I’m a fan of Dhonielle Clayton and Sona Charaipotra. I have read and reviewed Tiny Pretty Things by them and loved it. I was excited when I saw they had another joint project coming out that I could devour, and it was on a topic I think should be more talked about… cyber bullying.

This story mainly follows Bryn as she is torn down for something she did over summer and is constantly and harshly attacked online. Then others are drawn in. I really like how Clayton and Charaipotra always tell it like it is in their stories. Cyber bullying is real and that stuff spreads like wildfire and can literally ruin someone’s life. That plays out perfectly in The Rumor Game. Even when something isn’t true, it can catch and spread and there is not much anyone can do about it. The Rumor Game showed both sides too; the ones spreading the lies and the ones be lied about and how it affects everyone differently. I also liked how they touched on how boy’s behavior is looked at much differently than girls behavior. A girl has multiple boyfriends back to back, she is called names. A boy does it and he’s some kind of hero. These are both real and hard hitting subjects that deserved this attention to show the harm that does. Then you have the pressure teenagers feel to look a certain way and act a certain way. My hat is off to Clayton and Charaipotra for talking about it.

My only issue with this book was the lack of supervision. Now I know we are talking about super rich families with a lot of their own problems, but also a lot of politicians. It always appeared to me, as a non-politician or not coming from a politician family, that their kids are watched like hawks so as not to embarrass their parents. While in this story it seems like none of them had any supervision except for one of them, and even then they had little to no rules. I get throwing parties, but some of them seem a bit too much even for these rich kids. For instance, the last party that is throw has a champagne fountain. How? It’s a house full of teens and the house of the one who actually has rules. Sometimes it just seemed slightly unbelievable. And… never any consequences, which is slightly more believable, but still. Maybe I’m just frustrated with the lack of parenting.

With that said the characters in this book had a lot of layers. While we always saw the layer they showed people, we got glimpses into their aspirations and feelings and things that bothered them. It really showed their development. The story flowed smooth even as it jumped back and forth between characters. I LOVE the culture in the book. I’m very unfamiliar with African culture and Indian culture and the little snippets I learned about how they dress and foods they eat and celebrations they do was interesting and beneficial for anyone to learn. I hope to learn much more from more books covering a wide range of cultures such as this.

As usual Clayton and Charaiprota impressed me with their writing. This is a great coming of age story where hard lessons are learned, consequences are dealt and growth is present. I cannot wait for more.

This book was good, I liked that all the girls had a distinct voice and could tell them apart.

This is a great example of how easily things can spread whether true or not. This is a very real thing that happens in school and it can be devastating on different levels. While there are some more mature topics breached in this, I don't feel it's worse than what they get doses of in life. This would be a great book for a pre-teen or teenager to read. It is definitely a cautionary tale and not a subject given a lot of light.

Thank you so much Hyperion for the gifted copy!

This was a very disappointing read. I almost regret sticking it out for the entire book. I thought it might try and redeem itself toward to end, but it only double-downed on its back-to-school special stereotypes and tropes and managed to make me angry by defaulting to a plot device I’ve been seeing in these types of stories since time immemorial. The cardboard cut-out characterizations and stuttering narrative don't help out this poorly thought out and transparent story, either.

This book could have been so much better. That's the rub. In recent years young adult books have tackled very similar subjects and themes as in this book with better success without breaking a sweat. It can be done! Young adult books should do better today. Young adult books need to do better today. I would not recommend this book to any young adult reader of any age.

The Rumor Game by Dhonielle Clayton and Sona Charaipotra is a young adult mystery thriller with a hint of suspense. A well-written read that issue to keep you on the edge of your seat with its unexpected twists and turns.

This book made me SO glad there was no social negus when I was in high school! It was brutal to read (PLEASE check trigger warnings!) and brutally honest in how teenagers are growing up today. Words and actions have consequences and, once out there, never really go away!

This story is told alternating with views from Bryn, Cora, and Georgie. Each is struggling with personal and family issues as well ad rumors going around. They all attend a prestigious prep school in Washington DC. As the story unfolds, secrets are revealed that, while I did see coming, were dark and twisted.

There is some language and closed-door references to intimacy, but I feel this should be a must-read for all pre-teens/teens to discuss the impacts of social media on our lives. This would be a great book club book-plenty of topics for deep discussion!

Thank you NetGalley and Disney Hyperion for an advanced copy.

Told in alternating, 1st person POV between 3 girls, this semi-mystery novel tells the story of a rumor spreading like wildfire through a DC prep school. This book was an okay read, a little confusing at times but not terribly. The girls are very different, and that made it easier to tell them apart when the POV switches so much. It's definitely a cautionary tale that could be good for high schoolers to read. There are a lot of mature things discussed in it, so make sure to check trigger warnings before you purchase for a school library.

This book touched on a very real subject, and handled it with ease. This is something a lot of people (mainly Teens) have to deal with. It is something I feel like people don't talk about and this book brought light to it. This is a book I feel needs to be accessible to all people to hopefully learn. They can read another persons inner dialogue and how these sorts of things affect everyone.

I am a huge fan of Gossip Girl, and that itch in my brain was scratched by this book, and I was glad to see a much more diverse cast. The plot itself and the switching of the POVs sometimes got a little boring and I would have to put it down for a week at a time to finish it, but it was a relatively satisfying end.

I enjoyed the social media aspects and the continuous addition of post-it notes, and they were a big part of keeping me engaged. I only wonder if this will cause the book to age poorly in the long run.

Overall I would recommend this to someone who read One of Us is Lying or someone who recently finished Gossip Girl- someone still in high school who could relate a little more to the rumor mill and how life altering it can be.

Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me an E-ARC.

The Rumor Game by Dhonielle Clayton and Sona Charaipotra is a young adult thriller novel that is set in an elite private school. The story in The Rumor Game is one that is told by changing the point of view between the characters to give all sides of the story.

Foxham Prep is a private school located in Washington DC where the children of the area’s elite attend. Bryn used to be a queen of the school thanks to her best friend,, Cora, until a rumor brought her crashing down. This year Bryn is hoping for it to all be forgotten when a new girl, Georgie, becomes the focus of the Foxham Prep’s rumor mill.

When finished with The Rumor Game by Dhonielle Clayton and Sona Charaipotra I was left with a feeling of wanting a bit more which seems odd with the length of the novel. It just seemed to me that I had trouble connecting with the characters and becoming fully invested in the story wanting more out of it. There were some things that seemed repetitive and felt as it it could have cut back on which may have improved the flow but overall I just felt this one was just an OK read in my opinion.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

If you're looking for an updated version of Gossip Girl with a more diverse cast and updated social media (lol to those 2000s phones) then you might want to try The Rumor Game.

Three girls, Cora, Bryn and Georgie, navigate their DC area private school, watching their rivalries and romances play out over social media. Wow, it's tough to be a teen these days.

I've decided to not rate this one. Probably the first time I've ever not rated a book I've read? But I just can't. It's not meant for my age, for one. It's so uncomfortable, for two. I hated the layout/format, all of the texts and tweets and likes and repetitiveness, nope not for me, for three. MASSIVE TRIGGER WARNINGS: SEXUAL ASSAULT, SLUT SHAMING, CHILD PORNOGRAPHY, WHITE MALE PRIVILEGE, MENTAL HEALTH, UNDERAGE DRINKING AND DRUGS, BULLYING/RUMORS, FATPHOBIA, MISOGYNY, BAD PARENTING Fuck. This book fucked me up and I was just repeating no no no no no by the time Georgie accidentally got high and that whole thing played out (around 75% through). I did not enjoy reading this and most of the above trigger warnings have never bothered me before.

Gossip Girl, but make it diverse and crank it to 11! This book was a lot. It was definitely not the gossipy high school drama I expected, but filled with real, deep, life-destroying problems. Despite being nearly 500 pages long, this book flew by, and the multiple perspectives really helped bring the story to life. Georgie was definitely my favorite character, and I felt for her so much. The multimedia format following each chapter was the perfect set up, as we saw the real events unfold, followed immediately by what others think happened. While this was full of #richpeopleproblems, I think everyone will find something to relate to in these pages, and I said it recently about a different book, but I am SO glad that social media wasn’t around when I was a teenager!

***Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an electronic copy of this book in exchange for honest feedback.***

“Rumors give information even when false. It’s easy to believe bad things about people you hate or envy.” -The Rumor Game
Rumors have consequences and the more you try to disprove them the more people talk about them. Jashan “Georgie” Khalra finds out the hard way being popular is not always what it cracked up to be.
This book does an amazing job discussing the pressures of social media, cyber bulling, and the digital rumor mill. The book reminds be of an old movie called Gossip (2000) about three college students that started a rumor on the premise of a social experiment for a class project. Dhonielle and Sona really touch on how women are dragged through the mud, guilty or not and POC well you know… The book also touches on trauma responses, rape culture (NO means NO), mental health, white privilege, misogyny, and fatphobia. I thought these topics were discussed well.
I enjoyed The Rumor Game; it conveys how rumors can spread like wildflowers and the way those rumors can impact a person’s life. Although things were predictable and the consequences were meager, which in today’s society is very believable especially if you have money and influence, I was hooked. Once I got into the book it was hard for me to take a break for even a second. Overall, I’m happy I was approved for an advance copy of this book.
Dhonielle and Sona are a great team when they put their minds together.

Such a timely and important novel for the age of social media. Words can really cut like a knife and you will discover just how powerful words are. You have so many rotating POVs and some a good chunk of the story is formatted as text messages which is so great for reluctant readers. I am an identical twin and I enjoyed that POV and felt it was spot on to the way twins constantly feel compared. This novel has some triggers and hot topics but is necessary for self reflection to see the consequences of every action that has a reaction.

3.5 stars

Happy Pub Day!

Set over a single semester at one of DC's most exclusive prep schools, The Rumor Game details the destructive power of secrets and revenge in the lives of three teenage girls.

Clocking in at nearly 500 pages, it is an absolute whopper of a novel that could have benefited from a few cuts considering how repetitive the first 30% felt. However, Clayton and Charaipotra have a great sense of how to manipulate the domino effect of rumors for the reader and once the plot really locks in, the book becomes this absolute roller coaster that I found myself wanting to see through to the end (even if I did find the plot tended to override character development at points) . The use of multimedia throughout is particularly fantastic and provides wonderful visuals for the reader to see just how quickly the lies being told spread.

The Rumor Game can be clunky and uncomfortable to get through at times, but I ended up really enjoying Clayton and Charaipotra's take on the all too familiar drama of high school.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

The Rumor Game is a deep dive into high school drama, social dynamics, and growing up in the age of social media. I wondered on three different occasions if I was too old for this book. At the ripe age of 28, I couldn’t help but feel frustrated at the kids for not talking to adults as well as frustrated at their parents for being so absent. But, then again, these characters hail from the wealthy Washington D.C. society, where money can solve anything for the kids of politicians, ambassadors, and tech moguls.

Told in alternating first-person, our main characters are Bryn, Georgie, and Cora. They’re a diverse trio that each deal with mental health issues on top of their quickly crumbling social lives. Bryn is a recent social pariah, after causing a car accident that injured three of her classmates and her ex-boyfriend over the summer. She’s the first victim of relentless cyberbullying by her classmates at the elite private school Foxham Prep. Georgie returned to school after being forced by her strict Indian mother to spend the summer at fat camp. Her new body is the talk of the social circles and catches the eye of Jase, the type of gross guy we all unfortunately know. Cora is the queen bee of Foxham, the head cheerleader, and former best friends with Bryn. After someone starts spreading rumors about Georgie and Cora’s boyfriend Baez hooking up at a party, she’s determined to get to the bottom of the messy situation.

Thus begins The Rumor Game, a fantastic examination of social pressures and modern teen life. Along with the alternating chapters, we’re given social media feed, text messages, handwritten rumor notes, and news articles documenting the drama. The story not only covers the tough topic of cyberbullying, but it also takes a stab at eating disorders, self-harm, substance abuse, racism, and rape. Those topics are never easy to read about, so reader beware: the narrative doesn’t handle them gently.

Remember that I said this book is 400+ pages? Well, it takes a loooooong time to get to the good stuff. While the set-up is necessary to the story, it could have been done faster. It’s part of what took me so long to read. And the good stuff– the whole game part of the title– doesn’t last very long. I flew through the end, but I didn’t end up satisfied. This might go back to me being too old and cranky for high school drama, but the playout of the game, or the trap for the culprit behind the rumor mill, is weak. I needed more of a punch at the end, but maybe the end I wanted was a little too fictional for such a book.

Overall, I really appreciated the diversity of the main characters, which really solidified them as individuals. I loved that none of the characters were morally perfect, rather they were shades of grey that I loved and hated at the same time (some of the characters were a lot more hate-able than others, but I’ll leave that to you to figure out). There were some powerful friendships grown between a few characters, which were played up far more than the romantic relationships. While many of the peer commentary about Georgie was brutal to read, the support of her news friends made it easier to digest.

3.5/5 Stars.

I received a free advanced copy of The Rumor Game from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

*I received a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

Foxham Prep is a high school for the teenage children of elite members of Washington D.C. Within the school are three students that the story revolves around. Bryn is the daughter of a congressman who had a traumatic accident over the summer that changed the way her friends, classmates, and even her parents view her. She's starting the new year trying to get her life back. Georgie, a daughter of an Indian tech giant, spent the summer at a camp designed to help her lose weight. Now she's back and "better than ever." Georgie is making new friends and reinventing herself however possible. Cora, former best friend to Bryn and cheer captain is set to make this year great and to spend her time with her boyfriend. But everything changes when rumors start to develop that pit the girls against each other and try to tear the balance of their senior year apart.

The story really shows how quickly rumors can spread that can seriously damage the reputation of those they put in the spotlight. Each twist and turn of the story highlighted something that happens daily to those who go to any high school. Racism, sexism, and blatant disregard for looking at someone else's story. What I appreciated about the story was that each character was completely fleshed out and they felt like one of the students I interact with every day. The bits of the story that were social media posts and texts also made the book have an angle that would appeal to my students.

I hope that this is a book that falls into the hands of the students I work with. The only less positive aspect was the pacing of the book. The first 150ish pages all felt like it was the same thing happening over and over. It made the ending feel very rushed that all of the drama went down in less than half of the book. I do recommend this book to high school students everywhere as well as for parents to give to their children if they fear social media bullying is occuring.

The Rumor Game by Dhonielle Clayton and Sona Charaipotra is an illuminating story on many teens' serious issues today.

I was expecting a much different story based on the book description. I thought the book would be an out-there tale of private school hijinks but what I found was a somber book of genuine issues that face all teens today, no matter their skin color, their parent's financial status, or the type of school they attend. It is problems born of social media and camera phones that take parents of teens by such surprise because we never had to face them ourselves.

The story covers so many issues: fat shaming and body image issues, bullying via social media, and the distribution of child pornography by teens, to name a few. I've handled many cases such as these as a school counselor, and I found the books' depiction mostly accurate. There were a few elements that I can see that make this fictionalized and enter the realm of over-the-top. Only very rarely does this number of issues happen to one student as it does in this story. Instead, it is usually spread out among many students, as in:
Student A is a victim of bullying via social media.
Student B sent her boyfriend a nude photo of herself and found out that he sent it to others, and then someone posted it on social media.
Student C is triggered when someone tells her how thin she is as a compliment.
And so on.

I did like, however, how the authors showed how one decision by a student to protect herself had a domino effect that led to so much more and ruined many young lives as a consequence. There is a lot of truth to this. Teens often act from a selfish place that impacts many negatively if things are aligned just so, and they are unable to see beforehand the consequences of their actions. Their brain has not reached that level of development yet. In saying that, I do also feel that I should mention that they also won't heed the warnings in this story. Instead, they will think that couldn't happen to them. But, adults realize that this very quickly can happen. So, I would say even though this is intended for a teen audience, it would be a much more compelling story for the parents of teens who did not grow up with camera-ready cell phones and social media. Parents don't know what can happen but are in a better position to see the possibilities from the story and have needed talks with their teens.

I didn't find any of the characters particularly relatable or well-developed. They are a bit stereotypical though a few of them – the three that narrate this story in first-person POV – is a bit more fleshed out. Those three are Cora, Bryn, and Georgie. I especially loved the diversity in these characters, as well as the support characters, and the cultural components that came into the story as a result. Those details come across as authentic, and I felt that I took away from the book a better understanding of the family dynamics in a few different cultures.

I also enjoyed the pace of the book. It is rather lengthy, but the pace stays quick from start to finish so that it reads very quickly. I also enjoyed including social media posts, comments, and text messages between the students, which helped keep that pace up and provided compelling points in the story.

I would highly recommend this story for the parents of teens even more than for the teens themselves. Complex topics are handled respectfully with just enough details to be understood but not so many details that the story crosses the line into gratuitousness or overly graphic. If you want to learn more about the perils of teens today, The Rumor Game is an excellent read for you.

hmmm this was interesting. it's not a new type of story, but i still read it pretty fast. i'm not 100% certain what my full thoughts are on this one. I think it would make a great tv show tho!!