4 Stars

This book started a little slow but picked up about 1/4 of the through. It was really well written and such an important message especially for young people nowadays. I loved Eden and Sloan! The story wrapped up a little quicker than I would have liked but other than that it was great. Thank you to netgalley and publisher for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

Actual Rating 2.5
Thank you Netgalley for the review copy.

“We did the right thing for the girls. And the right thing for the girls is the right thing for everyone else.”

One day, students of St. Joseph’s High School got an email. Inside it was nudes of 7 girls, nothing is common in all of these girls except they all are seniors. 

Eden is a journalist of the school's newspaper, she wanted to get justice for all of these girls. School administration doesn't want this news to get out and forcing journalists to not work on this topic. School is doing nothing for these girls. 

I really loved the concept of the book. How it talks about the double standard of the society, How common it is to blame only girls. I really like the character of Eden and Sloane, all the other characters were bland. All the male characters sounded the same to me, I kept mixing their names, It was annoying.


I missed the point how it was the revenge of the sluts, I was expecting all girls to take revenge from their oppressors, not only or two. So I found the title kind of misleading. The big twist wasn't that big, I kind of got the idea. So the ending wasn't unpredictable. The pace of the book was too slow for me. 

It is that type of book which had the potential but got lost somewhere.

“It's because of them that a difficult conversation can be had. If we didn't have people speaking out and fighting like this, we wouldn't have progress.”

2/5🌟: i feel like this book was trying to be feminist, but failed immensely. i loved that the main character was a second generation korean. but that's where the representation stopped. this novel is full of stereotypes (mean jocks, who share nude pictures of their girlfriends with each other), even though it tries to overcome the "sending nudes is slutty" attitude, at last it still pushes the image that girls are always jealous of other girls and want to destroy other relationships just for their own sake. also it's a school newspaper and they literally acted like they were working for the NYT, eden's role was way too exaggerated. i wish i would have something positive to say about the writing style, but it was dry and i was screaming "show, don't tell!" throughout the whole book.

I received this book as an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for a review.

Revenge of the Sluts follow Eden, aspiring high school journalist, as her school is sent into chaos following an email containing the nudes of 7 of her legal-aged schoolmates.

This book was good. I originally rated this book a 3 star but after sleeping on it, I am marking it down to a 2 star. Mostly reason I gave this book such a low rating is because of the following:
1 - the ending wrapped up too clean and quickly
2 - felt like an after school special
3 - Story does not feel like it will be something I will remember a month from now

I did find the information regarding revenge porn laws very interesting and I was glad to see that there was a lot of time/research put into this book.

Revenge of the Sluts focuses on a high school newspaper class, and how they handle "Nudegate" - several students' photos are sent out to the entire school. I loved the concept and feminism behind this novel. The main characters stay determined in their roles and fight for what they believe in. This novel also worked on teachings of feminism, which I appreciated. While I overall enjoyed this novel, I only gave it 4/5 stars due to the big reveal not being very exciting. After so much buildup, the ending was a letdown. However, I would still recommend this book due to the plot and teachings!

I was hesitant to read due to the use of the word "slut" in the title (and then multiple more times throughout the book), and I never got over that uneasy feeling while reading the book. It also made me sad that this tragic plot of an intimate photo leak was happening to young girls. This was just not my taste in books, left me feeling really uneasy. Thank you to NetGalley and Wattpad Books for a copy of this book for an honest review.

<b>"There's always talk about trust when we're sending photos and I get it. We should do private things only with people we trust to keep it private. But why should I have to demand privacy when it should be the natural human response?"</b>

2.5 stars, rounded up.

Mixed feelings on <i>Revenge of the Sluts</i>: I liked the concept, but the execution fell flat for me. The writing felt young--middle-grade-ish--and I could never quite find myself believing the story. I also never quite got over the use of the word "slut." Obviously, I knew it was coming with the title, but it still made me sad to hear young women described as sluts over and over.

Eden is a senior in wealthy, private high school. As an editor of the school newspaper, Eden is jazzed when a true scandal breaks. While she is disappointed at what happened, Eden can't wait to investigate and tell the story.

The scandal? An email went out to the entire school listserv containing nude photos of several students. No one knows who sent the email or what the motive is, but the young women who were included are upset and the school isn't taking appropriate action.

The students whose pictures were leaked band together to form the Slut Squad and take action where the school and authorities won't.

The good:
-I loved Sloane's character. She is painted as a girl who loves to have sex and isn't at all ashamed of it. I kept wanting more of her, wishing the story was told from her perspective.
-This book highlights how systems can fail victims, and what can happen when victims come together to raise awareness and make change.
-All the fiercest characters in the book are female.

The bad:
-As I mentioned, the writing isn't particularly good.
-I had a hard time believing that, in this day and age, a bunch of leaked nude photos would cause this level of commotion.
-Eden's character didn't work for me. She is naive, serious, and timid. Put together, I wasn't the biggest fan.
-I guessed the ending part-way through, and was disappointed to find I was right.

Favorite quotes:
"She had on distinctive deep purple lipstick that I rarely saw her without. School dress code generally prevented any sort of makeup that wasn't deemed 'natural' but they usually used that against the ones they believed were 'deviant,' people who wanted blue hair, Goths, those with a love non-nude eyeshadow. But despite Sloane's loose attitude toward sex, at least St. Joe's terms, the school let her pass because she was Sloane: wealthy, white, presumably 'normal' in their standards."

"'And what's incredible is that they people will go and call me a slut for doing exactly what they wanted me to do in the first place.'"

I really enjoyed this novel. Books like these are very eye opening because in some cases perception is everything. There are so many of these types of cases popping up because of social media and how easy it is to access someone's personal pictures. This story shows how quickly everything can be turned around and how quick people are to judge and attack you. In a time were privacy is almost nonexistent, I think every young person should read this book because it just goes to show that anything you sent isn't just going to be seen by that one person. I both loved this book for how realistic it was and disliked it because of how realistic it was.

I love a good Girl Power Revenge story, it makes me feel so pumped and ready to take over the world. This was a fun, fast read that had me cheering, laughing and crying as I rooted for the characters. I didn’t want it to end and had a great time reading it.

Honestly, I am not 100% sure how I feel about this one. I gave it a few days after finishing to see if my thoughts became clearer and it really didn't help. I feel there is a important message in the story, but it gets lost in the childish voice the story is told in. This is a heavy topic. but the narration didn't do the gravity of it justice. I feel like to much emphasis was given on the journalism angle of the story. It became a distraction rather than a means to move the story along.

Was a quality thriller/mystery. The writing was more formulaic then I expected, but given that the main character is a HS newspaper journalist, it makes sense. It really sheds light on such a toxic and horrific issue that girls face.

‘Revenge of the Sluts’ by Natalie Walton is a fascinating entry into the YA genre that explores many issues relating to revenge porn, victim shaming, sexuality, and lack of protection/privacy. Eden is a student at a private Catholic high school outside of Boston. She is a journalist for her school’s paper and has been tasked to cover a scandal involving multiple nude pictures of students that were sent anonymously to the entire school via e-mail. What I found most shocking was the lack of legal protection in Massachusetts for adult victims whose nude/pornographic photos/videos are leaked. It is not against the law for this content to be shared in some states, as long as the person in them is over 18.

The core of the story is the mystery of who sent out the pictures. We get to know the young women who were victimized and they form the “Slut Squad” to unify themselves. The Squad meets regularly to provide each other support, strength, and pursue avenues of justice. From Eden’s perspective, we learn of the myriad reactions to the scandal. Some blame the young women who were victimized for sending provocative pictures, some support them, and the Principal and School Board try to cover up the scandal. The book title and description are a little misleading as I expected more direct action, especially from the Slut Squad and the book is a little slow in the middle, where we don’t really learn anything new. Eventually, the mystery is solved giving an unexpected but satisfying conclusion. I really liked Eden’s persistence and how she came into her own during the investigation and taking on a leadership role at the newspaper. Sloane’s character also stood out to me for her self-possession and tenacious desire for justice. I highly recommend this thought-provoking novel.

Thank you Wattpad Books and NetGalley for providing this ARC.

First off, after reading the book, I find that the description isn't very accurate. Or at least my interpretration of it....

St. Joe's student body is sent an email with intimiate pictures of seven senior girls. While the story takes place in a high school, it touches on a lot of controversial/sensitive topics that we are now seeing in our society. And as if high school wasn't bad enough, girls can't seem to understand that there's no need to put each other down.

Eden and Ronnie, who run the school's newspaper, see the leak as an opportunity to write about a real story instead the frequent student profiles or sports articles. Eden is assigned to be the lead on the article and wants to give the girls a chance to talk about their experience but she hits a lot of hurdles. After publishing the first article, about the leak and some student quotes, St. Joe's administration isn't happy and decide to put a stop to the story.

As Eden continues her investigation and gets to know the seven girls, she finds herself sympathizing more and more with the situation the girls have to go through. And while she may not be part of the leak, her own experience sets something off in her and makes her want to give the girls their voices back even more.

Truth will out.

When it does, it's a bombshell and completely unexpected.

I came away feeling that girls should support one another instead of giving in to the pettiness that we tend to (or used to).

Revenge of the Sluts
by Natalie Walton
5/5 stars

-Netgalley Arc-

An email has been sent out to every student at St. Joes, containing explicit images of several different girls. Why would anyone want to do that? And why isn’t the school doing more to help these girls?
Eden works for the school newspaper, and despite everything going against her, she will continue to write and fight for the girls who were impacted until there is justice.

‘Imagine seeing that email and thinking you have the right to get mad at the girls’
‘These people will go and call me a slut for doing exactly what they wanted me to do in the first place’

This is a book that should be on everyone’s TBR, it is very much relatable in this day and age where social media is such a big and growing thing. Where girls are constantly being judge for what they post and being labeled as ‘sluts’
Even though these characters are fictional, it felt as though I was reading from every girl who has ever been a victim of having their private photos leaked
Highly recommend saving this one to your tbr for when it’s released in February!

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I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This book was on my TBR list for 2021 & was a Read now.

This book is written very well for a 1st time published author. If you hesitate to read another high school story, this book is more on the mature end of the scale in YA terms. Eden Jeong is a high school senior in a MA suburb near Boston and a high ranking editor of the school newspaper at a private Catholic school. Eden's parents are busy doctors who care about her & are supportive but not strict. The school newspaper is an impressive operation for a high school. I remember being a staff writer for high school and college newspapers but wasn't as involved as Eden, so when the Nudegate email is sent, Eden and her staff / friends jump on the story. 7 girls' topless photos get sent out to the entire school. The self imposed head of the "slut squad" as they refer to themselves, Sloane advocates for the truth of who Eros is, the name used for the email. Eden's investigation pushes her out of her comfort zone, as she's not the party going type and fell out after she broke up with Nick, a football player she didn't have much in common with.

At times, I felt like the Weekly Warrior was taken too seriously as a high school newspaper. But I could understand taking the choice to publish a news story against the school principal's direction to stand up for the girls. Finding out the identity to Eros allowed the story to go viral. Examining the double standards of how teen boys & girls are treated for having or withholding sex, nudes as well as the loophole in the law for revenge porn was a powerful theme of this book.

This is definitely for fans of YA whodunnit's such as One of Us is Lying. Journalism fans will also really enjoy it. It's from the perspective of an amateur high school journalist, who wants the story but is also aware of the sensitivity of the project. Throughout her investigations we are privy to many of the stereotypical high school characters. We also get an idea of the different reactions the victims have to the revenge porn that was shared school wide. This book wasn't really my favorite, but it really doesn't have to do with the book itself. I was just not interested in the investigative process. I think a lot of readers will be, especially given that it includes teenage drama!

Has this author ever spoken to a teenager or been to a high school? Because all I am reading is one stereotype and unrealistic plot point after another.

There is a LOT of time spent on the inner workings of the process of putting out a high school newspaper. I learned a lot about deadlines and section editors and how to determine if your story is lacking an "angle." Eden is constantly focused on how many stories they have ready to go and getting her "sources" (they're not actual human beings or victims, just sources to her) to trust her.

What I didn't learn is how to care about any of the characters or what they're doing. Eden is much more concerned with "featuring as many different perspectives as we could" and "well-rounded coverage" than with helping the girls who are victims. This book is about her, not them. And she is not a likeable character. She crashes a support meeting organized by the girls who were the victims that they made clear they didn't want her to know about. The author is trying way too hard to make her the "I'm not like other girls" girl ("I'd never really liked things.") and showing that she's "fighting the system." Eden is a one-dimensional caricature of Gen-Z's ideas of feminism-lite. (Please stop trying to "reclaim" sexist slurs.)

The real life girls who are victims of this kind of behavior deserved so much better than this book.

*I received a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

This book is so timely and important. The views that teenage girls should not be shamed for who they are rings true. I know that not all will be thrilled of a story like this, but it is everyone's best interest that we look into slutshaming and the concept of revenge porn.

With that being said, Eden was a great main character. I enjoyed reading about how much she loves her position with her school paper. I will say that in the beginning, she annoyed me. I think that comes from me being an extreme empath and her not having others feelings in the forefront. Anyway, her growth throughout the book of becoming understanding of those who were in the email was one of my favorite parts.

Sloane was also a great side character, and one of my favorites. Sloan was definitely a give no leverage kind of person. I even felt for her when she hit her lowest point. All that being said, I would say that this book is an important addition to teen lives. It raises important questions about how we treat teenage girls and how boys respond to it. Whether or not you agree with what administration did or how the girls reacted, it's an important and captivating story.

I enjoyed this YA book. Not a typical genre I would seek out but I am very happy I did. This is a must read for any teenager in my opinion!!

This was a good book. It was particularly long and I felt some parts of the book could be left out. It deals with an issue that is prevalent right now. I think young teens would like the book especially the twist at the end. I would buy for someone.