BOOK REVIEW: All The Rage by Courtney Summers

This is a book review for All the Rage by Courtney Summers. I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. The scheduled publication date for this book is April 14, 2015.

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. Romy is branded a liar and bullied relentlessly by a group of kids she used to hang out with. 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, Courtney Summers' new novel All the Rage examines the shame and silence inflicted upon young women in a culture that refuses to protect them.

This book is kind of hard for me to review, maybe it's because it is about such a tough topic. The book starts with Romy being sexually assaulted. But the story of the rape is told in a very disjointed way, but it's also very believable and emotional. It was written about in such a way that it felt like this was a flashback or a nightmare that Romy has on a regular basis instead of just a description of events. Also, Romy had been drinking so it wouldn't have been believable for her to remember every single detail of the night she was raped. What is believable is how Romy is treated afterwards and how she tries to cope with the attack. She never actually makes a disclosure to anyone except her parents about the rape and she never makes the decision to press charges. But it is a small town and the entire town finds out when her alcoholic father makes the accusation in a bar one night. In a heartbeat, her friends turn against her and she is labeled as a slut and a liar. 

Romy also works as a waitress just outside of her town. She loves this job because no one knows who she is and no one is constantly bullying her or calling her names. In this job, she meets a guy, Leon. Leon was so sweet and just what Romy needed. The problem is that because of everything Romy had been through, she had a hard time believing he could like her. There were so many times during the course of this book that I just wanted to shake Romy and tell her to find her voice and to stand up for herself against everyone who was accusing her of lying. Leon was one of the people that I just wanted her to talk to. He was such a good guy and I completely understand why she didn't feel comfortable telling him, especially after her best friend turned against her. But because she was traumatized and because she didn't want him to know anything about her, she didn't treat him very well at times. He was understandably confused because she kept pushing him away. 

The synopsis does make it sound like the missing girl is a main part of the story. Honestly, that doesn't happen until more than halfway through the story. It's not fully about the missing girl. It is about Romy When the girl does go missing, the author kept me guessing about what happened. I kept thinking I knew the guilty party, but I was completely blown away by that. I really think the only negative thing I can say about this book is that the time frames were a bit confusing. The author started with the rape and then immediately goes to after the attack with no real separation. It took me a few pages to even realize it was after the attack and even then, I wasn't clear on how much time had passed. I believe it was a lot because there was enough time for her father to leave her mom and her mom to move in with another guy. Yet everyone at her school was still fixated on it. That didn't make much sense to me. 

Buy/Borrow/Skip: Buy!! This is a very gritty, emotional story but it is worth the read.