A review by emilyanne3000
The Revenge Playbook by Rachael Allen

4.0

What a gem! This book is everything I wanted and more. Sure, it was fun and hilarious at parts, but also dealt with serious issues. The Revenge Playbook is Important with a capital I, yet isn't yelling in your face. (Although at some parts you'll feel like yelling in anger... in a good way.) I urge you to pick up this read that I adored greatly!

Firstly, the friendship is on point. My heart was warmed and I LOVE seeing female friendship in books with different dynamics. Often, I feel as if the same friendship tropes are recycled and overused but Allen impressed me. It was sweet and empowering.

Each girl had her own story, but I didn’t feel as if the book was choppy as a result. In fact, knowing so much about each girl made their friendship all the more powerful and brought in so many more themes/discussion topics such as rape culture, stepping out of your comfort zone, teacher bias, religion, and divorce. Additionally, the author points out that girls shouldn't be ridiculed whether they wear very modest clothes or show skin... and points out other unfair double standards in which the girl can never win. (and there is dancing :D)

There is romance, although it isn't the focus of the novel. I loved all the the love interests. They were real, and some made mistakes, but all were good guys (unlike some specific football team members). I especially loved Trevor and Michael.

Sure, you are supposed to hate some horrible football players and some unfair teachers and counselors (Ugh. I'm still angry about Peyton's geometry class!). However, there are still great characters such as the protagonists (duh), the aforementioned love interests, guy and girl friends, and even awesome bikers. You also get a glimpse into some of the girl's families and see so many different parent dynamics. There is such a great variety of characters!

Of course, the scavenger hunt for the sacred football (or whatever) was so much fun and I had a blast reading about it! I felt as if something of mine was at stake while reading! (BEAT THAT HORRIBLE FOOTBALL TEAM GIRLS!) This leads me to the conclusion. I wanted to see MORE MORE MORE justice but I guess the book was trying to be realistic. *sigh* I still loved the ending though. It put me to tears and I felt a sense of rightness in the world finally.

Overall, read this book. There is so much awesomeness to discuss. (And it is a feminist's dream!)