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amermaidslibrary's review
5.0
This book is all kinds of awesome. This was a story about a group of a girl’s versus the football team at their school and it deals with slut shamming and double standards. It's about accepting who you are and not caring about what anyone else thinks. This was such an empowering book and I whole heartily recommend it.
shay23's review
5.0
Actual rating: 4.5 Stars
So in this book, you have four very different, very strong, very angry and hurt girls and one plan for revenge against the whole football team. I've really grown to love books like this one, where there's a lot of focus on how some people get treated differently than others and how small town life can completely revolve, start and end, around the high school football team. Now, I never went to a real high school so I don't know if these things really happen, to this degree, but I love reading about it and Rachael Allen did such a good job capturing this whole horrible thing in a book.
This book kind of has it all, great characters who are very different from each other so that when you're switching back and forth before their different points of view you aren't confused. A whole big enemy, the football team. Great writing and a revenge plot. I love revenge plots, if they're done right. Some kind come off as way too petty but The Revenge Playbook stays far away from that. It's about four girls who have been wronged by the football and are tired of the players getting whatever the f*** they want and getting away with everything. So they decide to get revenge.
How? Simple. Every year the football team goes on a scavenger hunt, if they complete it in time they get their old superstition filled football, if they lose, they walk on the field for the homecoming game in their birthday suits. After a few failed attempts at stealing this football the girls decide to compete, even though no one's ever tried to before.
A few of my favorite things:
- Characters. You know me, I'm big on characters and this book is filled with many great characters. First you have the girls: Peyton, Ana, Melanie Jane, and Liv. I'm hard pressed to pick a favorite because I loved them all so much. Peyton is kind of shy and reserved but, even though she's the only one to have never been directly hurt by the football team, she's more than willing to jump in on this plan because she knows it's what's right. Ana is hurt and slightly broken but strong as hell and won't put up with anyone's shit. Melanie Jane is the cheerleader, the alpha girl, but she's so much more than that too. In fact, she probably has the most personality out of all of them. And Liv, Liv is fiery as hell and oh so much fun, she's the one that rallies them. You also have some good side characters including parents, almost maybe boyfriends and even an ex-boyfriend, but all of this is secondary to the girls and their newly formed friendship, which is always a plus for me.
- The Scavenger Hunt. So the book goes back and forth, they'll be a little dare chapter, then a few chapters that come before the night of the scavenger hunt, and though this made me feel like a was missing a few parts, I loved the way it was set up. Still, the dares were my favorite parts. It made the characters feel so...liberated and as I reader you felt that too.
Overall: I really loved this one. There were a few things I wanted time to develop a little more, but it was nothing major, just a few loose ends I wanted tied. This book is really just the perfect balance between fun and deep. There are some serious issues addressed in this one and I loved that the author didn't shy away from it while she still managed to make it feel like a fun book.
Would I Recommend This? Yup.
Who To? People who love contemporary books that perfectly mesh fun and tough.
Will I read more from this author(or series)? Yes, definitely.
This review first appeared @ The Story Goes...
So in this book, you have four very different, very strong, very angry and hurt girls and one plan for revenge against the whole football team. I've really grown to love books like this one, where there's a lot of focus on how some people get treated differently than others and how small town life can completely revolve, start and end, around the high school football team. Now, I never went to a real high school so I don't know if these things really happen, to this degree, but I love reading about it and Rachael Allen did such a good job capturing this whole horrible thing in a book.
This book kind of has it all, great characters who are very different from each other so that when you're switching back and forth before their different points of view you aren't confused. A whole big enemy, the football team. Great writing and a revenge plot. I love revenge plots, if they're done right. Some kind come off as way too petty but The Revenge Playbook stays far away from that. It's about four girls who have been wronged by the football and are tired of the players getting whatever the f*** they want and getting away with everything. So they decide to get revenge.
How? Simple. Every year the football team goes on a scavenger hunt, if they complete it in time they get their old superstition filled football, if they lose, they walk on the field for the homecoming game in their birthday suits. After a few failed attempts at stealing this football the girls decide to compete, even though no one's ever tried to before.
A few of my favorite things:
- Characters. You know me, I'm big on characters and this book is filled with many great characters. First you have the girls: Peyton, Ana, Melanie Jane, and Liv. I'm hard pressed to pick a favorite because I loved them all so much. Peyton is kind of shy and reserved but, even though she's the only one to have never been directly hurt by the football team, she's more than willing to jump in on this plan because she knows it's what's right. Ana is hurt and slightly broken but strong as hell and won't put up with anyone's shit. Melanie Jane is the cheerleader, the alpha girl, but she's so much more than that too. In fact, she probably has the most personality out of all of them. And Liv, Liv is fiery as hell and oh so much fun, she's the one that rallies them. You also have some good side characters including parents, almost maybe boyfriends and even an ex-boyfriend, but all of this is secondary to the girls and their newly formed friendship, which is always a plus for me.
- The Scavenger Hunt. So the book goes back and forth, they'll be a little dare chapter, then a few chapters that come before the night of the scavenger hunt, and though this made me feel like a was missing a few parts, I loved the way it was set up. Still, the dares were my favorite parts. It made the characters feel so...liberated and as I reader you felt that too.
Overall: I really loved this one. There were a few things I wanted time to develop a little more, but it was nothing major, just a few loose ends I wanted tied. This book is really just the perfect balance between fun and deep. There are some serious issues addressed in this one and I loved that the author didn't shy away from it while she still managed to make it feel like a fun book.
Would I Recommend This? Yup.
Who To? People who love contemporary books that perfectly mesh fun and tough.
Will I read more from this author(or series)? Yes, definitely.
This review first appeared @ The Story Goes...
nej's review
4.0
There were parts that I really, really hated, but I really ended up loving this entire book. The characters were really surprising/unexpected without having to tell the reader too much, and it dealt with serious issues under the glossy cover. I almost gave up on it, but I'm really glad I didn't. Unexpectedly good. And did I seriously want to punt some footballers...
lpcoolgirl's review
5.0
Oh, reading this book after What We Saw, was really awesome! Loved the back and forth, and this story, and these girls! People should not treat others like that!
glire's review
3.0
"I want football players to be treated like everybody else, and for the guys at this school to realize that rape culture isn’t something feminists invented so they could have something new to be pissed about, and so many other things I don’t even have words for yet."
2015 Reading Challenge #36: A book set in high school
Finalmente, luego de un poco mas de dos semanas, lo he terminado. Cansancio, I blame you por la tardanza.
- RATING -
Como entretenimiento: 2 estrellas.
A la historia le faltó muchísimo en el desarrollo de los personajes; todos son unidimensionales y están dispuestos en la historia solo para cumplir con un rol especifico. Tenemos a la chica tímida, a la extrovertida, a la reina de belleza que hace todo perfecto y a la que usa ropa vintage y recrea escenas de Game of Thrones con sus amigos. Mientras que los "malos" (los jugadores del equipo de fútbol americano) parecen villanos de comiquitas. De hecho, no puedo dejar de imaginarme a Chad como Scar y a los demás jugadores como las hienas.
Por otra parte, de los personajes secundarios no hay mucho que decir, solo vemos un atisbo; una mención a un padre por aquí, una mención de otro amigo por allá y nada más. Simples nombres de relleno. Sin embargo, a pesar de todo, la historia es divertida a ratos, especialmente cuando las chicas están cumpliendo los retos.
Como enseñanza: 4 estrellas.
En [b:The Revenge Playbook|23717499|The Revenge Playbook|Rachael Allen|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1419190730s/23717499.jpg|42803191] nos encontramos con cuatro chicas -Liv, Peyton, Melanie Jane y Ana- que se unen para luchar contra las expectativas de género. Que defienden su libertad sexual, y deciden no permitir siendo juzgadas por sus decisiones; ya sea permanecer virgen hasta el matrimonio (Melanie Jane) o no (Peyton y Liv). Que no están libres de los prejuicios machistas que inculca la sociedad, pero que han tomado conciencia.
"It takes about a second to look at their pictures and know why they made The List. And then another second to feel sick to your stomach that you just snap judged them the way the football team did."
Es la lucha contra el slut-shaming. La lucha por la verdadera igualdad: esa donde las mujeres dejamos de juzgarnos entre nosotras, por culpa de ideales de hombres. Un gran mensaje para su publico base, que son adolescentes. Y para las no tan adolescentes que aún sienten la necesidad de censurar a las demás por sus comportamientos sexuales.
soniajoy98's review
4.0
love the overall feminist themes and the fact that they aren’t all white blonde girls but the way some stuff was explained felt a little too “feminism 101” and not in depth or emotionally impactful enough for the situation BUT overall great and uplifting and I enjoyed it
bookishly_faith's review
4.0
Essentially, this book is about friendship. Sure, there is the whole revenge plot line, but these girls all join together to fight for something they believe in and bond because of it. It was just a really fun read that has complex characters and some awesome feminism messages. If you liked [b:Beauty Queens|9464733|Beauty Queens|Libba Bray|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1289410187s/9464733.jpg|10808145] because of its girl power and feminist messages, you will probably love this book.
I liked the characters a lot. You get a seriously diverse group of girls in this book, from your traditional catholic popular girl to a tomboy with a past that scars her. It was really fun to read about their lives and see these girls somehow become friends even though they have few things in common. They face their fears together and become stronger because of it. Some of the romance was really nice, but it wasn't a major part of the plot, so that was pretty good.
The plot was really fun. Watching them absolutely kill it while having fun was the best part. The story was told from alternate time periods, from before the the girls take revenge to the night they do the activities of revenge. If you loved Margo's revenge scheme in [b:Paper Towns|6442769|Paper Towns|John Green|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1349013610s/6442769.jpg|3364505], you'll find this part of the book entertaining.
I think the themes and the ending were some of my favourite things about this book. I liked the girl power elements. Sure, a lot of books have good themes, but this book is specifically about trying to make you proud to be a girl.
Just go read this book if you're looking for a good time.
I liked the characters a lot. You get a seriously diverse group of girls in this book, from your traditional catholic popular girl to a tomboy with a past that scars her. It was really fun to read about their lives and see these girls somehow become friends even though they have few things in common. They face their fears together and become stronger because of it. Some of the romance was really nice, but it wasn't a major part of the plot, so that was pretty good.
The plot was really fun. Watching them absolutely kill it while having fun was the best part. The story was told from alternate time periods, from before the the girls take revenge to the night they do the activities of revenge. If you loved Margo's revenge scheme in [b:Paper Towns|6442769|Paper Towns|John Green|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1349013610s/6442769.jpg|3364505], you'll find this part of the book entertaining.
I think the themes and the ending were some of my favourite things about this book. I liked the girl power elements. Sure, a lot of books have good themes, but this book is specifically about trying to make you proud to be a girl.
Spoiler
At the ending, while kind of frustrating that nothing changed, it was realistic, which I can appreciate.Just go read this book if you're looking for a good time.
denizyildiz's review
3.0
3.5 Stars
So I expect a cute & fluffy about love and friendship with some fun action thrown in... I mean look at the cover! The cover slut in me, was so sure this was going to be a cute read, then read the blurb.. Says cute & fluffy alright, doesn't it?
But while there is a bit of romance, there are cute moments - this ain't really fluffy. Which is not a bad thing by all means. I just expected different.
Instead I got a intricate story about date rape, hazing, injustice and hierarchy in High School and the forming of new friendships
Let me just be upfront: My biggest issue with this one is the format. Though I kinda like it retrospectively. While reading it, especially the first half, I struggled. Basically i like the idea of how the novel was structured but I don't like the execution.
There are four POVs and a whole lot of cast to this one. Now I have the most atrocious name memory- so this was a nightmare for me, since I kept having to go back and check who was who. Then the different POV all sound the same- which meant if I put the book down I half the time had to go back to check who's POV I was reading. Which made this a really slow read for me. Also since I got the ARC, I kinda had to leave back page by page on my kindle- totally annoying. About 30% in I got clever and started book marking each date and time and POV...
The story is also told on different timelines- so there is jumping back and forth happening. Again I found it rather confusing at the beginning.
Retrospectively this was done really cleverly. And when the timeline collided I thought it was super brilliant.
This is however rather well written otherwise, I like Allen's writing style. (except for the issues above) And I was wondering if I would have as much issues with it, if I had a hardcopy instead of the ebook. The POV problems stands I guess, and , my name memory, I am afraid to say, is always going to be hopeless.
The character building was done well. In fact in my opinion it's the best part of the book. There is a huge cast and at the end of the book I feel like know half the school. I really like the girls and I could related to them. It was interesting to see their journey, see how they changed and how they set out to do something on a bit of a whim, but not only followed through, but kinda uncovered much deeper issues. I like the different relationships the girls have with the cast.
Would you have asked me while I was somewhere before the 50% mark how much I would rate it- It would have been somewhere between 2 and 3 Stars. In fact, if I wouldn't have like the writing style while I was at around 20% I would have DNFed. But I am so glad I didn't. Because for the second half I would rate it 4 Stars.
Allen touch me with the story and the girls and somehow everything came together. I love that the end is actually very realistic. On the face of things no huge victories but those small ones? EPIC!
A beautiful book that takes some work getting through.
On another note: I would love this as a movie- someone make this into a movie please!
So I expect a cute & fluffy about love and friendship with some fun action thrown in... I mean look at the cover! The cover slut in me, was so sure this was going to be a cute read, then read the blurb.. Says cute & fluffy alright, doesn't it?
But while there is a bit of romance, there are cute moments - this ain't really fluffy. Which is not a bad thing by all means. I just expected different.
Instead I got a intricate story about date rape, hazing, injustice and hierarchy in High School and the forming of new friendships
Let me just be upfront: My biggest issue with this one is the format. Though I kinda like it retrospectively. While reading it, especially the first half, I struggled. Basically i like the idea of how the novel was structured but I don't like the execution.
There are four POVs and a whole lot of cast to this one. Now I have the most atrocious name memory- so this was a nightmare for me, since I kept having to go back and check who was who. Then the different POV all sound the same- which meant if I put the book down I half the time had to go back to check who's POV I was reading. Which made this a really slow read for me. Also since I got the ARC, I kinda had to leave back page by page on my kindle- totally annoying. About 30% in I got clever and started book marking each date and time and POV...
The story is also told on different timelines- so there is jumping back and forth happening. Again I found it rather confusing at the beginning.
Retrospectively this was done really cleverly. And when the timeline collided I thought it was super brilliant.
This is however rather well written otherwise, I like Allen's writing style. (except for the issues above) And I was wondering if I would have as much issues with it, if I had a hardcopy instead of the ebook. The POV problems stands I guess, and , my name memory, I am afraid to say, is always going to be hopeless.
The character building was done well. In fact in my opinion it's the best part of the book. There is a huge cast and at the end of the book I feel like know half the school. I really like the girls and I could related to them. It was interesting to see their journey, see how they changed and how they set out to do something on a bit of a whim, but not only followed through, but kinda uncovered much deeper issues. I like the different relationships the girls have with the cast.
Would you have asked me while I was somewhere before the 50% mark how much I would rate it- It would have been somewhere between 2 and 3 Stars. In fact, if I wouldn't have like the writing style while I was at around 20% I would have DNFed. But I am so glad I didn't. Because for the second half I would rate it 4 Stars.
Allen touch me with the story and the girls and somehow everything came together. I love that the end is actually very realistic. On the face of things no huge victories but those small ones? EPIC!
A beautiful book that takes some work getting through.
On another note: I would love this as a movie- someone make this into a movie please!
matamgirl's review
4.0
Four girls who either aren't friends anymore or who didn't know each other before get together to get revenge on the football team. That sounds a little bit like a terrible cliche but somehow this book really worked. Each of the four girls had a distinctive narrative voice so there was no confusion about who was speaking which was nice and is not easy to do. It was a fast-paced read and a good book about friendship and trusting other women.
barbaraescreve's review
4.0
3,5 stars
The book is amazing, but the last part felt a bit rushed to me.
My real problem was with Ana. Don't get me wrong - I loved the character, her story, how her storyline was handled. My problem was with the <>, how you would say. I'm born and raised in Brasil and some stuff just sounded fake and unnatural, you know? It's not offensive, it's just not... common. Not relatable. There are many things, tiny details, really, that don't interfere in nothing with the story, but that made me think that Ana (or Juliana, her full name) (really, WHO IN HEAVENS IS CALLED JULIANA AND HAS ANA AS A NICKNAME? Julie would make more sense, if the problem was americans being unable to say her name) is a "para inglês ver" brazilian.
Well, but apart from that, it's an amazing book! I believe people who are not from Brasil wouldn't even be able to notice the things I noticed. And it's an amazing book about feminism, friendship between girls and double standarts.
The book is amazing, but the last part felt a bit rushed to me.
My real problem was with Ana. Don't get me wrong - I loved the character, her story, how her storyline was handled. My problem was with the <
Well, but apart from that, it's an amazing book! I believe people who are not from Brasil wouldn't even be able to notice the things I noticed. And it's an amazing book about feminism, friendship between girls and double standarts.