WHISTLEBLOWER

A novel tackling sexual harassment, assault, and the evergreen themes of finding and using your voice.

This novel, set at fictional Garland University in a small Southern California city, centers junior Laurel Cates, whose passion is writing for the school newspaper. When she uncovers evidence that a football coach, someone well known for being a recovered alcoholic, in fact drank to excess and committed sexual assault during a vacation, she hurriedly writes an exposé only to be informed by her editor it cannot be published. When Laurel finds more evidence of his wrongdoing in tip files, her editor admits she fears losing the paper’s remaining budget if she runs the article. Another complication ensues when Laurel finds herself unexpectedly falling for star football player Bodie St. James, who she fears may be complicit in covering up the coach’s felonious behavior. The book’s strengths lie in its focus on the importance of standing up for others and, when we have the power to do so, creating platforms for those who struggle to be heard. Unfortunately, these admirable messages are undermined by limited character development: Readers will wish the author had delved deeper into the relationship between Laurel and Bodie as well as the motives of both main and supporting characters. Laurel’s mother is from Mexico, and her father is White; Bodie reads White.

A justice-centered story let down by two-dimensional characterization.