Wow, this book... it’s a modern YA retelling of Macbeth meets Cruel Intentions, meets the darkest fantasies of any #MeToo story you could imagine.

It needs trigger warnings which is does include in the beginning... flashbacks of rape and a whole lot of dark content. It also requires a certain suspension of disbelief both for the content and the pacing but not to the point where I was taken out of the story. The way it’s written is almost lyrical in its darkness and I was happy to see a diverse main character.

Foul is Fair by Hannah Capin

Wednesday Books, 2020

ISBN-13: 978-1250239549

Available: Hardcover, Kindle edition, audiobook, audio CD



Sixteen year old Elle and her friends Jenny, Summer, and Mads, are glamorous, vicious, daughters of the ultra-rich whose parents have given them a lot of freedom, When the four girls crash a party for the lacrosse team for the elite prep school, St. Andrews, what starts out as fun becomes a lot less so as the girls are separated and most of the lacrosse team colludes in drugging and raping Elle.

But this is not the story of Elle as either a victim or a survivor. This is the story of how Elle plans to kill off every member of the lacrosse team who had any kind of involvement in orchestrating or participating in her rape, backed by her friends, or "coven".  As she looks at a photo of the St. Andrews lacrosse team, she spots one boy who was not involved, and decides she's going to manipulate him into killing his teammates.  Cutting and dyeing her hair, she transfers to St. Andrews to get close to her future victims, and especially, to get close to Mack, the player who didn't take part, so she can convince him that knocking off his teammates is the right thing to do, and set him up as the fall guy. Even falling in love with him-- and she thinks she might be falling in love with him-- isn't enough to take her mind and her heart off vengeance.

Foul and Fair takes its inspiration from Shakespeare's Macbeth, positioning Elle's friends as the three witches, Elle as Lady Macbeth, and Mack as Macbeth. Rather than convincing him to kill out of ambition, though, Elle convinces him he is killing out of righteousness.  Elle's murderous anger slashes through the book.

Unfortunately, the scenario of entitled, rich, white guys raping a girl at a party without having to face consequences isn't an unrealistic one, and certainly Elle's feelings, and the bonds of her friendships, are strong. But the likelihood of the girls getting away with tormenting and setting up the members of the lacrosse team, especially without getting caught, is something the reader really has to buy into, as is the likelihood of Elle convincing a guy she's known less than a week to kill his best friend.

Elle is not a sympathetic character (neither is Lady Macbeth, to be fair) although we get to see a few heroic moments in flashbacks to the beginnings of the four girls' friendships, like her defense of Mads, a trans girl, on the day Mads outed herself at school (Mads is a great character who doesn't get enough time, and Capin writes her wonderfully). Whatever else they are, Elle and her "coven" have each other's backs. These four girls, and the way they're described, although poetic, reveals that they are a pretty terrifying bunch. I'm doubtful that this will appeal to boys, even though it does a pretty good job of laying out the complicity of even those who aren't directly involved, and they're the ones who need to see that. But readers looking for a revenge fantasy with sharp teeth won't be disappointed. Recommended.

Contains: flashbacks to rape, sexual assault, abusive behaviors, bullying, transphobic bullying, brief depictions of suicide, substance abuse, cursing, violence, gore, murder.

Do you remember that feeling you got when you first saw Cruel Intentions? Like, could this movie be more messed up and delicious? That's the exact way I felt when reading this book. It is delightfully dark--and not just in that way we say something is super dark in YA, but this really, really takes an absolutely timely topic and turns it on it's head. Nay, cuts its head right off.

I hate this and I love it? Such an addictive, fast paced novel--definitely fun to read, and I can for sure see this as a TV show in the vein of CW. It's high school revenge porn at it's finest. However, it's definitely violent and triggering ala 13 Reasons Why--and I don't want to see girls getting themselves in trouble for murdering their attackers. Still, I can see this book making a huge splash!

TW: sexual assault, rape, rape culture, gender based violence, abusive relationships, physical violence, gore, murder, bullying, transphobia, suicide, self harm, and substance abuse.

This has to be one of the most well written books I've ever read. All of the topics are handled so well. And for the first time I didn't really know what was going to happen. I kind of figured out what the twist was, but everything else was new. The writing is so beautiful and lyrical and I honestly can't wait to own a physical edition of this book.

This book is so necessary in a painful, raw kind of way that I think a lot of people won’t know how to handle. Elle is a victim and a survivor and she’s going to get revenge, and you root for her because you know how similar stories have gone time and time again. You want to see a different ending for this one. It’s uncomfortable. It’s brutal. It’s scary because it’s so reminiscent of reality.

I devoured this book in two days and didn’t expect to love it as much as I did. I highly recommend this book, however encourage readers to be mindful that there is off page sexual assault, gore, self harm, and other potentially harmful content (which is listed at the beginning of the book).

I was given an advanced copy from NetGalley in exchange for this honest review.

**Disclaimer: I was given an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.**

I really, really tried to push through this book that is noted as a retelling of "Macbeth", but I just couldn't. Somehow, you're expected to believe all of this happens within a span of a week, instead of over years and years of emotional and psychological manipulation. ...

*Triggers/Notes: The primary thematic material of Foul is Fair centers on sexual assault (not depicted), rape culture, and violence. Additionally, the book includes an abusive relationship, a suicide attempt, and a brief scene with transphobic bullying. For a more detailed description of sensitive content, please visit hannahcapin.com/foulisfair.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for allowing me to read Foul is Fair in exchange for a honest review. I’m going to think about this story for a long time. It’s a hauntingly beautiful book that keeps you wondering where things are going to go next. I truly can’t wait for it to be released in 2020 so it can be seen for the wonder this novel is.

I devoured this book. Hannah Capin has written the revenge book I didn’t know I needed, with a fierce coven of mean girls, whom I can’t help but love. (For real squad goals.) The girls have the bond I wanted so badly to see when I watched movies like Jawbreaker or Mean Girls.
Most importantly, in my eyes, Foul is Fair deals with subjects like sexual assault without giving explicit details. Capin saves the pages of words we don’t need to be told, and uses them instead for a delicious plot. There are parts which are hard to read (emotionally), because it’s a hard topic, but it never feels like it’s bern drawn out.
I would feel comfortable recommending this book to someone who has experienced abuse of almost any variety— and I think that is rare for a book which deals with sex and violence and intimidation.

The Quick Cut: A teen girl seeks revenge from a group of guys who raped her.

A Real Review:
Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

How far would you go for revenge? It's a simple question with far reaching consequences. Depending on how deep the wound is and how impassioned we can be to get back what dignity may have been lost, some will cross any line to take back what is theirs. In this story, that girl willing to take any risk is Elle Jade.

Elle and her friends (who call themselves a coven) find their lives turned upside down when she is raped by a group of boys at a party. Rather than take the usual aftermath routes, Elle cuts her hair, dyes it black, starts going by her middle name Jade, and transfers to the boy's school St. Andrews in order to enact her revenge plot. She's not alone either. Her coven are there every step of the way helping her setup the boys while Jade entraps a boy into murdering the guys for her. Will revenge be sweet or end unexpectedly bitter?

There's dark tales and then there is THIS BOOK. In all seriousness, the story told here takes thing to such a from place that I found a bitter taste in my mouth and a need to read faster to get the uncomfortable experience done sooner. It may be my disposition or possibly the plot holes I found in how elements unraveled, but this one left me unsettled in the wrong kind of way.

Jade gets her revenge in the process of a week and considering how much is done, there would be so many red flags that its unfathomable in real life. I get that in book reading you have to check reality at the door but the level of effort requested here is expansive. It would be easier to do if there was a likable heroine, but even with everything Jade went through at the beginning? I can't say I ever felt sympathy for her due to her sizable ego and generally lacking moral compass.

A fascinating story idea with details that go way too far into dark territories for the YA genre.

My rating: 2 out of 5

Wow. This book was stunning. Fierce, angry, and unrelenting, Hannah Capin’s lyrical prose absolutely floored me. The protagonist’s voice was unique and captivating — it was like this book demanded to be read. Even though this is a fast-paced page turner, I read this one slowly, wanting to savor every ounce of revenge, every haunting word. And although I haven’t read Macbeth since high school, I really enjoyed the parallels I recognized. I’d recommend putting this high on your preorder list.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the early read!

One thing I really like about this book is that the protagonist, Jade, is unapologetic to the very end. Soon after her assault, Jade vows to avenge herself through the deaths of the boys who were involved and she sticks to that. There are a lot of times in books where the female main character ends up killing for some sort of reason and she's consumed with grief and guilt. While those reactions are completely understandable and oftentimes moving to read, if that had happened with Jade, I would have felt severely disappointed. Instead, she's cunning and sly and unwaveringly determined to make sure they die. She's all jagged edges that are shined so that other characters are fooled into thinking she's just another beautiful girl. Each death is a victory in her eyes and having read what they did to her, I felt so deeply for her that I was rooting for each boy to die with her, boys who otherwise would have gotten off scot-free even if she had pressed charges. Boys with golden reputations and parents and money that would have made sure they never had to answer for their crimes. Boys who would never have thought about what they did again while their victims were left changed.
So yeah, I really enjoyed how ruthless and unapologetic Jade was.

I do have to admit though, that the book oftentimes is a bit over the top (I say after having raved about how I enjoyed reading about each boy's death). I know this is like a Macbeth retelling and it's supposed to be dramatic, but sometimes, it was so dramatic that I couldn't stay engaged. Everything happens almost too easily for Jade and she infiltrates the inner circle of the boys in almost no time. The "coven" at times made me cringe with their awkward dialogue even as I adored this group of girl friends so dedicated to each other, and at the same time, I wished they had played a larger role. The characters curse a lot and listen, I curse too, but for some reason, it just made the dialogue seem really awkward. It was like a caricature of "edgy, real" teenagers.

Overall though, this was a fun, quick read that I'd recommend if you want a book with a strong female character who will do whatever it takes to avenge herself.

Foul is Fair by Hannah Capin is a fun modern revenge story. I really enjoyed the writing style that made this book feel like you were really in a teenage world. The book starts off with a trigger warning that the main thematic element is sexual assault and I really appreciated both that there is this warning right at the beginning of the book and also that the sexual assault is not depicted. It was a wild ride throughout this book to see how the main character Jade could get her revenge. Although completely unbelievable it makes for a great story and I could easily see this adapted for film. It would be great to see all the visuals brought to life. There are some great outfit looks described in this book. Overall I enjoyed reading this books and would definitely read more by this author.

I have mixed feelings about this book. It's a "Macbeth retelling", very focused on revenge (other themes (triggers) include rape and suicide). It was *VERY* dark for a YA novel (lots of death --- not too graphic, but LOTS). For me this was less "you go, girl, get that guy back for what he did to you" and more "someone stop this book from making every teen girl who has felt the need for revenge go and kill everyone they know". I did like the writing style --- it was very well written --- but overall, I'd skip this one, and if you have any/know any teen girls..... Probably don't recommend it to them. Yikes.

I discovered Hannah Capin when she wrote Dead Queens Club, a YA re-imagining of the story of Henry VIII, and honestly, I was kind of mad no one told me about it earlier because it was VERY on brand for me. But I started following her on Twitter and got an e-ARC from NetGalley of her Macbeth-inspired second novel, and wow, it is somehow even better than Dead Queens Club. The writing, the development, the intrigue. I'm amazed and I can't wait for everyone else to read Foul is Fair when it comes out in February 2020.

Macbeth meets #MeToo in this gripping, extremely well written story. After Elle is sexually assaulted by several boys at a St. Andrews Party, she and her "coven" of friends decide to get revenge, Lady Macbeth style. She becomes Jade, she transfers to St. Andrews, befriends the cool kids, and her attackers, and starts taking them out one-by-one with the help of her new boyfriend, Mack. There's murder, there's absolutely haunting language, there's plotting and prep school drama and friends turning against friends and secret texts and wow, this is a STRONG Book. Like, it's there. It's so well written I wanted to carve it into my skin, the message is strong (yasss strong women with plans & goals) and I can't wait for everyone to read it.

1. I read this book in a day, so it is addictive (but please check out the content warnings!!!!!)
2. I could totally picture this being a movie with the cinematography being a mixture of EUPHORIA and KILL BILL
3. Oof manipulative girls I stan
4. Imagine meeting someone and within five days convincing them to murder their friend. What power.
5. The book has a dry narration style with a lot of flashbacks so if you hate sentence fragments then you’ll probably hate this book
6. Parts of the book were super thrilling and parts were kind of boring. So I teeter between 3.5-4 stars.
7. This book reminded me a bit of HUSHED (guy decided to murder a group of dudes who raped his best friend), only with girl power and full of ride or die friendship. With an MC that comes straight from THE YOUNG ELITES or any Courtney Summers book.
8. We have a really diverse cast: latina transwoman rep, east asian rep, south asian rep, sapphic rep.
9. A good discourse on how through inaction you’re still complicit, misogyny, and to maybe spread out your murders a bit more...
10. FEMALE FRIENDSHIPS FUCK THE WORLD


Content Warnings and Trigger Warnings: here are the content/trigger warnings taken directly from Hannah's site:
"the primary thematic material of FOUL IS FAIR centers on sexual assault (not depicted), rape culture, and violence. additionally, the book includes an abusive relationship, a suicide attempt, and a brief scene with transphobic bullying. for a more detailed description of sensitive content"
I want to add panic attack, hallucinations (lack of sleep), not eating due to stress

This novel adapts Macbeth as a revenge tragedy set at a California prep school. The putative Lady M and her coven members--three other young women--attend a party held by members of the school's lacrosse team, where the narrator is drugged and raped. Vowing revenge, she changes her appearance and enrolls at their school in order to cause them to kill one another. She succeeds. The novels is extravagant and over-the-top, and has some commonalities with Tracy Chevalier's New Boy, in which she retells the story of Othello in a similarly short timeline and among schoolmates. Foul is Fair works as long as you read it as fantasy and don't expect realism of any kind, which is a bit difficult at times because of the way the author tries hard to situate it in the real world. If you're a fencer, expect to roll your eyes a lot: the fantasy even runs to that. Overall it's a dark romp through Macbeth with a backstory and alternate POV, and might appeal to readers who already know the play well.

Hannah Capin takes Macbeth and turns into a feminist revenge fantasy. However, I couldn't get over the number of times I had to suspend my belief, which took away from the enjoyment of the book. Everything was happening too quickly for me, even though the deaths also come quickly in Macbeth as well. I didn't like the writing style, either. There was a lot of repetition that I didn't find necessary. There wasn't anything overly wrong with this book, I just didn't get along with it.

Some will love this reimagining of Macbeth but it wasn't for me.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Wednesday Books through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.*

Elle and her best friends Mads, Jenny, and Summer are the "Queens" who rule, the daughters of wealthy parents of Hancock Park, LA. On Elle's sixteenth birthday, drunk on Vodka and dressed to kill, they crash an Andrew's Prep party which results in the sexual assault of Elle. Afterwards Elle now Jade plots revenge, and ultimately death, for all of those involved. With the help of her friends they will kill them all and set up one of their perfect Golden Boys, Mack, as the killer.

Foul is Fair offers a warning about its sensitive content involving: sexual assault, rape culture, violence and also includes brief content about abusive relationships, a suicide attempt, and transphobic bullying. I will start by saying although all this content is in the story the story is written in almost a poetic prose that almost softens the edge off the harder hitting content. The violence is the only aspect of the book that is really depicted in its full severity. As I started reading this novel I was not sure exactly how I felt about the writing style but it really does fit this novel perfectly. The story is engaging and the characters are all unique, including a few who are very sinister for their ages. This book is about seeking violent revenge against those found guilty with a strong female protagonist who isn't afraid of getting her hands dirty. I really enjoyed this novel and look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

I'm not sure where to start with FOUL IS FAIR as it was honestly a mixed bag for me. The beginning was great -- dark and ruthless with a heavy dose of lyrical writing -- but then things sort of went downhill for me.

As much as I love the concept of a group of friends getting revenge on terrible boys, I found the lack of character development kept me from getting particularly attached to the coven's mission. Jade felt very distant as a main character and the three members of her coven -- Jenny, Mads, and Summer -- can easily be reduced into one-sentence descriptions. None of them had the rich interior life that's made other revenge stories, like SADIE and HELLO GIRLS, so enjoyable.

It's only fair to point out that FOUL IS FAIR is based off Shakespeare's MACBETH, which is one of his plays I've yet to read, so I'm unable to say whether it's a great adaptation of the play. It seemed to capture the ambiance I got from the Sparknotes summary (gah, just saying that makes me feel like I've failed every English teacher/professor I ever liked).

This book has a lot of trigger warnings which are described in detail on Hannah Capin's website (https://www.hannahcapin.com/foulisfair) for those who are interested.