Wow. What can I say after finishing my second Courtney Summers book other than this woman is one heck of an amazing writer? I haven’t read anything quite like her books before. Her characters are always so fascinating and marvelously written—but also extremely sick, twisted, and screwed-up individuals.
All the Rage centers around Romy, who was raped by the sheriff’s son, but no one will believe her story and now the whole school makes fun of her, calling her “the girl who cried rape.” Romy has a tough persona, but inside she’s really a quaking, shivering, timid girl.
Ever since she was raped she has become a shell of the girl she used to be. She doesn’t have any real friends, she is extremely guarded when it comes to sharing her feelings with others, and she freaks out if anyone so much as touches her. All of these problems clearly point to a traumatizing past occurrence.
Obviously, the plot is an uncomfortable topic, but I thought Summers brilliantly showed how people can blame the victim, the innocent one. It was awful and heartbreaking to read about, but so honest and informative.
This ending was almost too grim, too despairing. After suffering through so much tragedy alongside Romy, I wanted a happy ending for her. I will say that I appreciated how honest and raw the ending was, and I never expected Courtney Summers to sugarcoat anything, but she can be a bit too brutal at times.
That’s probably the reason why her characters are so fantastic, though. This book was an accurate portrayal of the much darker side of teenagers. Summers showed how teens—especially teenage girls—can be incredibly cruel to one other.
Darkly smart and sometimes difficult to stomach, but well worth the read.
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