The Rivals: Review

Title: The Rivals

Author: Daisy Whitney

Release Date: February 2012

Published By: Little, Brown

Pages: 352

Goodreads Rating: 3.83 stars

Review: Alex is now the head of the Mockingbirds, a secret society of students acting as a judicial force for the student body, but a case has sprung up that she doesn't quite know how to deal with: a prescription drug ring. There's no victim but plenty are hurt by it, and each new piece of information drives a wedge between herself and everyone she cares about. As she unravels the layers of deceit, she discovers that her search for justice may reveal more about herself than expected.

I read the first novel in this series, The Mockingbirds, and while I enjoyed it, it wasn't anything particularly special and lacked a certain power and depth that I wanted to it. In contrast, although it's not going to make my best books of the year list or anything, I found THE RIVALS to be much more powerful and a bit harder to put down than the first book, by a wide margin.

The premise itself was intriguing. It can be hard to continue making a series like this feel fresh once the initial excitement over the beginning premise is over, but Daisy Whitney managed to write a sequel that has an even more tantalizing concept than the first one. All the other cases dealt with by the Mockingbirds had been very simple and clear-cut in terms of who was hurt and who was the bad guy, but a prescription drug ring is significantly more complicated. Who's the victim? Who's the perpetrator? The case was wrapped in further levels of complexity as layers upon layers of deceit were revealed to exist in the school.

Even more than the premise, though, I loved that various themes were explored to much more depth in this book, making it a more interesting and fulfilling read overall. Apart from the obvious themes of cheating and justice, interpersonal relations between the characters were dug into without feeling like a soap opera in the least, and Alex had a fantastic introspective voice that showed her growth in maturity from the first novel.

All in all, THE RIVALS was a fresh and brilliant sequel to The Mockingbirds that brought plenty of fascinating themes and a brand-new premise to the table. From the new depth to the thoughtfully-written characters, this book is one that's near impossible to put down. If there's a sequel to this one, I'm definitely picking it up!

New Covers: The Mockingbirds

As you may know, the covers of Daisy Whitney's two books, The Mockingbirds and its upcoming sequel, the Rivals, have had a revamp. The original covers are here:


As a piece of art, I really like these covers. The simplistic but intriguing images work well, and I like what the bird and dog represent. At the bottom where the title is written, there's even a tribute to To Kill  A Mockingbird with the background, which naturally makes me like it that much more.

However, as much as I like the covers aesthetically, I don't feel they fit the book very well. Additionally, they wouldn't grab my attention very much if I saw them in a book store or something. Elegant, yes, but eye-catching, no.

Now here are the new covers:



(Sorry for the small size; I couldn't find a larger image.) Normally, I'm not much for faces on covers, but I LOVE these! The idea of scrawled writing on yearbook photos is very cool, and the dull-ish color scheme contrasted with brighter colors works beautifully. If I saw these, I would want to pick them up right away.

Which pair of covers do you like better?

The Mockingbirds: Review

Title: The Mockingbirds
Author: Daisy Whitney
Release Date: November 2010
Published By: Little, Brown
Genre: Contemporary
Pages: 332 pages
Goodreads Rating: 3.91 stars

Review: One morning, Alex wakes up next to a boy. Problem is, she doesn't remember anything about the night before except that she had too much to drink. But as the day wears on, she starts to remember disturbing things - and soon realizes that she was date raped. Except at Themis Academy, the adults don't step in when crimes happen. No, the students have to rely on themselves; specifically, The Mockingbirds, a not-so-secret society that administers justice. Alex's only choice is to turn to them, but will the trial go in her favor? And was she really date raped in the first place?

I thought the whole concept of this was original and fascinating. I've always loved secret societies, and even almost everyone knew about The Mockingbirds, there was still an air of secrecy about it. They had rather complicated processes when it came to trials, and it was all very legitimate, complete with court summonings and the like. I loved reading about it, and it was definitely one of the highlights of the book! Possibly most intriguing of all was the idea that as punishment, they take away what you love most. At Themis Academy, everyone has something they're into, be it photography, music, writing, football, etc., so you're no longer allowed to do that if the court rules against you.

Quite a few reviews I read mentioned that it disturbed them how the adults were never aware of the problem. Only one, Alex's music teacher, wanted to talk to her about it, but she wasn't really involved with the whole thing. While I see where those reviewers are coming from, it didn't disturb me too much. In non-fictional life, it's important to tell someone when something that bad happens to you, but I think one of the points of this book was to show a different, imagined way of dealing with it.

One thing I really appreciated about this book was Alex's attitude. Being date raped is such a horrifying experience because your most basic right, the right to your own body, is violated. While Alex definitely had the emotions that come with something like that, she wasn't a broken shell of a person. She remained strong and was even able to laugh with her friends at times despite her fear and worry. This stopped the book from becoming overly depressing.

All in all, this was a wonderful book that I really enjoyed! I didn't find it as powerful as it could have been, but I liked it reading it. Alex was such an awesome, strong character, and the whole concept of The Mockingbirds was fascinating. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to read a non-depressing book that still deals with tough subjects.