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The Opposite of Fate

Audiobook
0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: About 2 weeks
0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: About 2 weeks

Who gets to choose? When a young woman emerges from a lengthy coma-like state she must face the decisions that were made about her body—without her consent—in this powerful novel of reclamation and hope.
Twenty-one-year-old Mallie Williams—scrappy, headstrong, and wise beyond her years—has just landed on her feet following a tumultuous youth when the unthinkable happens: she is violently assaulted. The crime leaves her comatose, surrounded by friends and family who are hoping against hopes for a full recovery.
But soon Mallie's small community finds themselves divided. The rape has left Mallie pregnant, and while some friends are convinced that she would never keep the pregnancy, others are sure that a baby would be the only good thing to come out of all of this pain. Who gets to decide? How much power, in the end, do we have over our own bodies? Mallie, her family, and her town find themselves at the center of a media storm, confronting questions nobody should have to face. And when Mallie emerges from the fog, what will she think of the choices that were made on her behalf?
The Opposite of Fate is an intense and moving exploration of the decisions we make—and don't make—that forever change the course of our lives.

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    • Publisher's Weekly

      November 25, 2019
      McGhee (Never Coming Back) dwells on bad things happening to a good person in this frustrating tale of morality and sexual assault. Massage therapist Mallie Williams, 21, had what she thought was an idyllic life, sharing a home in upstate New York with her first love, Zach Miller, and her younger brother, Charlie. As children, Mallie and Charlie were abandoned by their widowed mother, Lucia, for a cultlike church, though they’ve since found a surrogate family in Zach, their neighbor William T., and his girlfriend, Crystal. Then Mallie is raped by a stranger and suffers a coma-inducing head injury. The rape resulted in Mallie becoming pregnant, and she awakens 16 months later, having given birth via C-section and slept through a media-driven battle over what should be done about her pregnancy. Charlie flees to a Pennsylvania boarding school to escape public scrutiny, while Zach weighs in on what should happen with the baby. Sentimental optimism and Mallie’s implausible empathy for the rapist undercut this testament of surviving a nightmarish scenario. McGhee’s exploration of tough questions misses the mark.

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  • English

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