[TRIGGER WARNING: since this book is about rape, this review will discuss the rape in the book as well as rape culture] 
 When I was ten-years-old I read Speak. I remember thinking the book was boring (translation: I thought the book was slow, because it wasn't as fast pace as the mystery novels I was reading). Overall the book didn't make a large impact in my life. I think this is because I read it when I was too young. A few years later many of my friends read Speak and I remember all of them getting something profound from reading it, and I hadn't. That's why when I read that people were calling All the Rage the Speak of my generation I felt the need to read it. 
 All the Rage was an emotional roller coaster ride. Romy is a girl who's town has failed her. She is bullied relentlessly and few, if any, believe her about her rape. There were many times in this novel that I wanted to cry and punch something simultaneously. There is this quote on page 83 which is so sad, but so accurate: 
 "It's amazing how bad you can make the truth sound. As long as you keep it partially recognizable when you spit it out, a crowd will eat it up without thinking about how hard you chewed it first." 
 The bullying that happens to Romy is pretty severe. There is this scene where people write on her stomach and I was torn between wanting to cry, punch something, throw the book, scream profanity, or just wanting to sit there because my mind was still trying to comprehend how horrible people can actually be. 
 But unfortunately what Romy experiences is all too real. A few years ago, there was national news of how some football players sexually assaulted a girl at a party. They were all in high school and the pictures were posted on social media. However, instead of the town or nation coming to the aid of her, many were saying how she "ruined their lives." The news kept saying how the boys were "such promising football stars" how they "had their whole lives ahead of them" how they were "so young" and a million more comments trying to defend them. It was disgusting to hear and see and to find out how many people at my school (a school far away from where the events took place) were blaming the victim. Which is something that occurs in this book as well. The radio scene reminded me so much of what I hear on national news when it is the town's or the team's "golden boy." 
 From the time I was twelve I was taught not to accept drinks from people I didn't know. I was twelve and taught that. And Summers discusses that in All the Rage: 
 "There's a miracle there, but there's something so awful about it too, bringing someone into all this now, this world where a girl can't even trust a drink that passes her lips." (page 177) 
 Summers does an incredible job of discussing sexism as well as rape culture. She talks about how women are oftentimes blamed for mistakes the men in their lives make. 
 "I don't know why it's the girls who always seem to have to take on that kind of burden." (page 328) 
 Summers wrote a compelling read that discusses important topics. A lot has changed since Speak was released 16 years ago. Namely how prominent social media is. Summers addresses the impact social media has when it comes to bullying and sexual assault. I feel like this book is able to connect with my generation more than Speak because of it. 
 Rating All the Rage was incredibly hard. A part of me wants to rate it five stars because of the importance of the book, but another part of me wonders if I am in love with the concept rather than the result. On Goodreads many sexual assault survivors have shared their stories and praised Summers for her accurate portrayal, so I know that it is good in that aspect. And Summers does a great job of making a beautiful, quotable book. But I'm still not sure how I feel. There were times when I loved the writing, times when I was confused, and times that it just kind of fell flat for me. This is my first book by Summers so it took me a while to get used to her occasional short, choppy sentences and long, flowy sentences. Romy was battling with depression so her character was at times flat, but that was because she was trying to distance herself so much from what happened. She was trying to remain numb because that was easier to deal with. Her thoughts were often scattered and she would have trouble completing a thought. For example, when (view spoiler)[ Kellan comes back I had to reread the page to make sure I understood what actually happened since it is so jummbled (hide spoiler)]. At times the writing was scattered because Romy's thoughts were scattered. Sometimes I was confused because Romy was confused. This book really got me into Romy's head. I guess you can think of the four stars as a tentative rating with subject to change once I have more time to figure out how I feel about the book. UPDATE: So, I've thought about it, and I think that All the Rage deserves five stars, not four. I've always struggled with giving books five stars (what if in three years I read something I like even more?), but I struggle especially with rating contemporary books because I read so few of them. This is one of my favorite contemporary books, so I shouldn't hesitate giving it five stars just because it's part of a genre I rarely read. For those reasons I am bumping up the rating. 
 Summers leaves readers with an open ending. I know I wanted to learn more about Romy and the aftermath of the ending events, but it is also refreshing to not have everything mapped out for readers. 
 On a slightly different note, here is another amazing quote (and one of my favorites from the book) from page 194: 
 "I don't believe in forgiveness. I think if you hurt someone, it becomes a part of you both. Each of you just has to live with it and the person you hurt gets to decide if they want to five you the chance to do it again." 
 There were so many aspects of this book that I loved, but I don't have nearly enough time or space to discuss them all here. This is definitely a book that will stay with me for years to come. When I finished the book I sat down for a few minutes and then cried. There was so much hurt and loss in this book. It is in no way, shape, or form a light read. I highly recommend All the Rage. 
 ***TRIGGER WARNINGS: rape, self harm, depression, bullying, alcoholism, underage drinking/drug use, possible kidnapping