I am so happy that I was chosen to be hosting a spot on the DANGEROUS PLAY by Emma Kress Blog Tour hosted by
Rockstar Book Tours.
This book intrigued me from the moment I saw the cover and being apart of this tour is such a great feeling. Information about the book, author, and tour are included in this post. Check out my review down below (after the book information and praise) and make sure to enter the giveaway!
About the Book:
Author: Emma Kress
Pub. Date: August 3, 2021
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook, Audiobook
Pages: 352
Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Audible,
B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org
A fierce team of girls takes back the night in this propulsive, electrifying, and high-stakes YA debut from Emma Kress
Zoe Alamandar has one goal: win the State Field Hockey Championships and earn a
scholarship that will get her the hell out of Central New York. She and her
co-captain Ava Cervantes have assembled a fierce team of dedicated girls who
will work hard and play by the rules.
But after Zoe is sexually assaulted at a party, she finds a new goal: make sure
no girl feels unsafe again. Zoe and her teammates decide to stop playing by the
rules and take justice into their own hands. Soon, their suburban town has a
team of superheroes meting out punishments, but one night of vigilantism may
cost Zoe her team, the championship, her scholarship, and her future.
Perfect for fans who loved the female friendships of Jennifer Mathieu’s Moxie and
the bite of Courtney Summer’s Sadie.
Praise for DANGEROUS PLAY
"A contemporary feminist debut. . . . A timely and
absorbing character study of a sexual assault survivor." —Kirkus
Reviews
"Kress renders Zoe’s trauma unflinchingly and
compassionately, making this a worthwhile look at sexism and the healing
power of speaking out—as well as a passionate love letter to an
underappreciated sport." —Publishers Weekly
“Kress’s fierce characters show that, together, girls can
be something bigger. Their story shows how loyalty, dedication, and an occasional
bent rule can make the world a better place.” —Adrienne Kisner, author of Six
Angry Girls and Dear Rachel Maddow
“Vibrant, daring, and deep, Dangerous Play is both a
thrilling ride and a profound exploration of female friendship, rape culture,
and the difficulty of doing the right thing in a world built on wrongs. An
unflinching and empowering debut.” —Corey Ann Haydu, author of
Ever Cursed
"I want to put this book in the hands of every teenager
I know. For anyone - especially any girl - who needs to find the power that
comes from speaking up and speaking out, this gorgeous debut is a
game-changer." —Rachel Person, Northshire Bookstore, Saratoga Springs
Review for Dangerous Play:
CONTENT WARNING: Violence, sexual assault
The absolute best thing about this book was the characters. Emma Kress writes such amazing, relatable characters that I wanted to root for them through the entire book. Even when certain thoughts or actions didn’t fit with my own feelings, I wanted them to be okay. Even the characters that we weren’t supposed to like felt realistic. None of the characters were portrayed as too perfect or forgiving, everyone had their flaws.
One of the things that I thought was handled extremely well in this book was the topic of taking matters into your own hands. The girls originally decide to do this because they’ve been harassed/assaulted before and they want to make sure that no other girl has to feel the way that they did. Zoe’s mindset changes as time goes on and Kress does an excellent job at writing this. It’s hard to figure out when trying to protect others becomes wrong. Kress actively acknowledges this issue in her writing and the characters have to decide if they went too far and if there were other ways that they could have helped.
I will admit that I had a couple of issues with this book, but it was minimal. My biggest was the author’s usage of “fock” and “fockey”. The girls are field hockey (fockey) players, so they use fock in place of fuck. It’s cute, but it got annoying really quick.
My other issue is kind of hard to talk about. This book got uncomfortable at times. This isn’t a bad thing; it’s more of a comment on the author’s writing ability. The author is great at describing actions and feelings throughout the book, even when they aren’t comfortable to read about. The writing style changes when Zoe is assaulted and it’s great as a way of reflecting her mental state, but it also made me want to stop reading. Again, this isn’t because it was a bad book but rather because the topic was uncomfortable, and I didn’t expect it to affect me the way that it did.
This book is a very powerful YA read and I would strongly recommend it to anyone. The author did an exemplary job at writing these characters and situations that it genuinely made me uncomfortable (in a good way). It’s also a way too relevant topic and I think an important one that needs to have more books written about it. This was an excellent book, especially considering it’s a debut novel, and I look forward to rereading this book and reading any future releases by Kress.
About Emma Kress:
Emma Kress is a graduate of Vassar College, Columbia University’s
Teachers College, and the Vermont College of Fine Arts’ Writing for Children
and Young Adults MFA program. An educator of over 20 years, Emma was a finalist
for New York State Teacher of the Year in 2014. Before teaching, Emma worked in
social services helping survivors of sexual assault. Now, she lives with her
family in Saratoga Springs, NY.
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | Goodreads | Amazon
Giveaway Details:
3 winners will receive a finished copy of DANGEROUS PLAY, US ONLY.
a Rafflecopter giveawayTour Schedule:
Week One:
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8/3/2021 |
Interview |
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8/4/2021 |
Review |
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8/5/2021 |
Review |
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8/6/2021 |
Review |
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8/7/2021 |
Review |
Week Two:
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8/8/2021 |
Review |
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8/9/2021 |
Review |
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8/10/2021 |
Review |
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8/11/2021 |
Review |
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8/12/2021 |
Review |
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