Want an “at a glance” look at what I thought? Check out my Review On A Post-It or my “Final Thought”
When Romy is raped by the sheriff’s son and school’s golden boy nobody believes her. She loses all her friends and is a target for bullying and the community further brands her as trouble — as if she didn’t already have a hard time being the daughter of a notorious drunk. But then Penny, her old best friend and friend of the boy who raped her, goes missing the same night something happens to Romy that makes her unable to remember any of it. Romy is faced with speaking up about the things she knows that could help find Penny or keep silent because nobody will believe her anyways.
LADIES. I love you all. It’s not easy being female. Can we all have a big group hug out of mutual respect? So much more strength in empowering one another than tearing each other down (something the world already does).
This is my second Courtney Summers novel (the first one was Some Girls Are which is AMAZING) and I’m just going to need to read ALL of her books. I’m in awe of her ability to explore the female experience with such intricacy and depth. Her books are thought-provoking, smart and are pretty much books I want to hand to every teenager ever.
All the Rage was a fury of raw emotions and touched on a lot of important issues — victim-shaming, slut-shaming, rape and rape culture, etc. — without feeling like “HAI I AM HERE TO TALK ABOUT ISSUES.” It’s bold and unapologetic. And important. SO IMPORTANT. I felt similar to how I felt when I read about Speak — like I just wanted this novel discussed by everyone everywhere. Like, let’s talk about this and how real it is and how we can change it and look at our own lives and the things we perpetuate.
3 things made this book really work for me:
1. THE EMOTIONS: You ever read a book and just feel like you have FIRE just running through your veins and you are about two seconds away from accidentally lighting the book in your hands on fire and everything around it? THIS WAS ME. How Romy was treated??? I WANT TO SCREAM JUST THINKING ABOUT IT. I felt so much anger and sadness at the same time which made me a hurricane of feels. Nobody believes that Romy was raped. Not even her best friend. The adults around her (minus her awesome mom and the mom’s boyfriend) are extremely shitty about it, too. The victim-blaming and shaming that goes on is hard to endure. They think she’s just the Girl Who Cried Rape and they won’t ever let her live that down. EVER. Especially because the precious popular boy gets sent away. So not only is she getting bullied but she has to live with the truth and the trauma of being raped. Everybody fails Romy in this situation and it is HEART-BREAKING. I just wanted to reach out and be like, “I believe you.” I felt how hopeless she feels. The gut-wrenching sorrow in her heart. The unbridled anger towards these people. I felt it all.
2. The mystery: In the present part of the storyline (it jumps around a little), something happens to Romy in which she ends up on the side of the road and has no idea how she got there or what happened leading up to that. She’s found but learns that Penny, her former best friend, is also missing. The two mysteries — where Penny could be and what happened to Romy that same night — and the question of their connectedness made this quite the page-turner.
3. All the important conversations this book can bring about: Sometimes I forget, because the book world especially that on Twitter, is ALWAYS having these conversations — about slut-shaming, victim-shaming, rape culture, feminism, etc — that it’s not the same for other circles I run in (and my Facebook minus the book people). Largely these issues are ignored. Because people don’t want to talk about them. People don’t know what to say. It makes me SICK to my stomach that what Romy goes through is a reality. Girls are raped. People don’t believe them. People tell them it was their fault because they were dressed a certain way or because they are “that kind of girl.” Girls question whether they were raped because of the way society spins it — “but you liked him” “but you had sex with him before” “but you didn’t SAY no” “you were drunk” etc etc. We, as humans, need to have a discussion about rape and rape culture. It makes me want to protect my nieces (similar to how Romy wishes for a baby in the story to not be born a girl) from how harsh life can be for us ladies. All the Rage also made me so so shameful for my own past in high school and college with slut-shaming and judging and making other assumptions about other girls. We need to stick together. We don’t have to like or understand each other but we have to look out for each other. I could go on and on in more depth about the things this book tackles in a real and honest way.
If I’m honest I had two minor issues with All the Rage, but the importance of the story and what it made me feel, trumped those but they are worth noting. I don’t know WHY but I was having some troubles with the timeline (I don’t normally have issues with different timelines). I mean, I figured it out but it confused me some. The second thing was, that while I rooted for and loved Romy, I did have a hard time feeling like I KNEW her. We don’t see a whole lot of Romy before everything happens so I can’t get a sense for who she is. It makes sense in the context of the story because Romy kind of doesn’t know who she is anymore and WANTS that old girl back — but it *did* make it hard for me to feel like I knew who she was.
+ writing, plot, importance of content & the voice it gave, emotional connection
– timeline issues, little bit of distance from who Romy was
Re-readability: It was a HARD read that took a lot out of me so it’s hard to tell right now.
Would I buy a copy for my collection? I want to buy it for every person on this planet to read.
fans of contemporary YA, readers who don’t mind something a little grittier and “darker”, readers who want a great issues book without being an “issues book” (never felt for a moment like that), fans of Courtney Summer’s other books (same signature ability to write amazing females & explore the complexities), readers looking for a book like Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
What an important book! It’s the kind of book that riles you up because its in-your-face truth and makes you want to change the world. It’s a tough read, no doubt, but I couldn’t put it down for the mystery and to know what would happen to Romy. Loved the sweet romance but was glad it didn’t overtake the story! Wish I could have a novella to see how things turned out for them!
* Have you read this one? What did you think? Similar or different from me? I would LOVE to hear regardless!
*If you haven’t read it, does it feel like something you’d be into?
GIVEAWAY
Thanks to St. Martin’s Griffin I have a copy of All the Rage to give to one of you! You must have a US/Canada mailing address to enter.
Tina says
I heard about All The Rage through Twitter, I believe I saw you and one other person tweet about it and decided to check it out. As soon as I saw the synopsis I knew I wanted to read it, I’m currently waiting for my copy from the library. I loved your review, it was quite similar to another one I read. I agree, it is a shame that there are girls who have been raped and people around them do not believe them. It’s something we need to change.
-Tina
Jen says
This book sounds really interesting. I think I’ll check it out, but make sure I’m in the right mind set for something darker and serious.
Jamie says
Yeah, you will definitely need to be in the right mood for it! I had to kind of put it down and go workout at some points because it was so intense and maddening at times! Will be curious to know what you think when you do read it!
Cynthia says
I read this one last month and I LOVED it!! I read it within 24 hours because I just couldn’t put it down. This was my first book by Courtney Summers but it will not be my last!
Jamie says
SO INTENSE. I started it a little bit before work and then I was like OMG WHY DO I HAVE TO GO ANYWHERE. I wanted to just read it. I’ve only read Some Girls Are but I HIGHLY recommend that one. I’m definitely going to be perusing her backlist, that’s for sure!
Frannie Pan @ In Clouds of Pages says
I’m very interested in the topics this book deal with. And I’ve never read a Courtney Summers book, so I can’t wait to dive in!
Jamie says
I hope you read it soon! I would love to talk about it with you!!! I’ve read 2 CS books and she definitely is an author who I plan to read all her books. Thank god she has a backlist!!
Frannie Pan @ Frannie in the Pages says
You’re so sweet!!
I’ll definitely try to read it soon! :3
Kimberly says
I am in love with Courtney Summers and I can’t wait to read this book! Thanks for the review it has increased my excitement and now I really just want to get my hands on this. I think she’s really good at focusing on issues girls face and manages to pick apart girl bullying, which can often be subtle but does just as much damage.
So excited!
Breenah says
I have three of Courtney Summers’ books on my TBR list and haven’t managed to read any of them (my list is ridiculously long) so maybe owning one of her books would get me there!
Rayna says
I’d definitely be into reading this. I’ve been reading diverse, hard hitting issue books lately, so this seems right up that alley. I haven’t read any of Courtney Summers’ books yet, but I’m willing to give her a read.
Donna @ OnDBookshelf says
I’ve never read anything by this author, and from all the great reviews I’ve seen of this book, it sounds like I need to remedy that!
Trina says
I’ve been wanting to read this and your tweets and this review have me really amped up for it! I need a hard hitting contemp.
Sandy S. says
I was lucky enough to read this book and I really enjoyed it. It was an emotional read that had me screaming at the book many times. I really liked the character of Romy, although at times, I was ready to give her a piece of my mind. I think I liked her so much because she was so real, she tried to hold so much inside yet at times, she just couldn’t hold it any longer. Great review and like you said, “It’s the kind of book that riles you up because its in-your-face truth and makes you want to change the world. It’s a tough read, no doubt, but I couldn’t put it down for the mystery and to know what would happen to Romy. “
Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit says
I’ve never read a Courtney Summers book, and I wasn’t sure if I was going to put this on my TBR or not, because I’m a little scared of the anger I’m going to feel…but now I’m sure. I think this book is important enough that I have to read it, that I have to be okay with getting angry – and it’s right that I should be. You’re right, though, Jamie, that we talk about victim-shaming and slut-shaming a lot in the book world – but it doesn’t get talked about a lot outside. Maybe this will be the book to do it.
Jayvee @ Writer For Misfits says
The premise seems very deep. Raped huh? Wow! Btw, *hugs*
I think we all need that book that would really frustrate us and make us angry because it’s so good. I’ll try to see if I can grab a copy of this! Hopefully!!!
Christina R. says
Because I LOVE her writing and all issues she tackles are always important!
I have a CAnadian address but rafflecopter might show my location outside CAnada because I’m doing a semester abroad
thank you so very much 🙂
Sara says
Have heard nothing but good things about this book, so I really want to read it!
JoLee says
Good book and I loved the #forthegirls tags that went around twitter on Tuesday too. I also found the timeline a little confusing. I kept thinking “Wait? Is this before or now?”
Lauren Wilkerson says
This book sounds really intense, which makes it really interesting to me. I’d love to read it!
Holly J says
I want to read this book because of all the amazing things I’ve heard about it! That sounds so generic. Okay, it’s mostly because I love raw and unapologetic books, and main characters who make me mad but sympathize. I just love really dark contemporaries and ones that are important even if they make me want to throw the book at the wall. Haha. 🙂 Lovely review, Jamie!
Marissa Manning says
I want to read All the Rage because I love Courtney’s books, but I’m also nervous because of the heavy topic. Loved your review!
Gabriella M. says
I’m quite inteigued. It’s definitely going on my list! Thank you for the chance to win a copy. Have a lovely rest of your day!
Kaitlyn A. says
I want to read this book because it deals with social issues that are often avoided in young adult books.
Rebecca says
This sounds like such an incredible, infuriating book. I’ve wanted to read it ever since I first heard about it because it sounds like such a relevant book, especially in todays society. Does it sound like it’s hard to read? Yes. Does it look like a book we need to be reading and sharing and talking about? YES. Loved your review and everything you had to say. Hopefully I’ll be picking this one up soon.
Katherine says
I’m not really a huge fan of darker and gritty contemporary like this, but all the reviews and the hashtag campaign earlier this week have really intrigued me about this book. I agree it’s an important topic and Summers sounds like the perfect author to address it. Maybe I’ll pick it up, but it’s definitely something I have to be in the head space for.
Tiffany says
This sounds like a great book, I’ve been looking for a good recommendation!
Pili @ In Love With Handmade says
I’ve read other amazing reviews for this one and yours just adds to the pile that is tipping the scales to getting myself a copy of this one ASAP, book buying ban or not!
I love books that make me stop and think about the issues that I feel strongly about, because they remind me that not everyone feels like that and I need to spread the conversation about those issues more!
Fantastic review, Jamie!
Anna Weimer (@lostbraincell) says
I want to read this because I know it is a book that while it will shred me is super important to be out there in the world. I have the ARC but haven’t read it yet and really want to read a finished copy instead.
Michelle Lee says
I thought the synopsis sound intriguing. This story deals with a real issue that’s common around the world. To make a story out of that is really moving. Thank you for this amazing chance. I’m really looking forward to it! 🙂
Michelle says
I loved this one. Like you, I think it is a novel that everyone should read because the discussions to be had from reading it are so important. You are absolutely correct in that it is not an easy read by any means. It leaves you stripped naked and vulnerable, but we need that in literature sometimes. I hope that others read it and love it as much as we both did!
Melissa says
I want to read this book so badly. I just recently discovered Courtney Summers. I read her book Cracked up to Be and was floored at the writing. Read that book next, you will love it.
Shannon @ It Starts At Midnight says
I have just heard such amazing things about this book! I know it is going to be VERY hard to read, due to the subject matter, but I think it is so, so important.
Savannah says
The first few chapters were hard to follow, but once you get past them it’s great! I believe that’s what you were talking about when you said you couldn’t get the timelines right. It was confusing and honestly would have been better with just a straight timeline instead of the two week difference.