Deep Dark Blue

March 26, 2018
Actor and performer Tate had dreamed of attending the United States Air Force Academy since she was 11. At 18, the popular student athlete got her wish and started her career in the military. Tate was mentally and physically prepared for the rigors of cadet life, but she wasn’t prepared for the violence and sexual assaults she endured, first from a female teammate, mentor, and someone she considered a friend. Her second betrayal comes at the hands of a male upperclassman who was trying to keep Tate quiet concerning the previous incidents. Written in a brash and often jarring vernacular (“GET YOUR BASIC ASSES OUT INTO THE HALLWAY NOOOW, PEOPLE!”), Tate does not hold back from recalling in excruciating detail the assaults and the systematic destruction of her psyche. While her candid and conversational writing style does not always allow for subtlety, her memoir—part cautionary tale and part survival story—finds strength through its raw emotional honesty and brave revelations about the different manifestations of abuse. Ages 17–up.

June 1, 2018

Gr 9 Up-Polo Tate was a promising student who had been selected to attend the United States Air Force. At first, she excelled at her studies, made new friends, loved her volleyball team, and had found particular favor with the captain, here named Tip Attila. Little by little, Attila insinuated herself into all aspects of Tate's life, until Tate realized the relationship was not healthy. Before Tate was able to extract herself from the situation, Attila sexually assaulted her. In the months that remained of her freshman year, Tate picked up the pieces of her life and had to decide what to do next. The author does not pull any punches. Throughout, Tate and the rest of her squad are subject to both mental and physical abuse by those who outrank them. Male recruits belittle the female recruits with crass language and horrible jokes. The writing is direct and authentic, and through Tate's honest account, readers come to understand her determination to survive. However, there are many distracting metaphors and awkward flashbacks that render the narrative a bit choppy. VERDICT An additional purchase for YA collections where memoirs are popular.-Jeni Tahaney, Summit High School, Manfield, TX

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from May 15, 2018
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* Even from a young age, Polo Tate loved sports and imagined serving in the military. Her first day of basic training at the U.S. Air Force Academy, where she was also recruited to play for the women's volleyball team, was the beginning of a dream come true. In her debut memoir, Tate tells how this dream quickly shattered when the women's volleyball captain, an upperclassman who outranked her, psychologically manipulated and eventually sexually assaulted her. Like many survivors, Tate blamed herself and did not tell anyone. As she describes in detail how her experiences with Her Horrible Her begin to impact her physically, emotionally, and academically, she also exposes an eye-opening campus culture in which cadets are expected to be tough, classmates turn a blind eye to those in need, and cruelty runs amok. She delivers more shocking interactions with upperclassmen who warn her to keep her mouth shut with increasing violence that culminates in rape by Him Horrible Him. The resulting trauma and downward spiral are stunning and palpable. Although readers may not see the justice Tate deserves, in the end they do see a young woman who learns to heal and move on. In the wake of the #MeToo movement, this gripping memoir reveals the pervasive effects of abuse of power, and the ability to overcome it.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)