“I glance at her and she looks soft, not vicious, but a lot of people in this town are a soft kind of vicious.”
TRIGGER WARNING: Please be aware that the story focuses on the aftermath of rape and rape culture and I have quoted excerpts from the book in the review. If you find the subject matter triggering, please do proceed with caution.
Courtney Summers sprung onto the YA scene less than ten years ago, with her first novel Cracked Up to Be and this book debuted in April 2015 and its release was marked by the #ToTheGirls campaign to support women on social media. Summers employs first person narrative to tell the story of Romy Grey and with gritty realism, All the Rage grapples with rape culture, victim blaming and the skewed way in which society continues to deal with sexual violence against women.
Courtney Summers sprung onto the YA scene less than ten years ago, with her first novel Cracked Up to Be and this book debuted in April 2015 and its release was marked by the #ToTheGirls campaign to support women on social media. Summers employs first person narrative to tell the story of Romy Grey and with gritty realism, All the Rage grapples with rape culture, victim blaming and the skewed way in which society continues to deal with sexual violence against women.
This is a story about rape or - more accurately - the aftermath of rape. Summers gives the reader an insight into the psychology of a victim of rape trying to be heard in a society which seeks to silence them. The perpetrator hardly appears in the story at all, but the presence of Romy's attacker - Kellan Turner - pervades insidiously throughout the text, the damage he has caused reflected in the way Romy perceives herself, the way others treat Romy and the way in which she struggles to exist as the trauma of her attack weighs upon her.
The reader is pulled into Romy's world and experiences her relentless pain. There's a distance in the way Romy thinks about herself and references to the girl or a girl are employed by Summers to illustrate Romy's desire to dissociate herself from the attack: "The footsteps stop but the birds are still singing, singing about a girl who wakes up on a dirt road and doesn't know what happened to her the night before...Don't look at her". The motif of looking and seeing (or not seeing) runs throughout the novel, from the more obvious references to the male gaze to the blindness of those around Romy to her specific plight. One of the frustrating things about the book is being part of the introspective inner monologue and seeing the world through Romy's eyes. It is an effective perspective choice by Summers, which makes the reader want to shake those around her when they seem so cold and oblivious to Romy's suffering.
The language used by Romy's peers furthers the sense of disassociation from self, and Romy is humiliated and dehumanised by those who refuse to believe her account of events. The word "slit" is repeatedly used to insult Romy: "'slut' was too humanizing, I guess. A slit's not even a person. Just an opening." The use of that insult causes a visceral reaction - it reduces Romy to genitalia and it packs a significant punch when read in the context of Romy's thoughts as she accepts the insults thrown at her with numb resignation. When Romy's underwear is stolen by her classmates after gym class, it later appears on a cheerleading doll, stripped naked save for Romy's bra and knickers. The image of the doll dressed in Romy's clothing further illustrates the way in which Romy has become dehumanised by the attack: "I want to talk to her, ask her how she's doing because it feels like she's real and I'm not". When photos appear on Romy's phone again the first person narrative slips and the photos are of "a girl": "It's so hard not to enjoy this because how can you put something so golden, a girl who can barely open her eyes or her mouth - how can you out something like that in front of them and expect them to be better people?"
The treatment Romy suffers at the hands of her peers is degrading and sexualised and escalates in severity with each new attack a further violation on Romy's person even when no physical contact is made. Despite the language which is employed to show Romy's attempts to block out the attack, the distance Romy seeks makes the experience no less powerful for the reader. Just like Romy, the reader gains no respite from the attempts to block out the reality of Romy's situation and accordingly they feel her pain acutely when each new slur or insult is thrown. The message that her body is a 'thing' something to be bared and used, something to be hurt, repeats throughout the novel, with the sense that Romy's experiences have taught her that is simply how things are.
Summers uses the symbolic colour red at numerous junctures throughout the novel. There's the red of Romy's armour - her lipstick and nail polish meticulously applied which give her strength and control, of a sort. Then there's the colour of blood from Romy's period to the blood spilled when she fights one of her classmates: "I bring my hand to my forehead and the tips of my fingers are soaked in myself". It cannot be coincidence that Summers has chosen this colour for its association with life (blood and fertility), female sexuality and unfettered male desire.
In short, this book is a harrowing read. However, as tough as the subject matter is, it is also a vitally important piece of storytelling for its target audience of young readers. The reader is pulled into Romy's experience and it is one which is uncomfortable, moving and intensely thought-provoking. Summers makes a clear comment on the way in which young women - both victims of sexual assault and otherwise - are treated by society. The story covers the shame and trauma born out of sexual violence, the culture of victim blaming (Romy had been drinking on the night of the attack, and her rapist was someone she was romantically interested in) and the ways in which female victims have their stories twisted and turned until there is nothing left of the truth. All The Rage examines how difficult it can be for victims to speak up, considering the consequences when victims are shamed into silence, and charts Romy's progress as she works to find her voice again.
Although the ending felt a little rushed and there are characters in the book which are somewhat underdeveloped, it is Romy's story which is the most vital, compelling and important. The novel can be a frustrating read at times, as the way people treated Romy left me angry and bitterly disappointed. However, that anger was not directed towards Romy or the author. It is an anger born out of reading a too real and brutal account which holds a mirror up to society and shows us through the eyes of a victim how young women who have been victims of sexual violence can expect to find themselves treated. All The Rage, indeed.
The reader is pulled into Romy's world and experiences her relentless pain. There's a distance in the way Romy thinks about herself and references to the girl or a girl are employed by Summers to illustrate Romy's desire to dissociate herself from the attack: "The footsteps stop but the birds are still singing, singing about a girl who wakes up on a dirt road and doesn't know what happened to her the night before...Don't look at her". The motif of looking and seeing (or not seeing) runs throughout the novel, from the more obvious references to the male gaze to the blindness of those around Romy to her specific plight. One of the frustrating things about the book is being part of the introspective inner monologue and seeing the world through Romy's eyes. It is an effective perspective choice by Summers, which makes the reader want to shake those around her when they seem so cold and oblivious to Romy's suffering.
The language used by Romy's peers furthers the sense of disassociation from self, and Romy is humiliated and dehumanised by those who refuse to believe her account of events. The word "slit" is repeatedly used to insult Romy: "'slut' was too humanizing, I guess. A slit's not even a person. Just an opening." The use of that insult causes a visceral reaction - it reduces Romy to genitalia and it packs a significant punch when read in the context of Romy's thoughts as she accepts the insults thrown at her with numb resignation. When Romy's underwear is stolen by her classmates after gym class, it later appears on a cheerleading doll, stripped naked save for Romy's bra and knickers. The image of the doll dressed in Romy's clothing further illustrates the way in which Romy has become dehumanised by the attack: "I want to talk to her, ask her how she's doing because it feels like she's real and I'm not". When photos appear on Romy's phone again the first person narrative slips and the photos are of "a girl": "It's so hard not to enjoy this because how can you put something so golden, a girl who can barely open her eyes or her mouth - how can you out something like that in front of them and expect them to be better people?"
The treatment Romy suffers at the hands of her peers is degrading and sexualised and escalates in severity with each new attack a further violation on Romy's person even when no physical contact is made. Despite the language which is employed to show Romy's attempts to block out the attack, the distance Romy seeks makes the experience no less powerful for the reader. Just like Romy, the reader gains no respite from the attempts to block out the reality of Romy's situation and accordingly they feel her pain acutely when each new slur or insult is thrown. The message that her body is a 'thing' something to be bared and used, something to be hurt, repeats throughout the novel, with the sense that Romy's experiences have taught her that is simply how things are.
Summers uses the symbolic colour red at numerous junctures throughout the novel. There's the red of Romy's armour - her lipstick and nail polish meticulously applied which give her strength and control, of a sort. Then there's the colour of blood from Romy's period to the blood spilled when she fights one of her classmates: "I bring my hand to my forehead and the tips of my fingers are soaked in myself". It cannot be coincidence that Summers has chosen this colour for its association with life (blood and fertility), female sexuality and unfettered male desire.
In short, this book is a harrowing read. However, as tough as the subject matter is, it is also a vitally important piece of storytelling for its target audience of young readers. The reader is pulled into Romy's experience and it is one which is uncomfortable, moving and intensely thought-provoking. Summers makes a clear comment on the way in which young women - both victims of sexual assault and otherwise - are treated by society. The story covers the shame and trauma born out of sexual violence, the culture of victim blaming (Romy had been drinking on the night of the attack, and her rapist was someone she was romantically interested in) and the ways in which female victims have their stories twisted and turned until there is nothing left of the truth. All The Rage examines how difficult it can be for victims to speak up, considering the consequences when victims are shamed into silence, and charts Romy's progress as she works to find her voice again.
Although the ending felt a little rushed and there are characters in the book which are somewhat underdeveloped, it is Romy's story which is the most vital, compelling and important. The novel can be a frustrating read at times, as the way people treated Romy left me angry and bitterly disappointed. However, that anger was not directed towards Romy or the author. It is an anger born out of reading a too real and brutal account which holds a mirror up to society and shows us through the eyes of a victim how young women who have been victims of sexual violence can expect to find themselves treated. All The Rage, indeed.