Review #186: All the Rage by Courtney Summers

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


“There are far too many silent sufferers. Not because they don't yearn to reach out, but because they've tried and found no one who cares.”

---- Richelle E. Goodrich, an American author

Courtney Summers, the Canadian YA author, pens her new novel, called All the Rage about sexual abuse, bullying in school and taking a stand against it.





Synopsis:

The sheriff’s son, Kellan Turner, is not the golden boy everyone thinks he is, and Romy Grey knows that for a fact. Because no one wants to believe a girl from the wrong side of town, the truth about him has cost her everything—friends, family, and her community. Branded a liar and bullied relentlessly by a group of kids she used to hang out with, Romy’s only refuge is the diner where she works outside of town. No one knows her name or her past there; she can finally be anonymous. But when a girl with ties to both Romy and Kellan goes missing after a party, and news of him assaulting another girl in a town close by gets out, Romy must decide whether she wants to fight or carry the burden of knowing more girls could get hurt if she doesn’t speak up. Nobody believed her the first time—and they certainly won’t now — but the cost of her silence might be more than she can bear.　

With a shocking conclusion and writing that will absolutely knock you out, All the Rage examines the shame and silence inflicted upon young women after an act of sexual violence, forcing us to ask ourselves: In a culture that refuses to protect its young girls, how can they survive?


From the very first page, the book arrested my mind with it's horrific accounts of abuses and bullying and feeling helpless and as Romy's story progressed deeper into the core, I felt more and more enraged with the events attitude of people around Romy.

Romy was sexually abused and raped by the town cop's son, Kellan. Instead of feeling sorry and supporting Romy, the whole town turned against her from her best friends to teachers. She soon became an outcast, she was bullied by her peers, and people called her a liar. Romy got solace only when she was working as a waitress in a diner right outside her town, where no one knows about her story. But when her ex-bff goes missing right after a party, Romy panics and soon more such sexual abuse news got spread like a wild fire. Now Romy have to ignore those dirty glances and stares from her town folks to save another girl's life. But will she survive the trauma? Will she open her mouth and say the culprit's name?


Some books demand to be read, and this happens to be one of them. The book addresses the modern day teenage issues like the aftermath of a rape victim, taking stand against the culprit etc. This book also shows us the fact that how a shunned rape victim become so terrified to have any other physical relationship in her life, moreover, they see a pregnant woman, they pray that the baby to be a boy, instead of a girl. The author enlightens us about how a parent must behave with her victimized daughter, how to support her.

The romantic angle is very carefully portrayed by the author between Romy and her co-worker, Leon. Their relationship was bit challenging to depict considering the fact that Romy was caught between feeling terrified to have sex and feeling physically attracted to Leon. In some their relationship was sweet yet terribly sad.

Summers' writing is absolutely fabulous and edgy and every scene that the author described is very graphic and scary with a lot of rough language, and that's what will make you feel like everything is happening right in front of your eyes. Moreover, the author embodied the voices of every teenage girl through the narrative accurately and strikingly.

The characters are layered with millions of flaws yet while reading they will easily imprint upon your minds. Like Romy, she has nothing flawless to rant about, but when such an unpopular girl gets raped, is it really possible for the whole town to involve into some kind of candlelight march for her? No! The author have brilliantly painted the bitter truth of our society.

Romy was raped yet her demeanor reflected the rays of bravery and determination. She chose to ignore the harsh remarks instead of taking them by heart. All through the book, Romy will strike you someone as very adorable strong human being. And the author did a great job in making us feel connected with Romy's character by rendering her raw, painful feelings and emotions through the story.

Leon was another likeable character in the book who despite of Romy's fear, understood her and supported her and made her feel like a princess, thus making him a mature guy irrespective of his age.

This heart-breaking story will not only make you sad, but will also make you enrage with anger. And with the author's influential style of story-telling, you will only feel captivated to the story from the very beginning.

Verdict: A must read YA novel which is dark, poignant yet brilliant.

Courtesy: Thanks to the author's publicist, for giving me an opportunity to read and review the book. 
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Author Info:
COURTNEY SUMMERS was born in Belleville, Ontario in 1986 and currently resides in a small town not far from there. To date, she has authored five novels. Her first novel, Cracked Up to Be, was published when she was 22 and went on to win the 2009 CYBIL award in YA fiction. Since then, she’s published three more books–2011 YALSA Top 10 Quick Pick and White Pine Honour book, Some Girls Are, 2012 YALSA Quick Pick, Fall for Anything, and 2013 YALSA Top 10 Quick Pick and White Pine Honour book This is Not a Test. Her next projects are an e-novella, Please Remain Calm (a sequel to This is Not a Test) and a new novel, All the Rage, both out in 2015. 
Visit her here


Book Purchase Links:

• Amazon US 
• Amazon India