Review: Again and Again by Ellen Bravo

Again and Again

by Ellen Bravo

Publisher: She Writes Press

Pages: 256

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  If sexual shenanigans disqualified candidates for Congress, the U.S. would have no government. But what if the candidate was a pro-choice Republican supported by feminist groups—and a college rapist whose secret could be exposed by a leading women’s rights advocate? 

Again and Again tells the story of Deborah Borenstein—as an established women’s rights leader in 2010 Washington, DC, and as a college student, thirty years earlier, whose roommate is raped by a fellow student. The perpetrator is now a Senate candidate who has the backing of major feminist groups . . . which puts Deborah in a difficult position. Torn between her past and present, as the race goes on, Deborah finds herself tested as a wife, a mother, a feminist, and a friend. 


Kritters Thoughts:  A political drama that had an interesting twist.  Two storylines - one from the past as Deborah is in college and she becomes the activist that you see in the other storyline which is Deborah in the current time as she is the head of an organization that is bringing women's issues to the forefront in the political atmosphere in DC.

I live in DC, but don't read or know a ton about the influence of organizations and how they really work with politics.  I loved seeing the inside of the organization and how they influence politicians to make their issues a priority.  I appreciated that the author put in the struggle with her husband and his job and how sometimes your home life can affect your work life and the balance can be hard, not just time management.

The storyline in college was hard to read, but felt so real.  Rape is not a subject matter that I read often (or ever), so I appreciated reading a hard subject, but seeing how it affected the victim in the long term and not just right after it happened.  I was so glad to see their friendship stand the test of time so we could see her years after the rape and I felt like the author portrayed the truth of her having a lack of trust with men and unable to "settle down."

This is Ellen Bravo's first fiction and I loved it.  It felt like a full novel and I hope she is working on another, I will read it!


Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from TLC Book Tours.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.