-profit youth centers, as well as Boys and Girls Clubs throughout the country.
A sociologist by trade, Yasmin Shiraz has studied women’s issues, youth issues, urban conditions, social problems concerning minority populations, violence against women, disparities in the US educational system, and blue-collar vs. white-collar crimes. She applies her sociology training in educating and working with youth throughout the nation.
