Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town by Jon Krakauer (384 pgs, 10 cds)

Geraldine: First  - perhaps this is a book every high school student should read. Second - perhaps the parents, teachers, and administration will think it is inappropriate (depends on age) and extremely graphic (which it is). If my daughters were just now going off to college I would make it required reading for our family and open discussion at the dinner table. In high school, parents know their own children best. I would definitely have had my rising 9th grader read this and be aware and wary of senior challenges, canyon parties and substances dropped in unattended drinks, alcoholic or not. The graphic descriptions of non-consensual sex are truly assaults. I have not decided if I can have it in the library system for access by all ages. I welcome opinions. 

An Amazon Best Book of April 2015: Toward the end of this powerful, absorbing book, best-selling author Jon Krakauer quotes a jury member as she sums up popular assumptions about sexual assault: “(1) A stranger jumps out from the bushes; (2) There is no (assault) unless the woman puts up a fight, to the death if necessary.” The truth is much different—assaults by acquaintances are by far the most common form of the crime. In Missoula, Krakauer examines one community’s struggle with such accusations, shining a bright light on a problem that frequently goes underreported and is all-too-easy to sweep under the rug. Not only must victims contend with the after-effects of the crime, they must often face doubting police, antagonistic lawyers, and the whims of popular opinion. Some of the reported assaults in Krakauer’s book involved members of the University of Montana’s beloved Grizzly football team.