The Revenge Playbook

by Rachael Allen

Overview

Don't get mad, get even! In this poignant and hilarious novel, Rachael Allen brilliantly explores the nuances of high school hierarchies, the traumas sustained on the path to finding true love, and the joy of discovering a friend where you least expect.

In the small town of Ranburne, high school football rules and the players are treated like kings. How they treat the girls they go to school with? That's a completely different story. Liv, Peyton, Melanie Jane, and Ana each have their own reason for wanting to teach the team a lesson—but it's only when circumstances bring them together that they come up with the plan to steal the one thing the boys hold sacred. All they have to do is beat them at their own game.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062281371
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	06/16/2015
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	368
File size:	755 KB
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

Rachael Allen lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband, two children, and two sled dogs. In addition to being a YA writer, she's a mad scientist, a rabid Falcons fan, an expert dare list maker, and a hugger. Rachael is also the author of 17 First Kisses.

Editorial Reviews

04/01/2015
Gr 9 Up—In the small town of Ranburne, TN, football is king. The members of the high school team can and do get away with pretty much anything, but that's all about to change. Liv, Peyton, Ana, and Melanie all have their reasons as to why they want the football team to go down, and they plot to get their hands on the revered "Football of '76." The four of them manage to get the list of dares that's part of the JV football players' scavenger hunt. If the players don't complete the tasks by a certain time, they have to walk onto the football field naked during the homecoming game. All of the dares must be photo documented, and the winner gets the famous football. In the process of trying derail the scavenger hunt, the four protagonists become friends. This loose readalike to E. Lockhart's The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks (Disney-Hyperion, 2008), celebrates girl power and focuses on challenging "old boys' clubs" traditions. The chapters jump from present day to the pranks to the backstory, so it's a bit confusing at first, but readers will get familiar with each narrative fairly quickly. It's a book about high school, bullying, popularity, and finding your own voice while doing what is right. VERDICT A fun YA title that challenges sexist attitudes in modern-day high school culture.—Jesten Ray, Seattle Public Library, WA

School Library Journal

2015-03-17
When boys on the football team start dumping their girlfriends, the girls team up to get revenge. Liv, Peyton, Melanie Jane, and Ana want to steal the revered Football of '76, touched ritualistically by every Ranburne Panther every gameday. The girls aren't friends, but each has a grievance against the team. Liv's boyfriend insists he still loves her but says the team will prevent him from getting a crucial scholarship if he doesn't accede to their wishes. Melanie Jane, a confident beauty pageant contestant, can't believe her boyfriend dumped her, and it turns out he was forced into it as well. Worse, the entire town allows the team members, and the team captain in particular, to get away with any sort of mischief or even abuse while punishing others for the same deeds. The girls plot to win access to the football, key to their revenge. In the meantime they spy on the boys, even secretly videotaping the team's secret initiation ceremony. Allen sets the action in a small town near Nashville and deliberately explores how the girls survive and thrive in the male-dominated society. While the initial setup feels comic, the book takes a hard look at real difficulties. Written in chapters featuring each of the girls, their different personalities add a nice level of complexity to the story. A deceptively light look at the dark side of football culture. (Fiction. 12-18)

Kirkus Reviews