3.8/5 ☆

This book opens for multiple important discussions that should be had. Everyone can learn something from the social commentary presented in this book. The themes and issues that are being tackled are highly relevant, and I do believe anyone can find some guidance in this book. Today, revenge porn and nudes play a big role in the life of a lot of teenagers, and this book may give more insight into the consequences and aftermath of actions.

When the nudes of seven girls were sent to all the students of St. Joe High School, the reporter for the school paper, Eden Jeong, finds herself looking for answers. Why would someone send intimate photos to the entire school? At the same time, the seven victims find themselves in the spotlight of humiliation, shame, and blame by their fellow peers. While the school's administration is more concerned about protecting their reputation, the girls strive to get to the bottom of it all and change the way victims (especially hate crimes) are being treated.

I may be a bit biased. I read this book a couple of years ago on Wattpad, and will also declare this book as one of the few gems Wattpad has to offer. On a platform like Wattpad, it may be hard to find "good" and well-written books, and this book shone in comparison to other works one can find on the platform. So yeah, I really enjoyed this book at the time.

Now that I am reading this from a critical perspective, I will admit that the writing is alright, but pacing a bit slow. Moreover, the plot can sometimes be a bit boring. Then why did I rate this book 4 stars?

Well, the message and social commentary really captured my interest. I really loved how it addresses the double standards we experience today, slut-shaming, cencorism, and revenge porn. Both victims of revenge porn and bystanders can learn much from this. Especially how to grow as well as how to support each other. Moreover, this book felt quite empowering, as the seven girls stood up against the hate they were receiving and demanded change.

In conclusion, this book felt a tiny bit nostalgic to me. I remember waiting weeks after weeks for an update and a new chapter of this book on Wattpad, and now it will be a published book! Woah. Anyway, looking aside from that, I believe this book is quite important and we all can learn something from it.

Over and out. -Nora<3

(Moreover, I would also like to say that Eden Jeong is a Korean character. I am not Korean, so it's not my place to judge the representation. However, I do recommend listening to Korean reviewers concerning the representation. I will say that Eden's heritage and race does not play a big role in this book, but I thought it was important to address this.)

The only thing in this bookish world I hate more than a horrible novel is a novel that's absolutely, horrendously bad until the very last pages, when it gets good.
Because, what am I supposed to do with it then? I just spent days creating a list of all the ways I'll drag it through the mud in my review once I'm done reading, and in the end...the novel redeemed itself?

So yes, the first 70% of Revenge of the Sluts was plain bad:
–The writing was amateurish
–Each and every irrelevant detail was unnecessarily described. (The MC couldn't just get home from school, it had to be all like: <b><i>"I turned up the radio as a distraction and had a mostly uneventful drive home. When I reached my driveway, I dragged myself out of the car, the weight of the day piled onto my shoulders."</i></b>
–There was a lot of unnecessary dialogue that sounded unnatural and clumsy
–The whole time I was wondering how can someone write so much without saying anything
–The MC was Korean, but without any representation. (Maybe it's just me, but I hate when white authors make their characters minority, solely for the purpose of "diversity".)
–Even though book blurb suggests otherwise, this novel was basically just about a girl writing an article for school paper acting like she was a journalist writing breaking news for USA Today. Absolutely ridiculous.

This easily could've been the worst book I read in 2021, but things picked up toward the end and the ending was satisfying (even though I figured the mystery out on my own).
So, yeah, somehow it gets 3 stars!

A fun, fast and important reading.
Good characters, addictive story, important topics covered such as revenge porn, bullying, cyberbullying, teenage sexuality ...
It is worth reading!

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me an arc in exchange of a honest review.

A great book about reclaiming words used to describe women and owning them. I enjoyed this thoroughly and would recommend highly

I really liked the idea of this book tackling the double standards within society. The girls within the book attempt to take back the word slut and diminish its power. I found this book infuriating but also accurate in how the adults dealt with this situation and I feel this is something that should have been further explored. The only character I truly loved is Sloane - she took action, stood up for herself and others and was comfortable with her own sexuality. However this book missed the mark for me, it seemed quite childish at times and also predictable.

This was great! A nice packed punch of feminism, embracing sexuality, and building each other up. I tore through this one and it reminds me why I don't only read books that are published by the big publish houses. There are some hidden gems in smaller publishing companies.

This story focuses on Eden, a writer for the school newspaper, who finds herself in charge of writing the story about "Nudegate" after nude pictures of seven teenage (but technically adult since they're all 18) girls are sent to the entire student body in an email. This story about nude pictures is so much more than girls simply having their privacy violated. It encompasses the ridiculous double standard girls face for being sexually active, the failure of school administration to address something that might tarnish the school's reputation, and the everyday pressure girls face from guys to expose themselves.

I'm rating this a 4 instead of 5 because I needed a little more from the girls themselves. I absolutely loved Sloane and the proactive approach she had to uniting the girls together, but I found myself confusing some of the others like Margot, Violeta, and Angela, and I think it's because they didn't get much of the spotlight. I think it would have been more impactful if I got to know each girl as an individual and to see how something so violating affected each of them specifically.

That being said, this is still a great book. I really like how the author chose to have some of the girls be strong and confident in their choices and some of them blame themselves for acting so carelessly. The bottom line is that those pictures were taken and shared in confidence and girls shouldn't be shamed for exploring their sexuality. I feel like this is a book that's needed for many teenage girls for a variety of reasons: 1) to know that it's okay to be sexual, 2) to know you're within your rights to expect privacy for your sexual activity, 3) to show other girls who are not sexually active that their counterparts are still deserving of the same respect, 4) to drive home the fact that unfortunately, no matter how much you trust someone, they sometimes suck and will betray your trust. Yes, even your high school sweetheart who you think is the love of your life. It happens.

So pleasantly surprised by this one and I would definitely read from this author again.

The title and the cover of this book both drew me in. It was okay. I did expect more from it. I feel like it could have been a lot deeper than what it was. Eden the main character is likable, but there are so many parts that seemed to just ramble the same things, because of this it was not a quick read for me, or did I find myself needing to get back to it to see what happened next. Since there were parts that were enjoyable and it wasn't a complete dud, I am rating it 3 stars.

This review will be posted to goodreads and amazon.

#revengeofthesluts #wattpadd #nataliewalton #netgalley #netgalleyreviewer if you enjoyed say #karenmmcmanus and her books then I imagine you’ll enjoy #ROTS a private school of about five hundred students. One morning an email is sent to every single student. In the email is seven students. All of those students are nude. Who did this? Why? We have an investigative reporter or more on the #hsnewspaper who luckily is there for the #slutsquad #readersofinstagram #bookstagram #bookaddict #readingcommunity #bookreview

Revenge of the Sluts
Author: Natalie Walton
Genre: YA Contemporary
Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ / 5
Reviewed: Maya

[Trigger Warning: sex shaming, revenge porn, cyberbullying, victim shaming]

I picked this up, not really knowing much about what I was getting into but it was so good! Walton’s writing was extraordinarily raw and honest, which really helped to set up the storyline in a believable way. The topic of revenge porn could have been butchered by many authors, but Walton was able to educate her readers and show the effects that revenge porn has on its victims and communities. The points of discussion raised were so important, such as the double standards that society holds, and the readers are able to see the different perspectives of these discussions through Eden’s journalist investigation skills. Although not a bad thing, the writing style felt very familiar to me (as in I have read many books with the same MC and school environment) which did make this story feel less “unique” as it could. The mystery elements within the book were done well and kept the readers guessing who was behind the revenge porn from the very beginning. The ending was done well, however compared to the rest of the book, it felt a little lacking. I recommend this book as it is such an important, timely book about our digital footprints and privacy.

Huge thanks to Netgalley, Smith Publicity and of course Natalie Walton for providing me with a free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review. The publishing date is set for the 2nd of February, 2021.

This review will be posted on Instagram and Goodreads on the 4th of February, 2021. The links will be added when they are available.

Revenge of the Sluts by Natalie Walton, 328 pages. Wattpad Books, 2021. $11. LGBTQIA, Centering Me, Undaunted
Language: R (72 swears, 56 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH
As executive editor for the school paper on top of all her classes and college applications, Eden expected to stay busy, but nothing could have prepared her for Nudegate. When a student sends nude photos of seven students to everyone at St. Joe’s, no one knows what to do. Eden knows it’s important to uncover what’s happening and why, but how can she report the truth when obstacles continue to pop up?
Walton has written a book about the real issues of cyberbullying, specifically with sharing nude photographs originally sent in confidence, and slut shaming in a tasteful way that explores several points of view, from liberal to conservative. While I was appalled by the actions -- and, in some cases, the lack thereof -- taken by characters in the story, I was made uncomfortable by their poor responses to the situation and not by the situation itself because I was forced to figure out what side of the issue I would take in a similar situation. Eden’s story is well-written as it highlights when to stand up for the truth and how bad things are often glazed over because no one is willing to say they were wrong. Walton, through Eden and her classmates, encourages readers to not stand idly by; you can make a change for the better. The mature content rating is for underage drinking; drugs; and mentions of nudity, sex, pornography, sex tapes, and genitalia.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

Set around the scandal of revenge porn in a Massachusetts high school and seen through the eyes of a student journalist investigating the story, Revenge Of The Sluts examines the toxicity and solidarity between teenagers, powered along by an engaging plot.

This is the first YA book I've read that has hit me with the realisation that I am now a completely different generation to the characters. In this story, the pace of change of technology since I was their age has created a chasm, with different high school problems on either side of it.

HOWEVER. This did not detract from the reading experience. There were more than enough universal experiences to allow for an older reader to relate strongly, and feel fiercely protective of the characters. I also felt myself assigning people from my school days into each of the roles, which made it feel more real and shocking. Not everyone in the book agrees that the girls whose nudes are leaked are victims, however the book itself never paints them as bearing any fault and places it solely on the people who share intimate photos around without consent.

The mystery unfolds in a really well-paced way, and although one of my earliest suspicions about the person being the leak – the core "whodunnit" of the story – ended up being correct, it was still up in the air for a long time and kept me second guessing myself.

I found myself early on being shocked that Massachusetts does not have any laws against revenge porn when the subjects are over 18, but then reminded myself that England and Wales have only had laws on this since 2015!

This feels like an important topic for many high schoolers to read, as a refreshingly open look at a topic that is still taboo.

This book, right here! 2021, here is your YA book of the year!

Once I picked this up, I could not put it down! This may be a YA book, but I feel as though the issues are relevant to everyone.

Natalie Walton added such depth to all of the characters and nailed so many social issues in a small amount of pages while keeping the reader completely entertained. This book is brilliant!

Please, please, please write another book! I need more!

A special thank you to NetGalley, Wattpad, and Natalie Walton for providing me with an ARC.

Short and Sweet Review
When intimate pictures of 7 students are sent to the entire school, Eden Jeong the lead reporter for the school paper is given the chance to write about the scandal. After learning that not everyone thinks the girls are victims Eden is shocked. The person who sent the email is threatening to put out more scandalous things and Eden and the 7 girls are determined to find the perpetrator.
During class an email is sent out with the nudes of 7 students. Everyone is shocked but some of that shock turns into victim blaming. Eden is the lead reporter for the Warrior Weekly and she takes the lead on this story. She interviews some of the girls from the email if they’ll even give her the time. The administration doesn’t really do anything about the scandal they decide that it’s best if they keep everything under wraps and try to pretend like there isn’t a problem. Which interferes with the work that Eden is doing because the principal doesn’t even want the story to be reported on. I liked seeing Eden interview the girls and learning how they felt about what happened. One of the girls, Sloane, is kind of like the leader of the girls and they even go on to call themselves the slut squad. Sloane is weary about Eden because she doesn’t really trust anyone and she doesn’t know if Eden actually has good intentions. We see that the more time Eden spends with the girls she ends up learning that their allies.
Eden continues to write about the girls even though she knows it could jeopardize the Weekend Warriors ability to continue writing papers. There’s also a bit of the mystery aspect because obviously they’re trying to find the person who is sending out the emails. The girls try to figure out who the common thread is between them which leads them to a dead end because they don’t seem to have anyone in common.
I enjoyed this book. I loved that Eden and the other writers for the paper took a stand against the administration and continued to write about what they thought was important. I also liked how all the girls banded together, a lot of girl power going on there! This was a good book and kept engaged until the very end!

THE BOOK EVERYONE NEEDS TO READ. I'm allllll about this book, holy women empowerment. I wish this was out when I was still in high school! This book is all about strength, highlights the danger of social media to a WHOLE different degree, and flips the narrative of the double standards of sex, and privacy. Natalie made hard topics that were difficult to read, into something I felt like I could connect with, and I could even relate to on some level, even though this hadn't happened to me.
My absolute favorite part of the whole story was the honest and true FRIENDSHIP between all of these girls. I wish I had that myself. They all built each other up, instead of wasting their time destroying one another. Such a positive thing came out of this horrific event. In the back of my head, I just kept connecting this loosely to 13 Reasons Why, and even though this book made me feel similar ways at certain points, I really found myself enjoying this narrative more.

I can't wait till this is finally released so I can tell all of my friends to buy it, and I'll be keeping an eye on upcoming works from Natalie, she has a new follower!!

This was such a fun easy book to read. I wasn't sure what to expect but I knew it could be so empowering just from the title and it really was. It's interesting to explore relationships the way this author does and Eden is the perfect protagonist who will stand up for what is right!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an eARC.

For a Wattpad book, this was surprisingly good. The writing was clearly by a debut offer but has a ton of promise to it. It was a bit more simplistic in language in style than I prefer, but it was perfect for a younger YA audience. My rating is largely due to not being in that target demographic but I think young teens would love this!

The content of this book is also extremely important, especially for a YA audience. Natalie Walton was able to blend the narrative with real life lessons and relevance. I have not read about this exact topic in the past and think that this book will be extremely important for many people.

this book was honestly so good. i went into it not really expecting much, but when i started reading it was actually so amazing. i really liked how Eden never slut shamed the girls, and always made them out to be human, not some sex toy. but, i did really like Sloan as a character, and i honestly wish we got to see more of her as a person and more of her besides the whole photo sandal.

This book reminded me a lot of the movie John Tucker Must Die, only instead of bringing revenge on one guy who is a serial cheater, the girls are trying to prove that double standards definitely are harsher for girls who sleep around that guys.

Despite the title, this book is not entirely about sex. Sure there are times when it is mentioned, but it goes to prove a point that girls who choose to sleep around are labeled "slut" while guys who choose to sleep around are high-fived and praised. The double standard runs rampant through this book, and when nude photos of a handful of girls are leaked to the entire student body at St. John's, the town is torn between whether the girls are victims or if they are to blame for sending the nude photos in the first place.

I think this was probably a difficult topic to write about, but I also think it is a difficult topic to read about. I think the author did a pretty good job at seeing both sides, as the victim and as the one to blame, to show how this can be a controversial topic, and also how double standards are a very real thing. I also think that this may give a different perspective to some who have sent or thought about sending a nude photo before.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I was very into the story and trying to figure out who leaked the photos to the entire student body and why. I had hunches throughout, but I was very surprised when it wasn't at all any of the people I was leaning towards. I do think there were some loose ends that I wish would have been tied a little tighter, but overall I was pretty happy with the ending of this book. (I am almost never happy with the ending of a book.) 4 stars, just because I wish there would have a been a little more closure regarding Nick and Louis.

I enjoyed my time reading this book. I think it's an important subject to cover as it's very prominent in this day and age. My heart went out to many characters and it makes you take a look at how media and electronics can be twisted and turned from an innocent handy fun tool to a weapon. Loved it

*𝗜 𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿'𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗽𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝗴𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗥𝗖. 𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗼𝘄𝗻*

The cover of the book is pretty, eye-catching, and corresponds well to the overall theme of the book. The book description is what really sold me on the idea of the book but after reading the book, I think it was a little bit misleading. Based on the description, I was expecting girls/women who had possibly been slut-shamed or bullied to be getting revenge against the person or persons who had wronged them. While there was cyberbullying and "slut" shaming, there wasn't actually any revenge perpetrated by one of the girls accused of being a "slut." As I reflect on that, I realize that the book title itself is misleading.

Another challenge for me with this book was that the characters lacked depth in that I had zero investment in any of them. It was a story that, as a reader, you went through the motions of reading without truly connecting with anyone. For me, none of the characters were relatable, which is interesting because I socialized with all of the different groups/cliques when I was in high school and was in some different school organizations. Even for a standalone book, I prefer when an author makes some of the characters feel so real that you truly empathize with them or can't stand them so you're either cheering or jeering them, and are so invested in them that you have to keep reading to see what happens. I never experienced that with this story.

Overall, the book wasn't terrible. I do believe that most teenaged readers will enjoy it, especially if they liked One of Us Is Lying or They Wish They Were Us because that's what this book reminded me of. This book is also good for anyone who enjoys more of a mystery or investigative type of book. The book does highlight the important topics of bullying, cyberbullying, and teenage sexuality specifically from a gender-based perspective.