Join Books.org — it's free

Physical & Emotional Abuse, Criminology - Sex Crimes
Voices of Rape by Janet Bode β€” book cover

Voices of Rape

by Janet Bode, Ida Marx Blue Spruce
Write a review
Log in to track your reading progress.

Overview

Janet Bode returns to the difficult and emotional topic of rape in this completely revised and updated edition of The Voices of Rape. In addition to the original interviews, Bode updates the reader on what has happened to those people she interviewed, appends a comprehensive list of related reading, intersperses the interviews with excerpts from the current press, and adds two comic strip inserts. Always compelling and relevant to the young adult reader, Janet Bode brings her classic text to the reader of the 1990s.

Uses first-person accounts of both rape victims and offenders to depict the physical, psychological, and legal aspects of rape and gives advice on what can be done in various situations.

Synopsis

Janet Bode returns to the difficult and emotional topic of rape in this completely revised and updated edition of The Voices of Rape. In addition to the original interviews, Bode updates the reader on what has happened to those people she interviewed, appends a comprehensive list of related reading, intersperses the interviews with excerpts from the current press, and adds two comic strip inserts. Always compelling and relevant to the young adult reader, Janet Bode brings her classic text to the reader of the 1990s.

VOYA

This revised edition of Voices of Rape looks more modern and appealing than the original (Watts, 1990/VOYA February 1991). A cleaner format, crisper print fonts, and the judicious use of graphics make this new edition more readable for young adults. In the text, Bode retains the original voices with updates when possible about their current lives. Several chapters have been rearranged and updated but the content remains the same. Some names and clothing styles have been modernized but, overall, the differences between editions are minor. One change is some discussion about drugs such as GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyrate) that are linked to date rape. Another change is the inclusion of a few letters generated by the first edition along with Bode's responses, which add to the intimacy of the book. The changes and additions are relevant and strengthen the presentation. The bibliography has been updated and completely revised. Bode's style of interviewing people with different perspectives, letting their voices speak for themselves, remains effective and involving. She emphasizes that "rape is about human beings, not statistics." Victims of rape are here with their personal stories, as are those who work in the justice system, counselors, rapists, and others. My library's copies of the earlier edition are well used and have several underlinings from many different pens that attest to the interest in the topic. The new edition, with its updates and graphic approach to some of the stories, will be just as popular. Bode's title is useful for reports as well as to the general reader. Index. Illus. Biblio. Further Reading. VOYA Codes: 4Q 4P M J S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12).

Reviews

There are no reviews yet. Log in to write one.

Editorials

VOYA - Judy Sasges

This revised edition of Voices of Rape looks more modern and appealing than the original (Watts, 1990/VOYA February 1991). A cleaner format, crisper print fonts, and the judicious use of graphics make this new edition more readable for young adults. In the text, Bode retains the original voices with updates when possible about their current lives. Several chapters have been rearranged and updated but the content remains the same. Some names and clothing styles have been modernized but, overall, the differences between editions are minor. One change is some discussion about drugs such as GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyrate) that are linked to date rape. Another change is the inclusion of a few letters generated by the first edition along with Bode's responses, which add to the intimacy of the book. The changes and additions are relevant and strengthen the presentation. The bibliography has been updated and completely revised. Bode's style of interviewing people with different perspectives, letting their voices speak for themselves, remains effective and involving. She emphasizes that "rape is about human beings, not statistics." Victims of rape are here with their personal stories, as are those who work in the justice system, counselors, rapists, and others. My library's copies of the earlier edition are well used and have several underlinings from many different pens that attest to the interest in the topic. The new edition, with its updates and graphic approach to some of the stories, will be just as popular. Bode's title is useful for reports as well as to the general reader. Index. Illus. Biblio. Further Reading. VOYA Codes: 4Q 4P M J S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12).

School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up-"Half a lifetime ago, I was forced at knifepoint to a garbage dump and gang-raped," Bode begins this revision of her 1990 title and maintains much of the same level of intensity throughout. New interviews have been added, as has illustrative material. Reading these first-person accounts by rape victims, counselors, health-care providers, law-enforcement officials, and offenders is a deeply disturbing experience. As in the previous edition, the author offers her interviewees' statements with little editorial comment. The ability of teenagers to handle this kind of information without any interpretation or authorial intervention is likely to be a cause of concern in many quarters. Certainly there are parts of the book that could be extremely offensive to some readers, e.g., a rapist recounts his childhood and crimes in comic-strip format, and a young man insists that his participation in the rape of a classmate was just "standard teenage stuff." While valuable information is provided in addition to the interviews (sections on crisis centers and emergency-room procedures are particularly noteworthy), it is the words of the people directly involved that carry the greatest power. The first edition of this book was provocative; the second will be even more so. Even collections that have the old edition may want this one.-Richard Luzer, Fair Haven Union High School, VT Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

Rape happens, and there's no doubt that young adults need to understand its dynamics, whether for prevention, healing, or simply to achieve an informed compassion for victims of this violent crime. Bode interviews teenagers and professionals and presents monologues from several perspectives: Nicole, 17, describes being date raped--twice; a police officer tells what goes on in his mind when he interviews victims; a psychologist talks about juvenile sex offenders. In a chapter on the court system, comments by a defense attorney, a prosecutor, and a judge illuminate the difficulty of achieving justice in rape cases. There are several notable gaps: no male victims speak out (although the author does address male victims in several passages), discussion of incest or child sexual abuse is negligible, and some of the most disturbing and ambiguous monologues--such as one by a boy who casually participated in several ``gang bangs''--are presented without interpretation or comment. The adult experts who populate the second half of the book tend to lecture. While this book conveys some information very well, it is far from thorough. For those collections with room for only one book on rape, it should be Andrea Parrot's Coping with Date Rape and Acquaintance Rape (Rosen, 1988). --Carolyn Polese, Gateway Community School, Arcata, CA

Book Details

Published
March 1, 1999
Publisher
Children's Press(CT)
Pages
160
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9780531159323

More by Janet Bode

Similar books