Reviews tagging 'Sexual harassment'
The Rumor Game by Dhonielle Clayton, Sona Charaipotra
12 reviews
themoodreader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
Moderate: Fatphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Abandonment, Alcohol, Bullying, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Body shaming, Car accident, Classism, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexism, and Vomit
lila123'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
4.0
Graphic: Bullying, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
awenya's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This book was pretty dark, and while comparing it to Gossip Girl is apt in some ways, I would argue it's much heavier and darker. Pay attention to the content warnings.
Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Racism, Toxic friendship, Rape, and Fatphobia
Minor: Self harm, Hate crime, Body shaming, and Car accident
thegreatpike27's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Fatphobia, Racism, and Bullying
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Eating disorder, and Body shaming
Minor: Car accident
summerif's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Body shaming and Fatphobia
Moderate: Sexual content and Sexual harassment
avidreaderandgeekgirl's review
- 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? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Bullying, Fatphobia, Toxic friendship, Sexual assault, and Sexism
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Body shaming, Car accident, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, and Misogyny
Minor: Rape
sunsetcity's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Racial slurs, Body shaming, Mental illness, Alcohol, Car accident, Cursing, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Racism, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Vomit, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Fatphobia, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, and Sexual harassment
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
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
Cyberbullying