The Rumor Game is a YA novel told through the perspectives of three teenage girls at an elite Washington DC high school. Throughout the story each of them is impacted in some way by the rumors, lies, and social media attention until they decide something must be done. Overall, I give this book 3 stars (which I consider to be a good, but not great book) My reasons are as follows:
Pros:
Unfortunately social media has made bullying easier than ever and this book highlights that. All three of our narrators as well as other students are intrenched in rumors and lies. It impacts all areas of their lives and it often causes them and other characters to make decisions that they might otherwise not in response to feeling attacked, shunned, or even worshipped.
I also like that in the end there were consequences (some deserved, some satisfying, some frustrating), but it wasn't like they got out of this mess unscarred. In real life there are consequences ranging from losing friends or your reputation to serious accident, death, or jail time and this did show that reality.
I was nervous about the format, but ended up really liking it. Having the story take place not only through our narrators' perspectives, but also through social media platforms shows their lack of control over the rumors and how much it impacts a whole community.
There is a lot of diversity in this book and I believe kids would find someone who at least looks like them.
This book is entertaining and dramatic like a Pretty Little Liars or Riverdale ( or Tiny Pretty Things: the authors' other book)
so it should draw treens in and keep their attention, but it also deals with very serious topics like: cyber bullying, gaslighting, racism, slut shaming, and sexual assault.
Cons:
I personally think that having all the characters be the sons and daughters of politicians, diplomats, and wealthy business owners lessens the relatability for your average teen as it focuses on the experiences of the upper 20% with their gated communities, country clubs, lavish houses, servants, and unlimited resources. It makes it seem like this is more of a rich kid problem instead of something that faces all teenagers.
I think it tried to take on too much. As stated before, this book covers a lot of issues (more than I even mentioned) so it can't really go in-depth on any of them. I personally found parts of the book so traumatic I wasnt sure I wanted to keep reading, but then we just get a list of different resources in the back instead of serious discussions of these topics. I just feel like the authors could have focused on less issues and gone more in-depth on those.
Pros of the Audiobook:
I always like when audiobooks have different narrators when the book is in different perspectives. This is narrated that way. However, there are 3 characters and two narrators, so that makes it a little confusing.
Listening to the story you get the sounds of text messages, emails, and posts that bring you more fully into the digital part of the story. You also can hear the emotions of our main characters.
Cons of the audiobook:
There is a section of the book called rumor log which is repeated each time a new rumor is added. This is nice at first, but as the rumors pile up it gets repetitive. I could quote the whole list word for word from memory I heard it so many times. (If you were reading the print version, you would just skim the list or look at the last entry)
Overall, I might recommend this to my students (after discussing the content), and I do think it shines a light on the serious issues teenagers face. Definitely check all content warnings before reading.
Thank you to Netgalley and Disney Publishing Worldwide for an audiobook version of this book. This is my honest review.
Graphic: Bullying, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Rape, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Misogyny, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Cursing, Alcohol, Infidelity, Vomit, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, and Car accident