BOOK REVIEW + GIVEAWAY: The Rumor Game by Dhonielle Clayton & Sona Charaipotra
I would recommend The Rumor Game to anyone who's looking for a surprising YA mystery that deals with social issues.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Title: The Rumor Game
Author: Dhonielle Clayton & Sona Charaipotra
Publication Date: March 1, 2022
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook
Pages: 480
Trigger Warnings: This book explores issues of bullying, cyberbullying, sexual abuse, assault, weight loss, body image, fatphobia, past self-harm, underage drinking, and racism.
All it takes is one spark to start a blaze.
At Foxham Prep, a posh private school for the children of DC’s elite, a single rumor has the power to ruin a life.
Nobody knows that better than Bryn. She used to have it all—the perfect boyfriend, a bright future in politics, and even popularity, thanks to her best friend, cheer captain Cora. Then one mistake sparked a scandal that burned it all to the ground.
Now it’s the start of a new school year and the spotlight has shifted: It’s geeky Georgie, newly hot after a summer makeover, whose name is on everyone’s lips. When a rumor ignites, Georgie rockets up the school’s social hierarchy, pitting her and Cora against each other. It grants her Foxham stardom . . . but it also makes her a target.
As the rumors grow and morph, blazing like wildfire through the school’s social media, all three girls’ lives begin to unravel. But one person close to the drama has the power to stop the gossip in its tracks. The question is—do they even want to?
From Dhonielle Clayton and Sona Charaipotra, authors of the Tiny Pretty Things duology (now a Netflix series), comes the edge-of-your-seat social thriller everyone will be talking about.
THOUGHTS:
The Rumor Game is a young adult contemporary novel with very heavy and serious themes revolving around a) how one rumor can grow into a much bigger issue and how it affects the lives and the loved ones of the people involved; b) how women of color are often treated when something scandalous happens and how easy it is for straight White men to just get off the hook; and c) how most high school students' goals tend to be focused on "people pleasing".
With this book having two authors, I liked how the writing was done smoothly and it read seamlessly, like it didn't seem like it had two writers. The writing style was just a simple one which made it easy to read which I think is a way to balance with how complicated the whole story and the themes are. It would've been harder to read if the writing was done more extravagantly along with the heavy topics and scenes. Although I think this book shouldn't have been marketed as a thriller book because it reads more like a mystery than a thriller.
When I was reading this book, I couldn't help but be angry with all these teens being so gullible and believing in every rumor they hear, and what's worse is they even add more damage by adding more story to the rumors. I'm not sure if I can blame them or not because I know that they are in high school but also they are not that young anymore since they're all graduating from high school so they should already know better than to believe everything they're told. They should also already be sensitive with how their fellow students would feel if they keep on gossiping about them.
This book also showed how one story can spread widely so fast because of today's technology, specifically the social media networks. The victims of cyberbullying can be easily triggered because it just takes one notification to ruin their day. It's hard to say that they should just ignore these notifications because we all know how our everyday lives depend heavily on our phones today.
Overall, I think that The Rumor Game is worth reading but only if you're comfortable with the trigger warnings so be sure to check those out first. I would recommend The Rumor Game to anyone who's looking for a surprising YA mystery that deals with social issues.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Dhonielle Clayton is the New York Times best-selling author of the Belles series, The Mirror: Shattered Midnight, and the coauthor of Blackout and the Tiny Pretty Things duology, now a Netflix original series. She hails from the Washington, DC, suburbs on the Maryland side. She taught secondary school for several years, and is a former elementary and middle school librarian. She is COO of the non-profit We Need Diverse Books, and president of Cake Creative, an IP story kitchen dedicated to diverse representation. She’s an avid traveler, and always on the hunt for magic and mischief. Up next: The Marvellers, her middle grade fantasy debut. You can find her on social media @brownbookworm.
Sona Charaipotra is the author of Symptoms of a Heartbreak and How Maya Got Fierce, and coauthor of the Tiny Pretty Things duology, now a Netflix original series. She earned her master’s in screenwriting from NYU and an MFA in creative writing from the New School. A working journalist, Sona has held editorial roles at People, TeenPeople, ABCNews.com, MSN, and most recently, the Barnes & Noble Teen Blog (RIP), and contributed to publications from the New York Times to TeenVogue. She is a former We Need Diverse Books board member, and co-founder of CAKE Literary, a boutique book packager focused on high-concept diverse titles. Find her on the web talking about books, Bollywood movies, and chai.
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