All the Rage: A Novel

“He reaches over and squeezed my hand, startling me with his sweetness. But just because something starts out sweet doesn’t mean it won’t put itself so far past anything you could call sweet anymore. And if it all starts like this, how do you see what’s coming?”I do have to start by saying the back blurb really doesn’t describe the story properly. The main story doesn’t even involve Kellan Turner but his younger brother, Alek, and Alek’s best “friend” Brock. It always aggravates me when the blurbs are nothing like the book!Romy is a broken girl hiding behind a mask of red lipstick and nail polish that she religiously re-applies any time there’s a smudge or a chip. She marches into school everyday knowing she’s going to face the same people who accuse her of lying about being raped. She’s the daughter of the town drunk. She lives on that side of town. Kellan is the sheriff’s son and from a rich family. Romy’s just trying to get attention, right?Alek is the younger son of the sheriff and is from the rich side of town. He’s also the boyfriend of the missing girl and his favorite pastime is bullying Romy. What is really aggravating is that most of his bullying is done indirectly.Brock is from the same side of town as Romy, but he acts like a slave or a guard dog so Alek keeps him around to do his dirty work- from bullying Romy to picking up pizza.The story begins completely tangled and truthfully the first two chapters are a bit of a mess, but once you get past those the flow evens out. It takes place a year after Romy is raped and now living with her mother and her mother’s boyfriend. Romy’s mother is defiantly a character I did not like- first because of Romy’s situation with her father and then her mother’s reaction to the rape.Several events happen that have Romy questioning just where she stands among the community. If she were missing, who would be searching for her? Who would be the people too devastated to attend school? Who would rally the troops to search for her and search again?It should have been you.There is a romantic interest, but the book is less about the romance and more about the fear of starting a relationship built on Romy’s lies and brokenness. She meets Leon working in the diner where no one knows her past, and by wearing her red mask she becomes someone else and leaves “that” girl behind.Overall, All the Rage is a haunting novel that is worthy of its title. The female lead struggles not to lose herself while the community tears her to pieces, and the main villain is a man sworn to protect and serve. I recommend All the Rage to readers interested sociological/abuse stories and mysteries since a major part of the story is based around finding the missing girl.www.readingbifrost.com

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my review.his 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.This is a very raw, emotional book. Highly recommended!

I didn't love this as much on a reread. It's still rage-inducing, but it's easier to see the flaws. The romance is unnecessary. I can see WHAT Courtney Summers was going for, with the romance, but I'm not entirely convinced she was successful.

Courtney Summers' books are always gripping, suspenseful and full of the kind of emotion that hits you like a punch to the stomach. She pulls no punches here. Several interrelated story threads weave in and out of one another as we build up a picture of the events that have happened over the last year in the town of Grebe, through the eyes of Romy Grey, the town pariah.Romy's internal rage, pain and frustration, as well as her often apathetic acceptance of the way she is treated by her fellow students and the residents of her home town, are brought to agonising life by Summers' vivid prose.This book will stay with me long after reading and will draw me back to it again and again I have no doubt.

Rage was one of the main things I felt after reading this. Rage at the small-minded characters Romy has to live with, and rage for the upset caused by someone's refusal to believe something bad about their child.Romy's strong in so many ways, but her mask slips on occasion.The alternating time focus was a little confusing, but you got a sense that there was something good coming out of these horrors.

Despite the difficult subject matter this book was engrossing from start to finish and I now want to read more of this authors books. Absolutely amazing

It was very hard to follow...