The Rumor Game by Dhonielle Clayton and Sona Charaipotra

All it takes is one spark to start a blaze.

At Foxham Prep, a posh private school for the children of DC’s elite, a single rumor has the power to ruin a life.

Nobody knows that better than Bryn. She used to have it all—the perfect boyfriend, a bright future in politics, and even popularity, thanks to her best friend, cheer captain Cora. Then one mistake sparked a scandal that burned it all to the ground.

Now it’s the start of a new school year and the spotlight has shifted: It’s geeky Georgie, newly hot after a summer makeover, whose name is on everyone’s lips. When a rumor ignites, Georgie rockets up the school’s social hierarchy, pitting her and Cora against each other. It grants her Foxham stardom . . . but it also makes her a target.

As the rumors grow and morph, blazing like wildfire through the school’s social media, all three girls’ lives begin to unravel. But one person close to the drama has the power to stop the gossip in its tracks. The question is—do they even want to?

From Dhonielle Clayton and Sona Charaipotra, authors of the Tiny Pretty Things duology (now a Netflix series), comes the edge-of-your-seat social thriller everyone will be talking about.

---

I was looking forward to reading this. I thought it sounded like a really fun, timely read. I managed to graduate school just before social media really took off, and I have a lot of admiration for teens who go to school nowadays without actually going crazy from the pressure of it. It's a very real problem for a lot of people.

However, it just all fell a bit flat for me in this instance. Possibly because it was so intense. The internet can be cruel, yes, but it also loses interest quickly and moves on to other things. Even with someone stirring things up, I find it hard to believe that no one would have anything else to talk about for a whole school year. I didn't really like any of the characters either, but that was a large part of the point, of course.

I think some readers will enjoy this, but it wasn't for me.

The Rumor Game publishes on the 1st March 2022. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.