You Against Me Written by Jenny Downham Publisher: David Fickling Books Year of Publication: 2011 Dionte Rudolph

Introduction Setting: Around 2000-2010, Coastal England First Key Events: Mikey’s sister, Karyn, accuses Ellie’s brother, Tom, of raping her one night Mikey decides to seek revenge on Tom Mikey trys to use Ellie at first for information about Tom, but they end up very attracted to each other

Protagonist: Mikey McKensie Mikey is an 18 year old, aspiring chef who lives in a housing estate. He struggles between being the dependable, responsible man of the house and normal teenager. Mikey also proves to be kind- hearted when it comes to his sisters and Ellie.

Antagonist: Tom Parker Tom is a wealthy college student. He is thought of as charming, intelligent and the perfect son but he is really selfish and manipulative. Tom is accused of sexually assaulting Karyn.

The Central Conflict Tom Parker has been accused of sexually assaulting Karyn McKensie. Mikey McKensie, Karyn’s older brother, and Ellie Parker, Tom’s sister and most important witness, have fallen in love. Should Ellie stay loyal to her brother or help her boyfriend? Will Mikey leave Ellie alone for Karyn’s sake?

Karyn McKensie (minor character) Karyn is Mikey’s 15 year old sister. She accuses Tom of raping her at a party where she became drunk Karyn is distraught and depressed after the incident. She is unappreciative.

Ellie Parker (minor character) Ellie is Tom’s sister. She is a studious, shy, and pretty girl. Ellie becomes a little more daring after she meets Mikey. Ellie has to make very hard de- cisions throughout the book.

Mum (minor character) Mikey and Karyn’s mom is always recovering from a hangover She depends on Karyn and Mikey to raise Holly She doesn’t really know how to be there for her children

What Do The Critics Say? The hard question at the heart of this book — what would you do? — doesn’t have a single answer. For her young readers, Downham frames it remarkably well. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/21/books/review/you-against-me-by-jenny-downham-book-review.html?_r=0 “It's a beautifully balanced novel with the darkness of the central crime never forgotten or over-sweetened by the love story……” “And despite the crime and punishment aspect of the novel never being fully resolved, readers wanting to discover if the relationship overcomes all the odds are sure to find themselves provoked, moved and rewarded in equal measure.” http://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/nov/25/you-against-me-downham-review

My Take on the Book This book had a very intriguing plot and uplifting ending, but the British slang was a one of the low points of the book. Overall, it was a great story Some of the themes I got out of it included: loyalty, forbidden love, and one must not judge a book by its cover. It reminded me of Romeo and Juliet (see themes)