** spoiler alert ** 
 For the most part, I thought this was very well done. (Aside from some frustrating plot conveniences early on.) I think this would be an interesting compare and contrast to All the Rage, since they're similar concepts (small Canadian towns, public reaction to rape, etc), but with different angles. I don't think one approach is better than the other, because as a reader you get different things out of the stories, but it's an intriguing comparison. The friendship stuff was especially well done, and really was the core of the story, which I quite liked.