Someone I Used to Know: The gorgeous new love story with a twist, from the bestselling author

Product Information

Two years ago, Ashley Lawrence, a freshman in high school, was raped by a senior football player during Homecoming week. Since then, it has driven a wedge between her and her brother, Derek. They were once very close, but now Ashley hates him and can’t even stand to look at him. Derek is carrying around his own guilt about the night of the rape and feels partly responsible for what happened to Ashley. With both Ashley and Derek at odds, the rest of their family is feeling the strain. Can Ashley and Derek ever learn to forgive each other so that their family can start the healing process? I was so disappointed with the execution of this wonderful plot premise. I don’t blame Blount for wanting to write a teachable story on these important issues. I respect her for it and wish an editor had toned down the preaching. SOMEONE I USED TO KNOW could and should have been a five star review for me. An extraordinary book about a little-understood disease. Awe-inspiring, courageous and insightful. I would recommend it to everyone -- Rosie Boycott, writer and activist

In fact if you are already a Paige Toon fan, then stop deliberating and just read the book as its easily one of her best books, full of depths and even had me on the the verge of tears a few time, such was the brilliance of the turn of phrase.Mitchell shares the heartrending story of her cognitive decline and how she has fought to stave it off. What lay ahead of her after the diagnosis was scary and unknowable, but Mitchell was determined and resourceful, and she vowed to outwit the disease for as long as she could.

there's so much more that happens in this book. I literally can't stress how important this is. please read it. This one was hard listening at. I just wanted to rage against the world! But it is a book that you have to listen to/read. Even better, a book to read at school and discuss.

1. Excerpt from 'Somebody I used to know'

There’s no point in keeping it a secret otherwise colleagues will only make up their own stories of why you’re struggling and may be less supportive. No one should be ashamed of having dementia – it’s a complex brain disease so why on earth should we be ashamed? I remember feeling nervous. I remember the small room filled with all eyes on me. I remember feeling hot and uncomfortable. But I started off with the Bingo session to relax everyone and laughter and the need to win overtook any concerns they had when they walked in. If you read nothing else, every man, woman and young adult MUST read SOMEONE I USED TO KNOW by Patty Blount. Although fictional, it is a scathing and raw indictment of a world where sex sells, “dirty jokes” are told and beauty is a perceived license for demeaning and condescending behavior. Wendy Mitchell's Somebody I Used to Know was not only sad, but also should be required reading by all professional carers, and especially by doctors and medical staff. Who better to help us understand dementia than the person themselves, as demonstrated by Wendy Mitchell in her brave account of her experience of living with the illness * Radio Times * The events that happened didn't feel sensationalized or exploitative- organic, easily seen as something that could unfold, especially when dealing with the mob-mentality of a team in a high school, a community that is sports-minded, and a society that believes sex sells. Truly, the author hit every note, the psychology of every viewpoint.

Paige also did an amazing job describing some of the realities of the foster care system ... positives and negatives! Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster I read an early excerpt, and I after those first three chapters, I had already made up my mind about Theo and George. I thought my heart would be with George because I expected him, as a foster child, to be the brooding bad boy type, but I couldn’t be more wrong! Although George had had such a hard life until he came living with Leah’s family, my heart went out even more to Theo, the rich kid who seemed to have it all. A heartfelt, heartbreaking and heartwarming story of love, family and loss and the ties that bind us’ DANI ATKINS

2. Excerpt from Somebody I used to know

Like I said, Someone I Used to Know isn’t an easy book to read, but it’s worth it. The relationship between Ashley and Derek broke my heart and then made it sing; it was so real. We got snippets of them when they were younger, and how it shaped them as adults, and it really just fleshed them out; this could have been a real story based on real people. I would recommend this book to anyone. book #5 done for the contemporary-a-thon under the challenge of: a dark/emotional/hard-hitting contemporary ✔ Brave, illuminating and inspiring, Somebody I Used to Know gets to the very heart of what it means to be human.

This book is the only book that made me cry every time I read it. And I mean every time. When I reach halfway in the book, I started crying. And when I reach the end, I’m still crying. This book hit me with so many emotions I needed to let some of it out because I felt like I’m close to explosion. This is so heavy!how normal it's become in our society for men to continuously harass women, touch them without their permission and force themselves on women. there is so much in depth conversations that take place in this book about how men/boys get mad for a girl saying no to them. a girl shouldn't live in a society where she constantly feels unsafe. A girl should be able to dress however she wants without having to worry about men coming at her. men need to control their desires. Control themselves Astonishingly acute ... For all the honest rage, Mitchell has written a remarkably hopeful book. Her mission is to remind readers that people can live with dementia as well as suffer from it ... Mitchell is a mine of practical tips ... Making this book is both a testament to the author's intense will to live, and also a living will -- Helen Brown * Daily Telegraph * What do you lose when you lose your memories? What do you value when this loss reframes how you've lived, and how you will live in the future? How do you conceive of love when you can no longer recognise those who are supposed to mean the most to you? This book was done so well the topics were handled in a way that I don’t think I’ve ever read in a YA book because I find with books about sexual assault if there’s a romance aspect then the romance seems to break the reality of the sexual assault trauma. This one has two different romances; Derek has a girlfriend, and Ashley has a love interest. They are both done excellently. Sexual assault is a part of each of these romantic relationships because they’re a part of these two different people. I never once felt like the actions of the couples went against the natural progression that would occur in a relationship with someone who is a survivor or family member of a survivor of a sexual assault. Theo’s wealthy family have mysteriously pulled him out of boarding school and he’s now enrolled at the local state school with Leah and George. When their worlds collide that summer, the three teenagers form a bond they believe will be unbreakable. But life doesn’t always go to plan...