Review: Fault Line by Christa Desir

Fault Line by Christa Desir 
Release date: October 15, 2013
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pages: 240
Reading level: Young Adult
Genre: Contemporary
Source: Publisher (ARC)
Links: Author's Website/Goodreads 

Overall: 3 out of 5 stars

Ben could date anyone he wants, but he only has eyes for the new girl — sarcastic free-spirit, Ani. Luckily for Ben, Ani wants him too. She’s everything Ben could ever imagine. Everything he could ever want.
But that all changes after the party. The one Ben misses. The one Ani goes to alone.
Now Ani isn’t the girl she used to be, and Ben can’t sort out the truth from the lies. What really happened, and who is to blame?
Ben wants to help her, but she refuses to be helped. The more she pushes Ben away, the more he wonders if there’s anything he can do to save the girl he loves.

Review:

I have had Fault Line sitting on my to-be-read shelf for a really long time now and I finally decided to dive into it this summer. I was in the mood for a gritty contemporary read and from what I have read about this one it would definitely fit the bill. While I am impressed with how Desir tackled such a dark subject, I didn't get as much out of this debut as I had hoped to.

Ani is the new girl in town and she quickly attracts the attention of popular swimmer Ben. I liked how this was told from Ben's point of view. It's not often I find a contemporary YA written from the male's perspective. The reader was able to see Ani through Ben's eyes and understand how much he liked her. The only problem was I was left with so many questions about Ani and her life. Ani was such a mystery and we find out so little about her old life, why she moved, and who she really is. I liked how independent and sarcastic she was, but I think it would have helped a lot if I had been able to connect with her more.

Everything changes after Ani goes to a party without Ben and is raped. She's, understandably, a completely different person and Ben has to struggle to make things right. From the party onward was definitely difficult to read. No one should have to go through what Ani did and to have to face the torment and jibes by kids at school made it so much worse. It was admirable how Ben stayed by her side and dedicated to her, but I wondered why he didn't tell his parents or her mom right away. This definitely would have allowed Ani to get more help and not spiral downward like she did.

This was a fast paced read that brings out the emotions. I felt for Ani and Ben, but there was just something missing. What exactly happened that night? There were so many unanswered questions. Ben and Ani are two of the most unique characters I have read about in a long time and their story did share some important lessons. It opened my eyes to how one night can change everything and how rape not only turns the victim's life upside down, but the lives of everyone close to them as well.

Overall, Fault Line was not the book I had hoped it would be, but it did tackle an important, and dark, subject matter. The ending also felt very sudden and cut-off. I wanted to know more! I will be reading more by Christa Desir in the future because I can tell she has a lot of promise and isn't afraid to write about difficult, real-life issues.