Book Review #102 - You Against Me by Jenny Downham

If someone hurts your sister and you're any kind of man, you seek revenge.
If your brother's accused of a terrible crime but says he didn't do it, you defend him.
When Mikey's sister claims a boy assaulted her, his world begins to fall apart. When Ellie's brother is charged with the offense, her world begins to unravel. When Mikey and Ellie meet, two worlds collide.

My Rating: 4/5

This is my second Jenny Downham book and I liked this way more than Before I Die.

I really enjoyed this book, especially the characters. They were so beautifully written.

The story is told in alternating chapters between Mikey and Ellie's points of view. I found this to speed the pace of the novel immensely.

I liked Mikey from his first chapter but it took me a while to warm up to Ellie and I still didn't like her 100% at the conclusion.

The secondary characters were very well written, Mikey's mother especially. I liked Mikey's younger sister enough to forgive her for being a Tottenham fan.

What I liked about this book the most was that it made you think about what you would do if you were in Ellie's situation, as I have a brother and I don't think I would be able to turn on him the way she did.

The family dynamics in both Mikey's and Ellie's families are both very realistic and unfortunately very common these days.