Book Review: Revenge of the Sluts

Title: Revenge of the Sluts

Author: Natalie Walton

Publisher: Wattpad Books

Rating: 3

Synopsis (via Goodreads): Double standards are about to get singled out.  In this stunning debut, author Natalie Walton tackles privacy and relationships in the digital age.  As a lead reporter for The Warrior Weekly, Eden has covered her fair share of stories at St. Joseph's High School. And when intimate pictures of seven female students are anonymously emailed to the entire school, Eden is determined to get to the bottom of it.  In tracking down leads, Eden is shocked to discover not everyone agrees the students are victims. Some people feel the girls "brought it on themselves." Even worse, the school’s administration seems more concerned about protecting its reputation than its students.  With the anonymous sender threatening more emails, Eden finds an unlikely ally: the seven young women themselves. Banding together to find the perpetrator, the tables are about to be turned. The Slut Squad is fighting back!

Review: *I received this book as an e-ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

The cover, the title, and the description all caught my eye when this book popped up in my feed.  I was very excited about this book... but in all honesty, when I finished reading it the other night the first thought I had was, "It was okay."

The story line is unique - an email is sent out to the high school student body with leaked nudes of seven girls in the senior class and the main character, Eden, is determined to find out who sent the email using her journalism skills.  Except all we hear about is how Eden is involved with the school newspaper and the drama that comes along with being a lead reporter for the Nudegate scandal.  There really isn't, in my opinion, a lot of investigating who-done-it. 

I liked how Eden was not another white female protagonist; she's Asian American.  I don't know if it's just the books I read or the fact that minorities are underrepresented in teen fiction books, but Revenge of the Sluts had a diverse cast which was really refreshing.  The friendship between Eden and Atticus was cute, but a little undeveloped.  Sloane and Ronnie were two of the strongest characters who refused to back down and keep quiet (#girlpower); they were probably my favorites.  Honorable mention to the Warrior Weekly advisor, Ms. Polaski, who encouraged them to pursue the story regardless of what the school's administration said.  Speaking of Warrior Weekly, I wish the articles that were being written were included in the book.  I think that could've added a little more spice to actually see what the characters were working on, not just read that they were working on it (if you know what I mean).

A continual theme throughout the book was double standards in relation to sex.  If girls sleep with more than one guy, they're sluts (if they don't sleep with any guy, they're a prude).  If guys sleep with more than one girl, he's a stud.  This topic doesn't get talked about a lot, but I think it should and I really appreciate how much Walton drilled into this concept.  This double standard is a problem.

Another topic that Walton touches on (obviously) is sexting and revenge porn, both of which are prominent outside of the fiction world, but, again, aren't discussed as much as they should be.  In fact, it seems that sexting has become a societal norm within our current dating culture.  The double standard comes into play once more: if girls send pictures, they're sluts; if guys get pictures, they're studs.  So blessed stupid.  And yet, some guys, like a few of the characters in this book, save the pictures and treat them as trophies to show off to their buddies.  In the wise words of Jasmine from Disney's Aladdin, "I am not a prize to be won."  Walton declares that loud and clear - women are not objects.  Not only that, but no one is forcing you to send pictures or have casual sex.  It's your choice.  And if you feel cornered to do so because that's the only way to keep someone's attention, that's on them.  You deserve better.

The part about feeling cornered is what resonated with me.  I read Sloane's powerful proclamation and swallowed hard.  No one is forcing me to do anything.  I don't owe anyone anything.  So dang true.  If the book had that level of momentum from cover to cover, that's when it would've knocked my socks off...