What Happens Next (review)

Thrilled to be away from home on a school-club ski trip, sixteen-year-old Cassidy “Sid” Murphy hopes to get a little crazy on the slopes with her friends and maybe to find a little unchaperoned romance. When a ski-lift flirtation with an older guy leads to an invitation to an after-curfew party, Sid thinks she may have gotten everything she wanted. Instead she wakes up alone and groggy, with only vague memories of the rape she endured. Rather than admit what happened to her friends, family, or even herself, Sid buries the horror beneath layers of guilt. Unable to face the life she had before the rape, she isolates herself physically and emotionally, and her attempts to cope lead to bulimia and excessive exercise. Spending time with supposed pot-head Corey Livingston allows Sid to begin emerging from her selfprotective shell, and an unexpected event forces her to face what happened and finally admit the truth. The strength of this novel lies in the emotionally genuine portrayal of Sid, whose voice is witty, lively, and strong, and who remains likable despite her self-loathing. Her deeply personal narrative manages to make her silence understandable even as it is frustrating. As a romantic hero, Corey is almost too perfect to be real in his unwavering adoration, but he is sure to produce his fair share of wistful sighs from readers as he stands by Sid through the mood swings and frequent breakdowns that he does not understand. The text handles the rape itself with sensitivity; it communicates what happens with no specifics or details and it moves, like Sid’s hazy memory, from drugged drink to the morning after. Readers looking for a heart-wrenching, poignant, but ultimately hopeful story of a girl facing the aftermath of personal trauma in the spirit of Anderson’s Speak (BCCB 10/99) and Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why (BCCB 11/07) will embrace this well-crafted emotional journey.