A brilliantly written, gripping and searing novel about wealth, sexism and abuse of power, set in an elite boarding school. Although this is pitched as YA, I think the lessons and themes in this novel are handled at so many levels - it fits in well with the other recent #metoo novels available.

Definitely one of my best reads of 2023

”’Dear God,’ she whispers. She’s not a teacher right then. She’s a woman. A girl. A mother.”

this book was so amazing, and hit so hard. it made me feel angry and sick, and made me cry (something books don’t do often). i knew right away from the crossed out “boys will be boys” that i would love this book, and oh was i right.

the 3 pov characters in this book all had such different perspectives, but i enjoyed seeing them all. i liked how even though Max likes to think he’s different than the other boys, a “nice guy”, in the end he still realises that standing by and letting the things happen is still a bad thing.

“I told myself that what Slycroft was doing wasn’t what I thought/ valued/believed, but I just went along with it. The truth is, you are your actions. Whatever happens, I have it coming.”

Charlotte was also an interesting character. she’s determined to be the perfect student, the perfect dancer, and the perfect girlfriend. she even describes herself as being seen as the “cool girl” who doesn’t mind her boyfriend ditching her for his friends, but she doesn’t want to be that anymore. seeing her grow to be able to stand up for herself and the other girls was so important.

“You say I’m perfect. Perfect Charlotte doesn’t complain. She’s fine when I’m with the guys. No, I’m not fine. I’m not perfect. I’m just who I am, and if that’s not more interesting to you than a bunch of immature dickheads busy stealing girls’ underwear, then too bad. I’m out of this.” I can’t believe what I’m saying. I’m so mad I’m not even crying. “I’m breaking up with you.”

finally, there was Q. in my opinion, Q was the most important character in this book. her anger feels so raw and real, and she’s relatable in so many ways. the way she just wanted to ruin him as he did for her, and her blaming herself for something that was in no way her fault, hurt so much. i enjoyed seeing her both be able to heal and get her revenge, and the help she had for it made it even better.

“Yeah, of course the woman’s always the crazy one,”

under it all, a big part of this book is the fact that powerful men will always have ways to protect themselves. the slycroft group was made because they hated the idea of women getting to do what they have done for years. the boys never call each other out for their disgusting comments, even when Max says it’s obvious the others disagree. the Dean said that they had to protect the school, but really it is only the male students being protected, and women get almost no help.

overall, i highly recommend this book, but please check tws.

This is an incredible, emotional, moving story. While the blurb sets out to explore toxic masculinity and rape culture in an elite American school, it illuminates so many other themes as well. Quinn returns to school after the summer break,, broken, with the knowledge that she was raped at the end of the previous term by one of the schools super heroes on the rowing team. She is unable to confide anyone at the school and cannot forgive herself for not fighting back . Her solution is to to attempt to kill her rapist. Charlotte is dating the schools most popular male: sporty, academic, good lucking , rich and has pedigree. Somehow she doesnt have the self esteem to believe its really happening, particularly as he does not try to have sex with her. Max is a nerdy senior on a scholarship.He is friends with Charlotte but not a member of the in crowd and not part of the elite rowing team. Their stories converge as we begin to understand how a rape could happen, how it could be condoned and how it is finally faced. A pacy well written book that provokes thinking

Shocking, razor sharp and horrifying, this is a great novel and a great commentary on the times we live in.

A must read Recommend ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A fantastic YA contemporary novel with vibes of a thriller that examines rape-culture and toxic masculinity within a prestigious boarding school. Told through multiple points of view, Rosenblum highlights the pervasive presence of 'lad-culture' and misogyny. The characters were excellently written, and felt real (something I often struggle to find with standalone contemporary YA novels).

Overall a fantastic YA novel with a poignant writing style and a nuanced exploration of mental health, misogyny and the "boys will be boys mentality".

The Sharp Edge of Silence is a dark, sometimes disturbing and powerful read. The subject matter is difficult to write about but the author does an excellent job. I couldn’t put this amazing book down as I needed to know what the outcome would be. Five stars from me!

I was given the opportunity to read this book, its not a genre I would normally choose but I'm glad I did. The plot is very apt. A few of the bits went over my head but I'm guessing I'm older than other readers.

This book had me fully engaged. Working with survivors I thought it really showed the barriers and challenges faced. Being a YA novel it is set in an American school which was very well written and described. While the subject of mental health, rape and misogyny is never going to be for an easy read, this book certainly handled the topic well and I will be highly recommending this book to all

When I requested this book I didn’t realise it was classified as a YA book. No matter, I was interested in the premise so gave it a go.

The book follows the experience of Quinn and a big trigger warning of sexual assault and misogyny is needed.

Quinn is a student at a fictional prestigious American boarding school. Sections are written from pov of various characters throughout. This makes it quite a fast read.

It’s an interesting exploration of the impact of trauma and institutions attempting to protect themselves in the aftermath.

Some of the pop culture references missed the mark for me though I am aware I am not the target audience for this book.

A timely, challenging read that shines a light on toxic masculinity, r**e culture and the huge pressures on survivors, set in a prestigious American school with three POVs.
Given the theme, I’d strongly recommend potential readers check content warnings, but it’s well-worth the read. As someone who works to support survivors, I found this riveting and emotional, whilst remaining well within the realms of fiction which allows the author to really hammer home their points.

I found this book a disturbing read but the book should be an essential read in all schools. I worked in schools most of my working life and am glad that I was not aware of any form of abuse especially abuse of girls by boys or indeed the other way around. However, I have heard that ranking girls still goes on. I am also aware of the “Everyone’s invited” website which aims to “expose and eradicate rape culture with empathy, compassion & understanding”. Stories are reported although they no longer name and shame the school. This very much follows on from the Me Too movement.

This book is set in an elite school which has not always been coeducational. The story reveals what can happen when a girl is raped. The book also centres around rowing and how it brings together groups of boys and makes them feel a part of a team. However, it is taken further in that certain boys are initiated into a club which is more like a cult where boys are encouraged to sleep with as many girls as possible and steal their underwear. The book is told through the eyes of the girl who was raped (and how this drove her to want to kill her attacker) and through the eyes of another girl, Charlotte and of Max, a scholarship boy who wanted to please and wanted to fit in and it shows the lengths he would go to, to be included. There is a satisfactory ending but I fear that this is not always the case.

There were elements of this books I really enjoyed, but others that just fell short.

I thought Quin's character was brilliant. Everything she went through, and how she was "dealing" with trauma was done brilliantly. I wanted to read on, I needed to know how this panned out for her.

I found that there were pages that didn't need to be in it. It felt sometimes I was reading pages and pages of pointless stuff to get back to the issues. I know it was to help cement the pressures the characters were under and to help understand them, but I think it could have been shorter. Also I felt the book set out to be a thriller, but it wasn't.

I think it handles the topic of assault really well. It's very sensitive to it. There was a continuity issue with a film, that I let annoy me for some reason. They were watching avengers but apparently it only last less then 1hr 30 mins if the timings of the security guard finishing and them being back in their dorms is correct. This sounds silly but it made me feel that the details were thought of, and considering there was a lot of detail I didn't think needed to be in it, I just found it strange.

Give this book a go if you like YA reads that have a bit more depth and tackle hard topics.

An incredibly powerful book about toxic masculinity, rape culture, and mental health. It’s a series of topics that are spoken about frequently with students at the moment, so a highly important read for staff, students, and parents. Will 100% be buying a copy for my classroom bookshelf.

There is no doubt that this story packs a punch. Q’s story is one that will sadly resonate with many and I thought it was extremely well written from her POV. This book tackles some difficult topics as we learn about Q being raped and see how she deals with the trauma and ultimately takes control back with the help of her friends. It’s a sad, anger inducing but hopeful and powerful story which really made me stop and think. Misogyny is brought to the forefront and there were some scenes that actually made me feel sick with how vile the Slycroft Society and their ideas are. The down side for me was that this book was quite slow. I thought the last half of the book was fantastic so I was glad I stuck with it but there were definitely moments in the first half where I considered putting it down. Overall a gut wrenching but powerful read.

TW Rape
After a traumatic event that changed Qs life she is alone and won’t open up to anyone.
We follow the journey of her and her 3 friends trying to navigate their way through Lycroft Phelps social world. Full of ‘rich white men’ and toxic masculinity just brushed under the carpet because ‘boys will be boys’
As the friends slowly uncover the truth what will they do with it? Will they accept it like the rest of the world or will they fight against it
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OH MY GOD I loved everything about this book, I’m currently unwell and managed to finish it mostly in a day. It had me hooked line and sinker
The plot was easy to follow, the characters were all likeable but with depth and flaws and general humanity
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As someone who worked within Victim Support for years within the sexual assault team and in my degree studied the treatment of rape victims I was so excited but also apprehensive to read this - it 100% hit the nail for me - the victim blaming themselves ‘if I’d have just fought back’ the friends blaming themselves ‘if I’d have just stayed with you that night’ the ‘it’s done now just move on’ attitude from people who live that sheltered life - it was all there and the ending was just perfection 🤌🏻
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I cannot rave about this book enough I LOVED IT

This book was very well written and really made it easy to connect with the characters. It is one i will definitely be recommending.

Lycroft Phelps is one of the most elite private schools in the country. Three students' lives are upturned and odd maybe worrying things start to happen. One of them, Quinn, has been sexually assaulted and is trying to deal with it in her own way. Her assault becomes known, as does the toxic culture of the school. Can Quinn get justice?

It starts with three admission letters for Charlotte, Max and Quinn where one is half-burned, that way serving us an early helping of foreboding.

Three POVs, each with its own distinct voice, inviting us into the lives, thoughts, and 'inner workings' of each character, emoting brutal honesty that seeps into your soul. Wordings so vivid and/or haunting. Intense and gut-wrenching, inquisitive and searching for identity, happiness and anticipation of youth, all-powerful in their antithesis that meld this story together.

The depiction of Quinn's actions and reactions, her state of mind, is admirably done. As we are 'living' in the aftermath, we learn her story in memories, interwoven in the narrative organically, amping up our interest. The layout of the book was done quite creatively, different fonts, spacing and so forth for flashbacks, messaging etc, emphasizing what is needed in a captivating manner.

As much as I like the writing, the other 2 POVs lag the story a bit, even though they are clever writing devices for us to be able to 'see' the whole story, especially Max's who sees what the girls aren't seeing. Charlotte does irritate me a bit and I do get impatient with these 2 POVs getting to the point, what they are leading to in the story. I need more Quinn.

This is a thought-provoking story that examines the dangers of toxic masculinity and misuse of privilege, using an academic setting, that makes us realize how they affect all of our lives and ponder on what we can do to eliminate them.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for an arc.

The Sharp Edge of Silence is told from 3 POVs: Q, Charlotte, and Max; and while each POV told a different angle to the story, the main feeling they all gave me was disgust. I was disgusted at the toxic masculinity and rape culture that was portrayed in this book and disgusted that it didn't even feel exaggerated just for the story.

Q's story was heartbreaking and every chapter in her POV had me on the verge of tears, and a few of the later chapters actually did make me cry. Seeing her anger at herself was devastating and her pain felt so real that it felt like my heart was physically aching for her. Seeing her gradually start to heal and open up to her friends towards the end of the book was so wonderful.

One thing I really loved about this book was that the assault wasn't written in a detailed and overly gratuitous way which is what can happen in books dealing with similar subjects. The fact that it was a constantly recurring thought in Q's head made it all the more real and made it such a raw and emotional read.

At first, I didn't understand why we had Charlotte and Max's POV, but it just took the story to another level. Charlotte's naivety and her relationship with Seb gave depth to the toxic masculinity discussed in the book because Charlotte was constantly second-guessing herself and her relationship because of who Seb was, the golden boy of the school. Even though Seb hadn't done anything to Charlotte, I found myself unable to trust him right from the start because he was friends with Colin. I felt distrustful of all the male characters really and questioned every interaction they had with the female characters.

Max's POV made the least sense to me at the start, I thought that since Nils was the one that seemed to like Q, his POV would have made more sense. But as the story went on it was clear why it had to be Max and it was such an interesting view into the way someone can so easily be caught up in wanting to be popular and fit in that they set their morals aside.

The teamwork of the rowing club and their acting as a collective team instead of individuals on a team plays into the bystander effect that happens within rape culture and I thought it was such an interesting choice for Rosenlbum to make and really added another layer to the story. There were many instances where Colin was constantly being defended, <spoiler>they all saw the words on the door calling Colin a rapist and their first instinct was to erase them,</spoiler> and it was shocking to read but also so realistic. Max seemed to lose himself in the ego of the team and thought the best of them just because they were nice to him. He continued to give them the benefit of the doubt even after seeing evidence multiple times proving that they were not good people. Even though the other boys in the rowing team may not be rapists, they protected one, and that makes them just as bad.

Overall, this was a stunning debut and I think this book is an absolute must-read.

Not entirely my thing but I did stick with it and that’s not necessarily a criticism so give it a try. Set in a prestigious school in America the story is based around a sexual assault on a young girl with potential and the aftermath and attention generated. The story is told from the perspective of several people which I found a bit slow and confusing at times but overall left some food for thought on the situations involved and the deep lasting effects and sociology. I’m thinking it’s reasonable contemporary fiction but not a genre I find hugely interesting, particularly the setting.

So this book comes with a massive Trigger warning referring to Sexual assault.

Honestly this book was everything. This book is so needed. It highlights the misogyny and toxic masculiity in todays society. The writing is haunting but respectful when discussing such harrowing topics.