Review: All the Rage, by Courtney Summers

All the Rage Series: Standalone
on April 14th 2015
Pages: 336
Read it as: eBook
My rating:
Check it out in Goodreads
Synopsis

The sheriff's son, Kellan Turner, is not the golden boy everyone thinks he is, and Romy Grey knows that for a fact. Because no one wants to believe a girl from the wrong side of town, the truth about him has cost her everything--friends, family, and her community. Branded a liar and bullied relentlessly by a group of kids she used to hang out with, Romy's only refuge is the diner where she works outside of town. No one knows her name or her past there; she can finally be anonymous. But when a girl with ties to both Romy and Kellan goes missing after a party, and news of him assaulting another girl in a town close by gets out, Romy must decide whether she wants to fight or carry the burden of knowing more girls could get hurt if she doesn't speak up. Nobody believed her the first time--and they certainly won't now--but the cost of her silence might be more than she can bear.? With a shocking conclusion and writing that will absolutely knock you out, Courtney Summers' new novel All the Rage examines the shame and silence inflicted upon young women in a culture that refuses to protect them.

 

 

 

You must already know it by now. But it never hurts to be sure. This story is powerful. The cover alone says it’s not a happy one, and it’ll be hard to read. And it was.

There are brief flashbacks of the rape incident itself, nothing too graphic. But it still manages to be raw, and thought-provoking, because I was in Romy’s head, and Romy wasn’t sure she wanted what was happening to her and she was crying and it was awful.

And then, nothing.

Nothing is done about it. She prefers to put it behind her and move on with her life. Only, it’s not possible. It’s always there. In the way she has to armor herself with indifference and makeup.

After the disaster that was reading Cracked Up to Be, this book made me remember why I respected and loved Courtney Summers’ stories; beginning with Some Girls Are. 

There were some truly heartbreaking things in this book that made me rage at the world. Because like a most of the  stuff feminists fight about, it’s there in our daily lives but we take it as a default, instead of speaking up. This is a story of a girl who tried and no one protected her.

I hope it’s not a girl. -Romy about another woman’s unborn child.

 

All the things coming Ava’s way they won’t be able to control. Things she won’t ask for because she’s a girl. She doesn’t even know how hard it’s going to be yet, but she will, because all girls find out.

Excuse me, but that’s one of the saddest things I’ve ever read. And it’s true. Don’t get me wrong, I love being a girl, but it sucks when the world is hell bent on holding you back.

Romy herself seemed very well-described to me. I was afraid at first that I’d be reading about an unreasonable character that was too affected, or not affected enough. But I think there was balance here. It’s always a delicate thing, with a book with themes like rape and bullying.

I was a little disappointed at the end, but I keep reminding myself not everything can be wrapped-up with a tidy bow. It was an ending that worked, so don’t worry about it.

I think this is an important book to read, not sure if worth all of the hype, but definitely something.

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