ARC Review: What We Saw by Aaron Hartzler

Title: What We Saw

Author: Aaron Hartzler

Publisher: HarperTeen

Publication Date: September 22, 2015

Rating: 5/5 stars

I received a copy of this book for review from HarperCollins International. Many thanks to them for entrusting me the advanced readers copies (ARCs) of the books they publish and believing in me that I will make a good book review to encourage more readers and share the book love to people. All thoughts on this review are my own.

Let me start this book review by telling you that this is a very, very important book and that it made me cry in the middle of the day.

I started reading the book when I went to bed. I thought the book will be published by Sept. 15 as printed on the release date of my ARC copy, so I had to read and draft a review by today. Turns out when I googled it and checked it on twitter, It’ll be out by the 22^nd instead. But I don’t regret reading this book earlier than what I intended, in fact I want you to pre-order the book now because this book is seriously one of the most important releases of 2015 and it shouldn’t just go unread. I read this book in only one sitting and I don’t regret it.

Amazing how some few words printed on a paper can make your heart break, can change how you feel about things, can make you cry tears. It had been a long time since a book made me cry. I can’t even remember the last time. But amazingly this book did. Kate is an amazing character. I don’t even know how I should describe her. She is not the naïve girl. She figures out the truth, no matter how much the truth would hurt her and still does the right thing. She’ll make you laugh, she’ll make you cry and most of all she’ll make you have trust issues to people. But then again things nothing is exactly how they see, the closer you look, the more you’ll see. It’s just so amazing and so overwhelming that there are still people like Kate and her family that knows to do the right thing. Morally acceptable and humane.

This book is such a brilliant comparison to reality. After all it’s based on true-to-life events. Maybe that’s why. The friendship on this book is actually friendship and squad goals. Rachael was so funny I loved her, but in the end they didn’t stick with her until the end. And I loved Ben, the love-interest; the relationship was perfect, from childhood friends to lover. And yet, one single lie, one small seismic shift like Kate is always saying-can change everything-can even ruin what most people think as perfect. I don’t know what to feel about Ben about abandoned friendships and ruined lives and after I’ve read this book. There are just too many emotions.

This book gives a specific lesson to the guys, and the girls. This is why it is so important. Rape shouldn’t be taken lightly. Girls don’t deserve anything such. Guys always have an option. It goes on. But the most important thing is sometimes we don’t have to keep things we saw only for ourselves. If we see people being abused we have the right to go against it. We don’t cower in fear from people who has influence in such things and just let them go on continually abusing and stepping on rights of other people. We have to see past the storm. We have to see ourselves in the victim’s shoes and do certain precautions. We don’t shut up about all things wrong, we speak up, we fight for what’s right, we fight back.

Now get going and pre-order the book or mark your calendars. Out September 22. What We Saw by Aaron Hartzler. Once again this book is so important you need it in your life. Afterwards share it to people.