Waiting on Wednesday: What We Saw by Aaron Hartzler

   Hey guys!
   Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine in which we discuss our most anticipated upcoming releases.

   The book:

What We Saw by Aaron Hartzler
Published: September 22nd 2015 by HarperTeen
Number of Pages: 336 Pages (Hardcover)
Series: No

   Kate Weston can piece together most of the bash at John Doone’s house: shots with Stacey Stallard, Ben Cody taking her keys and getting her home early—the feeling that maybe he’s becoming more than just the guy she’s known since they were kids.
   But when a picture of Stacey passed out over Deacon Mills’s shoulder appears online the next morning, Kate suspects she doesn’t have all the details. When Stacey levels charges against four of Kate’s classmates, the whole town erupts into controversy. Facts that can’t be ignored begin to surface, and every answer Kate finds leads back to the same question: Where was Ben when a terrible crime was committed?
   This story—inspired by real events—from debut novelist Aaron Hartzler takes an unflinching look at silence as a form of complicity. It’s a book about the high stakes of speaking up, and the razor thin line between guilt and innocence that so often gets blurred, one hundred and forty characters at a time. (goodreads.com)

   My thoughts:

   As you guys know I am a sucker for books that deal with hard topics such as rape, grief, loss, or mental illness so when I discovered What We Saw I immediately knew I wanted to read it. I know it contains a trigger warning for rape and deals with victimizing and the fact that in our society most people tend to blame the victim and not the rapist because "she wore a short skirt so she was basically asking for it" type of thinking. Slut-shaming, consent, and sexism are topics that are huge currently, especially because they are topics that need to be discussed, so I'm always interested to see how well authors handle creating stories featuring them.
   One of my favorite reviewers, Emily from The Book Geek, gave this book 5 out of 5 stars which makes me want to read it only more so I cannot wait to finally be able to read it soon!