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A review by reader_fictions
The Revenge Playbook by Rachael Allen
4.0
I adored Rachael Allen’s debut, 17 First Kisses, and her second novel proves that she’s here to stay on my list of favorites. Allen is a local author, and she just so happens to be super sweet too, which is a plus. I’m a little sad that The Revenge Playbook moves to Tennessee for a setting, because I love when books are set in my city, as her first was. The Revenge Playbook, like Allen’s debut, puts the focus on female friendships and the abuses of the patriarchy, but also doesn’t feel too heavy.
If you’re a Courtney Summers fan, I’d recommend trying Rachael Allen’s novels. They’re a bit fluffier than Courtney’s while also unflinchingly looking at rape culture. Obviously, that can only be so fluffy, considering that I definitely teared up at the end and felt healthy rage throughout, but I think Allen keeps the tone from getting too dark. I definitely think Summers is a better comparison than Jenny Han and Sarah Mlynowski from the blurb.
Allen does this by time skipping between the current timeline where the girls are running through the list of dares and trying to beat the football team at their own shenanigans to prove a point and the weeks leading up to that. The scavenger hunt dares are ridiculous and silly, and it’s so much fun to watch the girls complete them. It is also totally fabulous the way the girls take the horrible sexist ones and change them to be about men.
Peyton, Ana, Melanie Jane, and Liv all get together to try to take the football team down a notch. They all have their own reasons to be pissed about the actions of the patriarchy. Mel Jay and Liv were both dumped by their boyfriends on the team because they did not meet with the team’s approval, because they think Liv is a slut and that Mel Jay’s determination not to have sex until marriage makes her an unacceptable girlfriend. Peyton, who has ADHD and struggles to pay attention in class, hates the preferential treatment the football players get: extensions without docked points, assistance from the teacher, and a free pass to be obnoxious in class. Ana was raped by a guy on the football team.
My only issue with the four girls is that I did have a bit of trouble keeping their four first person perspectives clear in my head. I really loved the issues tackled in each perspective, because it shows a huge range of common insults and abuses thrown at women. I really liked all of the book, but I would have had way more feels if the perspectives were a bit more distinct.
When the girls start their mission, they’re not friends, but obviously they bond throughout the weeks of plotting. One of my favorite things is when people who were not friends have to team up to complete a common goal. I love watching them get to know one another past the reputation and assumptions to find that everyone actually is a real person with diverse interests.
Allen really excels at capturing teens and high school, which means that it’s not the most flattering portrayal. As the girls’ motivations should tell you, there’s bullying and unfair treatment all over the place. There is also a lot of slut-shaming throughout the novel, occasionally even by the heroines because this is a journey. The overall message is very much sex positive, virgin positive, and staunchly against the rape culture in the US.
Peppered throughout, there is indeed a bit of romance for those of us who live for ships. Of the four girls, two end up with boyfriends, and one has a potential love interest down the line. I really like that Allen resisted pairing them all up, because that sometimes happens, and it’s a bit too much romance, even for me. It’s still not the shippiest book, but one of the guys, Michael, is super wonderful.
The Revenge Playbook is another fabulous read from Rachael Allen. She is awesome, her books are awesome, and you guys should check them out.
If you’re a Courtney Summers fan, I’d recommend trying Rachael Allen’s novels. They’re a bit fluffier than Courtney’s while also unflinchingly looking at rape culture. Obviously, that can only be so fluffy, considering that I definitely teared up at the end and felt healthy rage throughout, but I think Allen keeps the tone from getting too dark. I definitely think Summers is a better comparison than Jenny Han and Sarah Mlynowski from the blurb.
Allen does this by time skipping between the current timeline where the girls are running through the list of dares and trying to beat the football team at their own shenanigans to prove a point and the weeks leading up to that. The scavenger hunt dares are ridiculous and silly, and it’s so much fun to watch the girls complete them. It is also totally fabulous the way the girls take the horrible sexist ones and change them to be about men.
Peyton, Ana, Melanie Jane, and Liv all get together to try to take the football team down a notch. They all have their own reasons to be pissed about the actions of the patriarchy. Mel Jay and Liv were both dumped by their boyfriends on the team because they did not meet with the team’s approval, because they think Liv is a slut and that Mel Jay’s determination not to have sex until marriage makes her an unacceptable girlfriend. Peyton, who has ADHD and struggles to pay attention in class, hates the preferential treatment the football players get: extensions without docked points, assistance from the teacher, and a free pass to be obnoxious in class. Ana was raped by a guy on the football team.
My only issue with the four girls is that I did have a bit of trouble keeping their four first person perspectives clear in my head. I really loved the issues tackled in each perspective, because it shows a huge range of common insults and abuses thrown at women. I really liked all of the book, but I would have had way more feels if the perspectives were a bit more distinct.
When the girls start their mission, they’re not friends, but obviously they bond throughout the weeks of plotting. One of my favorite things is when people who were not friends have to team up to complete a common goal. I love watching them get to know one another past the reputation and assumptions to find that everyone actually is a real person with diverse interests.
Allen really excels at capturing teens and high school, which means that it’s not the most flattering portrayal. As the girls’ motivations should tell you, there’s bullying and unfair treatment all over the place. There is also a lot of slut-shaming throughout the novel, occasionally even by the heroines because this is a journey. The overall message is very much sex positive, virgin positive, and staunchly against the rape culture in the US.
Peppered throughout, there is indeed a bit of romance for those of us who live for ships. Of the four girls, two end up with boyfriends, and one has a potential love interest down the line. I really like that Allen resisted pairing them all up, because that sometimes happens, and it’s a bit too much romance, even for me. It’s still not the shippiest book, but one of the guys, Michael, is super wonderful.
The Revenge Playbook is another fabulous read from Rachael Allen. She is awesome, her books are awesome, and you guys should check them out.