Wrecked, by Maria Padian

From my Kirkus column about Wrecked, by Maria Padian:

The majority of the book doesn’t focus on Jenny and Jordan, it focuses on Haley and Richard. Rather than seeing the story play out via the accuser and the accused, we get it through the filter and the perspective of two witnesses in alternating chapters. But, at the end of each chapter, we get brief snippets of the night in question as Jenny and Jordan experienced it. So, as we follow Haley and Richard in the present—as we see them get to know each other, clash, and eventually build a mutual trust and understanding—we’re also following Jenny and Jordan in the past, headed on a collision course to a very different destination.

The physical aftermath of Haley’s concussion mirrors the physical aftermath of being drugged or getting blackout drunk, and so the reader experiences a good part of what Jenny might be feeling, but in a way that doesn’t feel voyeuristic or exploitative—it doesn’t use her trauma or pain to create entertainment.

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