The Truth about Rape

School Library Journal

Gr 10 Up-Although comprehensive in coverage and clear in presentation, the information included here is arranged as a mini-encyclopedia rather than in a logical progression of articles and chapters. Topics include different types of rape, prevention, sexual assault, statistics, abusive relationships, the roles of male and female as perpetrator and victim, drugs and alcohol, the law, and educating the public. The discussion is somewhat clinical in emphasis, with numerous studies cited repeatedly. The A to Z entries themselves include a good level of detail for reports. Sidebars range from "Did You Know?" to "Q & A," "Fact or Fiction?" and "Teens Speak," but these extra features are included within the text of the articles themselves, and are somewhat distracting. The graphics are jumbled, placing numerous bold subheadings within each article, making it difficult to browse through the book. There are frequent see and see-also references and most entries conclude with suggestions for further reading. Mary E. Williams's Rape (Greenhaven, 2001) covers similarly comprehensive and authoritative material in a more traditionally arranged and accessible sequence of articles.-Joyce Adams Burner, Hillcrest Library, Prairie Village, KS Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.