Ever Since

By: Alena Bruzas

Narrated by: Gail Shalan

An intense, beautiful debut about the power of finding your voice and sharing your story after trauma. Perfect for fans of Nina LaCour and Kathleen Glasgow.

Seventeen-year-old Virginia makes bad choices. In fact, she’s That Kind of Girl, according to the whispers. But as long as she has her tight group of best friends by her side, she’s able to ignore the gossipers. Until she finds herself spending time with Rumi, Poppy’s boyfriend. Breaking with tradition, she doesn’t hook up with Rumi. Worse, she falls in love with him.

While Virginia and Rumi’s relationship grows in secret, she discovers that his little sister, Lyra, is being groomed for abuse. The soon-to-be-abuser is a respected member of the community, and only Virginia knows who he is and what he does. If she stays quiet, Lyra will become a victim. But coming forward feels equally impossible.

Critic reviews

★ "Bruzas' debut novel is at once gritty and tender, exploring boundaries, friendship, and self esteem . . . Bruzas handles the complex plot deftly, and the crowning achievement is when the story Virginia tells herself is her own." —Booklist, starred review

"Lyrical prose combines with a searing indictment of how society treats young women." —Kirkus

"A powerful story of childhood trauma and what it means to confront sexual assault, Bruzas’s debut novel addresses the complexities of survival and the importance of a strong circle of support." —School Library Journal

Just wow…

This story really threw me for a loop. Goes from a typical teenage girl living a teenage girl life to Oh My God What?!?! You feel something looming in the background throughout the story but when it hits, it hits hard. An incredibly Emotional story. Highly recommend!

Just wow 💔

This was absolutely heartbreaking, poetic, beautiful, sickening, and gut wrenching. I cried so much listening to this. The narrator did an amazing job, some of the parts sounded so real.