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melbsreads 's review for:
All the Rage
by Courtney Summers
I wish this book didn't have to exist, I really do. And I'm not sure I can honestly say that I enjoyed it. It's brutal and gutwrenching and I spent at least half the book with a knot in my stomach. But it WAS a five star book for me because it's so damned important.
Like Laurie Halse Anderson's [b:Speak|439288|Speak|Laurie Halse Anderson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1310121762s/439288.jpg|118521], this book is about the aftermath of rape. Romy was raped by the town golden boy a year ago. But this story isn't about him. It's about Romy and the horrific way she's treated since. You see, Romy's father was the town drunk. So the fact that she was drunk when she was raped just made the townsfolk assume that she's well on her way to becoming her father. She's called horrific names on a daily basis. She wears armour - red nail polish and lipstick - to protect herself from having to deal with her rapist's family and friends. We hear her inner thoughts, the disgust she feels when the boy she likes touches her, the "I hope it's not a girl" thoughts that she can't help when confronted with a pregnant woman, the way she punishes herself for the hurt and guilt inside.
She's bullied by the female students and slut shamed by the male students. When a girl goes missing on a night that Romy can't remember, she's blamed for it because people were out looking for her, the useless town bike. There's mention time and again of how the lives and futures of young men are being ruined with no consideration for the girls who have to spend the rest of their lives living with the knowledge that they were raped and no one believes them.
This book is about rape, but more than that: it's about rape culture. And if you need more proof that this book is important, just go and read how many of the five star reviews are from rape victims saying "THIS. THIS IS MY STORY. THIS IS IMPORTANT. THIS IS WHAT I WENT THROUGH. DON'T LET IT KEEP HAPPENING." It's brutal reading, yes. But it's 2015, and it's about time we had a book like this.
Like Laurie Halse Anderson's [b:Speak|439288|Speak|Laurie Halse Anderson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1310121762s/439288.jpg|118521], this book is about the aftermath of rape. Romy was raped by the town golden boy a year ago. But this story isn't about him. It's about Romy and the horrific way she's treated since. You see, Romy's father was the town drunk. So the fact that she was drunk when she was raped just made the townsfolk assume that she's well on her way to becoming her father. She's called horrific names on a daily basis. She wears armour - red nail polish and lipstick - to protect herself from having to deal with her rapist's family and friends. We hear her inner thoughts, the disgust she feels when the boy she likes touches her, the "I hope it's not a girl" thoughts that she can't help when confronted with a pregnant woman, the way she punishes herself for the hurt and guilt inside.
She's bullied by the female students and slut shamed by the male students. When a girl goes missing on a night that Romy can't remember, she's blamed for it because people were out looking for her, the useless town bike. There's mention time and again of how the lives and futures of young men are being ruined with no consideration for the girls who have to spend the rest of their lives living with the knowledge that they were raped and no one believes them.
This book is about rape, but more than that: it's about rape culture. And if you need more proof that this book is important, just go and read how many of the five star reviews are from rape victims saying "THIS. THIS IS MY STORY. THIS IS IMPORTANT. THIS IS WHAT I WENT THROUGH. DON'T LET IT KEEP HAPPENING." It's brutal reading, yes. But it's 2015, and it's about time we had a book like this.