Sex and Violence by Carrie Mesrobian

Sex and Violence by Carrie Mesrobian

Publisher: Carolrhoda LAB     
Publication date: October 1st 2013
My rating: 4.5 star

AT FIRST YOU DON'T SEE THE CONNECTION.
Sex has always come without consequences for seventeen-year-old Evan Carter. He has a strategy--knows the profile of The Girl Who Would Say Yes. In each new town, each new school, he can count on plenty of action before he and his father move again. Getting down is never a problem. Until he hooks up with the wrong girl and finds himself in the wrong place at very much the wrong time.
AND THEN YOU CAN'T SEE ANYTHING ELSE.
After an assault that leaves Evan bleeding and broken, his father takes him to the family cabin in rural Pearl Lake, Minnesota, so Evan's body can heal. But what about his mind?
HOW DO YOU GO ON, WHEN YOU CAN'T THINK OF ONE WITHOUT THE OTHER?
Nothing seems natural to Evan anymore. Nothing seems safe. The fear--and the guilt--are inescapable. He can't sort out how he feels about anyone, least of all himself. Evan's really never known another person well, and Pearl Lake is the kind of place where people know everything about each other--where there might be other reasons to talk to a girl. It's annoying as hell. It might also be Evan's best shot to untangle sex and violence.

I was sitting here for 41 minutes, staring at the screen, trying to figure out what to say about this book. What to say to make people want to buy it and read it? Should I beg? Please, please, read it!  

The story starts of with Evan being a know-it-all and a ladies man. He knows how to get a girl to sleep with him and one day it all goes terribly wrong when SPOILERS  two rednecks beat him up severely and the girl gets gang-rapped. After that Evan can't even shower because everything brings him flashbacks. His father moves him for the nth time to a small city of Pearl Lake where he's forced to meet new people and heal. 

Even though Evan starts of as one of those arrogant guys who think they're better than everyone else, he quickly changes and we see his another side. He still thinks about sex a lot and he's still mentally undressing girls. 

Female authors don't usually write in a male perspective because most of the time it doesn't seem authentic. But while reading Sex and Violence I felt like the author did portray Evan as a real teenager, not something she thinks a horny teenage kid sounds like. She also did a wonderful job with other characters. At times it was like she put something of her own life in the story, some small detail or an opinion about certain things, like hating small dogs. 

While I was reading I though to myself. Trish Doller, the author of Something Like Normal would like this book. And then I saw she wrote a blurb for it. So weird. I'm glad she read it and all you people who loved Something Like Normal, pick up Sex and Violence when it gets out! You won't regret it!