pagesofpeace's review
3.0
This YA novel was not what I was expecting and had a strong theme of sexual assault. I did not connect to these characters and their actions seemed very childish. I don’t know if this is similar to high school now but it was definitely not my experience (definitely aging myself with that one).
Graphic: Sexual assault
Moderate: Fatphobia
badger5's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Eating disorder, Vomit, Alcohol, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Body shaming, Car accident, Drug use, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Fatphobia, Racism, and Sexual assault
courtvaderbooks's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Bullying and Sexual assault
rather_b_reading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Bullying, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Rape, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Misogyny, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Cursing, Alcohol, Infidelity, Vomit, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, and Car accident
plumpaperbacks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
My feelings on this book are complicated. On one hand, I think it was an (unfortunately) accurate portrayal of how vicious high school can be, of flawed teens making questionable choices when under social and mental duress. On the other hand, though, I found most of the characters extremely frustrating, which hindered my reading experience.
I will say that the final third of the book revealed one very unexpected plot twist that single-handedly saved the book for me. Up until that point, nothing had shocked me except how horrible some of the characters were being. It was all very cleverly done on the authors’ part.
One aspect I have mixed feelings on is Georgie’s character. While she did end up being one of my favorites—alongside Riley and Baez—I question the authors’ choice to make her narrative what it was. Prior to the start of the story, she was a fat girl sent to a summer weight loss camp, which already isn’t my favorite thing. Then the new school year starts, and suddenly, despite being ignored when she was fat, now that she’s lost weight and started dressing differently, she becomes more popular. I realize it was in part a commentary on fatphobia in society, and one of the most significant parts of Georgie’s journey was her realization that she’s beautiful and worthwhile no matter what she weighs or how she looks. But I ask: why was any of it necessary? Why, in 2022, are we still giving this rather offensive cliché any attention? Why couldn’t Georgie realize those things without losing any weight? Alternatively, instead of any sort of self-image character arc, she could’ve been a transfer student, new to the area, and that was why she was attracting attention. I don’t know—maybe I’m over-analyzing this, but I just didn’t really like it regardless.
Also, I would’ve liked to see a bit more about Cora’s queerness. I am completely aware that it’s not meant to be a focal point in this story, and I accept that. However, it’s briefly mentioned a couple of times that she previously, secretly dated a girl, and that’s it. I think it would’ve been interesting to see more of that part of her.
Ultimately, I did like the ending. I liked where each of the characters ended up, and even liked most of the major players by the time I was done, which was a huge improvement from the first half of the book.
As for the book as a whole, I’m not sure. My criticisms of the first half combined with my unexpected investment in and the surprise improvement of the second half equal an overall neutral rating. It wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t great. I would recommend it if you’re a fan of prep school mysteries and contemporaries with social commentary, but it’s not my first choice recommendation either. So yeah—50/50, basically.
Representation
- Indian protagonist
- Black queer protagonist
- side characters of color (includes Indian, Nigerian, Black and Chinese rep)
- sapphic side characters
Graphic: Racism, Sexual assault, Bullying, Fatphobia, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Ableism and Alcohol
Minor: Car accident
Ableism—ableist language frequently used by the characters, specifically the word “crazy.” Alcohol—underage drinking semi-frequently. Car accident—severe, occurred prior to the story, mentioned occasionally.sarahmreads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I'll start this off by saying that this is a VERY heavy story, full of a lot of difficult topics, as demonstrated by the trigger warnings above. I highly recommend waiting to start this book until you are emotionally and mentally sound for it.
That being said, I think the whole aspect of cyberbullying and rumors was definitely taken to the extreme for this, obviously for plot reasons. It very much was a lot of petty drama and an overemphasis on online drama. I know it's meant to show the impact of rumors and what it does to the lives of people who the rumors are about, but very early on it gets very stale, and the rumors at least don't have much impact until the one major one at the very end of the story. Even then, it was hard to read because of the graphic and foul nature of what occurred.
Because of all of this, there weren't many characters I did like. I only liked maybe one minor character but that's about it. Bryn has good reasoning but she comes off like a pity case. Cora is cruel except for the few times she isn't. Georgie I kind of liked because of her whole body image arc, which I related to a lot, but I can't really speak to the accuracy of which the "weight camps" hold true for this story. I also can't really speak to the representation of the marginalized communities in this story as I myself am not a part of those communities.
The nature of the book itself leads to the fact that it doesn't really have a linear plot. It's just a bunch of smaller events smashed together in an attempt of a plot. As a result, I just couldn't really get into the book until over halfway through. The formatting of the story on my Kindle as well was extremely wonky due to a lot of multimedia things within the story itself. That ended up taking me out of the story slightly.
Overall, the Rumor Game is reminiscent of Riverdale and other high school dramas, with a wide variety of difficult topics that can make it hard to read.
I received a copy of this story as an e-ARC from NetGalley. Any and all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Graphic: Racism, Bullying, Racial slurs, and Fatphobia
Moderate: Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Sexism, and Rape
Minor: Sexual content and Car accident
Cyberbullyingjaynellewags's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book follows three main characters, Bryn, Cora, and Georgie. Cora is the top girl at school. She throws the best parties, is dating the star of the lacrosse team, and is the head cheerleader. Georgie recently got back from fat camp and is finally popular, but is that really what she wants? Bryn's mom is in a psychiatric rehab and she almost killed her classmates in a wreck during the summer. She went from being elected as class president to being the most disliked kid in school.
When school starts back with all that happened during the summer- someone is starting rumors. These rumors are ruining Coras relationship with her boyfriend, Georgie has became the talk of the senior class-and not for a good reason-and the entire study body wants Bryn removed from office.
As the three girls try to navigate their senior year - social media is ruining everything.
In the end everything blows up in all of their faces- students are kicked out of school, charges are filed, and their senior year is ruined.
This book does have triggers for SA, Fat-phobia, drugs, and racism.
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Racism, Sexual assault, and Fatphobia
booksbytheglass's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
so when I picked this one up and skimmed through the format, I was delightfully surprised to see a new kind of format taking place between traditional first person narrative writing, chat messages, and Instagram posts!
and I absolutely loved the concept of how bullying and slut shaming and racist remarks can change a whole person’s life with just a few taps. however, the whole mystery just didn’t live up to the hype for me.
I wasn’t sure which character I was rooting for when - cora the perfect senator’s daughter, bryn the scorned former best friend, or georgie the girl who just returned from weight loss camp and is suddenly the topic of the town. they all had their hidden agendas, but most of the time, I felt like I wasn’t really rooting for any of them???
I think I wanted to love to hate all of the characters, but I just couldn’t get into justifying what each of them had done and then cried about.
overall, I think this will be a great YA discussion book and hopefully cause a lot of people to look in the mirror. thank you to netgalley and disney hyperion for the ARC in exchange for an honest review :’)
rating: 3.5 stars
wine pairing: venezia moscato
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Racial slurs, and Xenophobia
nytephoenyx's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Body shaming, Bullying, Car accident, Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Vomit
epilieaspiechick's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Thank you to Hyperion for providing the ARC for an honest review.
This book is well over 400 pages, which would usually make me uninterested in reading it. I'm not a big fan of long books. However, this is the exception to the rule with this story about the toxicity of rumors and bullying. It may take it's time to build up the plot and get to the punchline, but it is well worth the wait. The authors do such a phenomenal job writing a story that doesn't pull it's punches and feels quite true to life. It is both heartbreaking and exciting at the same time. Important trigger alert: this story can get dark and discusses bullying, sexual assault, drinking, and drugs.
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment
Minor: Drug use, Drug abuse, and Alcohol