Scan barcode
A review by heresmika
Dangerous Play by Emma Kress
4.0
(3.75/5)
I started reading this book and I enjoyed it so much that I was ready to slap the 5/5 rating immediately. Unfortunately, the book went downhill afterward.
In short, why should you read this book?
- The main characters are a team of badass girls that play field hockey. They are all fierce and interesting and protect each other
- The book focuses on the effects of sexual assault and the girls that try to make their school a safer place
- The writing style was so good. I don't know what stood out to me, but I'll add the first paragraph of the book just so you could see: "The air feels different out here - wilder, freer. In a few minutes, our girls will jump out of windows and leap off roofs all over town. Ava already has. I could leap off this roof, swing around the elm branch, and let go into a tight flip before landing on the ground. It would totally get a 10 from the German judge. But the soles of my shoes stick to my bedroom floor, and my hands hold tight to the window frame. I'm not Ava." —- just look at that, it's so exciting and descriptive and great.
I really liked the premise of the book. Following the captain of the girls' hockey team after she had been assaulted and see her try to defy the current problems in her town and help others. The way I thought it will happen is through protest or a movement or forming a group with other people in a similar situation. But, the book was a lot more violent than that. I could somewhat understand what lead the main character to act this way, but she just threw rationality out of the window and ignored what her friends said.
Not only that, but the team really wanted the people that harmed them to pay for that, but when they did something horrible they didn't get consequences.
I think my main problem is that the plot went in a really weird direction. It was still interesting and I wanted to see what happened next, but there were times when I just wanted to leave the book.
Another part that I didn't enjoy was the way the parents treated the main character after she said that she felt like she is working/doing more than she needs to.
I did like how the author managed to still focus on the hockey games and showed them practicing. There were a lot of interesting parts that I didn’t see in any other book; the team learned how to parkour and played during the night with glow-in-the-dark gear. It was done in a really nice way :) I also liked the friendship between the teammates and the romance was really cute.
Overall, I really enjoyed the beginning and ending of the book. The relationships in the book were meaningful and made me smile. Something just didn’t work for me with some of the plot lines but it was still enjoyable !
I started reading this book and I enjoyed it so much that I was ready to slap the 5/5 rating immediately. Unfortunately, the book went downhill afterward.
In short, why should you read this book?
- The main characters are a team of badass girls that play field hockey. They are all fierce and interesting and protect each other
- The book focuses on the effects of sexual assault and the girls that try to make their school a safer place
- The writing style was so good. I don't know what stood out to me, but I'll add the first paragraph of the book just so you could see: "The air feels different out here - wilder, freer. In a few minutes, our girls will jump out of windows and leap off roofs all over town. Ava already has. I could leap off this roof, swing around the elm branch, and let go into a tight flip before landing on the ground. It would totally get a 10 from the German judge. But the soles of my shoes stick to my bedroom floor, and my hands hold tight to the window frame. I'm not Ava." —- just look at that, it's so exciting and descriptive and great.
I really liked the premise of the book. Following the captain of the girls' hockey team after she had been assaulted and see her try to defy the current problems in her town and help others. The way I thought it will happen is through protest or a movement or forming a group with other people in a similar situation. But, the book was a lot more violent than that. I could somewhat understand what lead the main character to act this way, but she just threw rationality out of the window and ignored what her friends said.
Spoiler
3 girls from the team got guns and kidnapped one of the guys that harmed them. One of them shot him, and although it was okay in the end, it was still so fucked up.Not only that, but the team really wanted the people that harmed them to pay for that, but when they did something horrible they didn't get consequences.
I think my main problem is that the plot went in a really weird direction. It was still interesting and I wanted to see what happened next, but there were times when I just wanted to leave the book.
Another part that I didn't enjoy was the way the parents treated the main character after she said that she felt like she is working/doing more than she needs to.
Spoiler
the main character's dad had an accident and he couldn't move. The girl felt like her mom didn't help at all and instead the girl had to take care of her dad + do a lot of chores by herself. The parents made her feel like everything is her fault instead of thanking her for everything that she does but also showing her why she is incorrect. "All this time I've been the one holding him back. I've been the one making their lives harder" (page 250). And this theme repeats itself - even if she misjudged the situation, she still did a lot and her parents shouldn't make her feel this way.I did like how the author managed to still focus on the hockey games and showed them practicing. There were a lot of interesting parts that I didn’t see in any other book; the team learned how to parkour and played during the night with glow-in-the-dark gear. It was done in a really nice way :) I also liked the friendship between the teammates and the romance was really cute.
Overall, I really enjoyed the beginning and ending of the book. The relationships in the book were meaningful and made me smile. Something just didn’t work for me with some of the plot lines but it was still enjoyable !