Review by Kaitlyn Chan
Delacorte Books, November 2023
320 pages, hardcover, $18.99, 9780593563649
Young Adult, Ages 14+
Fiction, Mystery
I spend a lot of time wondering which of the boys in my immediate vicinity will be the one who finally falls in love with me.
Who do you trust when you’re playing a game? Who’s on your side? Is it your friend? Your partner? Or is it those you least suspect? The characters in Jordyn Taylor’s newest YA novel, The Revenge Game, grapple with these questions as a secret competition at their preparatory school comes to light. When the aim of the game for some becomes revenge, who will fall and who will rise?
Alyson Benowitz, the novel’s protagonist, loves romance and books. Unfortunately, Alyson’s life has not been filled with much success in the romantic department. Her latest crush ended in disappointment and embarrassment, and she has witnessed her mom slowly but surely give up on love after one too many horrible boyfriends. This novel continues to put pressure on Alyson’s optimism when she discovers the existence of the King’s Cup competition at her school, revealing that many of the boys care more about physical intimacy than romantic connection. Though Alyson cherishes her newfound relationship, she also values her female friends and recognizes how they have been hurt by this competition. Her desire to help them while maintaining her ideal high school romance creates a tension that must come to a head. Her character, a careful balance between clever and naïve, considers again and again who she can trust when everyone seems against each other.
This novel deals with issues of sexism, misogyny, and sexual assault, highlighting flaws within a patriarchal system. I appreciate how, more often than not, Taylor’s characters acknowledge when another character is sexist or misogynistic. Though Taylor’s characters will sometimes ignore these warning signs, she ensures the reader knows why a comment or action is wrong. I often found myself noting “red flags” and was happy to discover that only a few lines later, the characters would echo my sentiments. However, no character is perfect, and The Revenge Game is aware of how pervasive sexism can be. For instance, sometimes when a character is confronted with a sexist comment, they choose to ignore it because the person saying it is attractive, charming, or seems respectful most of the time. Here, Taylor asks readers to think about their own relationship to sexism, offering the tools to learn how to recognize, address, or avoid it.
From the first chapter, The Revenge Game piques the interest of readers through its nonlinear storytelling. The leading question as readers make their way through the novel becomes: “How did this happen?” This book has a strong voice—comical, feminist, and curious—leading the reader through a series of clues to piece together. Taylor has crafted a novel filled with realistic characters and scenarios and exaggerated the results to create a fascinating mystery. Who do you trust when you’re playing a game? The Revenge Game may just change your answer.
Kaitlyn Chan is a current student at UBC, studying English Literature and Creative Writing. Fulfilling the typical stereotypes of English majors, Kaitlyn enjoys reading, writing, and tea. She spends her free time training for triathlons, singing songs in her bedroom, and trying not to buy more books.
YOUNG ADULTING 