content warnings: sexual assault, sexual harassment, rape/mentions of rape, misogyny, violence, sports injury, near death situations

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Dangerous Play by Emma Kress is a contemporary sports YA following fierce field hockey captain Zoe Alamandar and her tight knit team. Zoe has one goal - win state championships and earn a scholarship for college. She’s almost there too. It’s her junior year and the team she hand-picked with her co-captain is good. Then Zoe is sexually assaulted at a party. Struggling to cope with the trauma, she and her team decide to take justice into their own hands. Could a single night of vigilantism take it all away?

What I loved:
★ The whole book highlights the importance of girl friendships. But it also shows these girls bonding through activities that are not typically considered to be “feminine”.
★ The characters were diverse, human, relatable and likable. They all had varying types of friendships with one another and they all had unique reactions and emotions and experiences that really brought the story together. I think my favourites on the team were Dylan, Ava, and Liv. And of course, Zoe.
★ A lot of hard conversations were had. Like the double standards that schools uphold for male students, especially those who play specific sports. White privilege was another topic that was touched upon, although not enough given the situation.
★ Lastly, the writing was wonderful. I loved the attention to detail for the girls, the games, the raw emotions.

What I wish were different:
★ There wasn’t much I would have changed. If I had to say anything, it would be that the whole “absofockinglutely” joke got to be a little too much sometimes.

Overall, I seriously enjoyed Dangerous Play and nearly finished it in one sitting. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys good plot, girl friendships, real life topics and sports action.

For the first half of this book, I was pretty sure it would be a 3-star read for me. The book started off slowly and I found the main character not quite believable. I also cringed every time anyone said "fockey" or used "fock" as an adjective.

However, I did find the topic to be important, and I also appreciated the discussion in the book of what constitutes sexual assault- the fact that sexual assault can look many different ways, it is still assault. I think this is important to include in books and in conversations with the public and especially with teens and young adults.

The second half of the book picked up and I found myself warming up to the characters (despite the continued use of "fockey" and "fock"). I ended up rating this book a 3.5, rounded up to 4 stars.

Emma Kress's Dangerous Play is a wonderful addition to contemporary #metoo YA fiction. Dangerous Play follows Zoe Alamandar through her junior year of high school and the journey of her school's field hockey team. Zoe and her teammates bond on and off the field. As the team puts up with the harassment and assaults from male students, they are met with unfairness and double standards at every turn. As they try to cope with their separate traumas, they take matters into their own hands. Will their dangerous play on and off the field bring them the win and justice? Or will it tear them apart?

I am always looking for more YA featuring girls who are serious athletes and this book really delivers. Zoe is a fierce MC to root for and her teammates and family are fully realized and are a great support for her. They deal with so many issues of rape culture in this book and it’s handled sensitively and satisfyingly.

This book instantly reminded me of Moxie and Nowhere Girls, both of which address school based and academic sexism and assault. The story was gripping and gritty and real and I felt the emotional ride of the narrative deeply. The message that girls do indeed have power in a patriarchal society is incredibly empowering to this generation of young students!

Field hockey is a lovely team building idea and a fabulous way to pull strong high school girls together in order to set up this powerful book. Combining Parkour, self determination, and a conversation about how to push back against our society's extremely permissive view of male violence, this is a great addition to any YA collection.

Unfortunately, field hockey is a sport played mostly in private and east coast communities, and may alienate girls from less affluent communities. Although the book incorporates diversity into the cast, it is also unlikely to appeal to BIPOC readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for early access to this book.

The story told within these pages is an important one. Girls are powerful and can overcome many obstacles. That rape and sexual assault are real and when a community comes together we can change rape culture.
Zoe is a Junior and the Captain of the field hockey team. After a sexual assault at a party the team takes matters in their own hands to protect other girls from experiences the same horrors.
The book was slow to get started, it picked up once the interaction at the party occurred with Zoe. I enjoyed reading this book once I was about 20% in. Although dealing with a tough topic the book ended happily and will make girls feel powerful.
A note with the writing, the language was respective with the amount Fock and it’s variations were used within the writing.

This one gives me The Craft vibes. Only rather than being witches, the girls are field hockey player. While there is a heavy tone for this book, on a lighter note, I do want to say that I enjoyed seeing the girls be part of a field hockey team as that isn’t the most popular sport that I see be portrayed in YA fiction.

I enjoyed this one and its revenge plot. I hated all of the men in it, which isn’t a surprise with the plot, and it was rough to get through the assault. However, it wasn’t written in a gratuitous manner, which I certainly appreciated. It’s an important topic to talk about, and I enjoyed the story that went with this one. Will recommend to older teens.