Interview & Giveaway: The Revenge Playbook by Rachael Allen

Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: June 16th 2015

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Sports

Synopsis:

Don’t get mad, get even! In this poignant and hilarious novel, Rachael Allen brilliantly explores the nuances of high school hierarchies, the traumas sustained on the path to finding true love, and the joy of discovering a friend where you least expect.

In the small town of Ranburne, high school football rules and the players are treated like kings. How they treat the girls they go to school with? That’s a completely different story. Liv, Peyton, Melanie Jane, and Ana each have their own reason for wanting to teach the team a lesson—but it’s only when circumstances bring them together that they come up with the plan to steal the one thing the boys hold sacred. All they have to do is beat them at their own game.

Brimming with sharp observations and pitch-perfect teen voices, fans of Jenny Han and Sarah Mlynowski are sure to fall head-over-heels for this sharp tale—by the author of 17 First Kisses—about the unexpected roads that can lead you to finding yourself.

1. Things you don't know about Rachael Allen, author of The Revenge Playbook.

Oh! I kind of wrote a whole post just about this for another blog, so I’ll link to it here: briansbookthoughts.blogspot.com

2.  Liv, Peyton, Melanie Jane, and Ana: their first impressions of each other. 

Fun question!

Melanie Jane and Ana: Had a BFFs-at-first-sight moment when they met in 8th grade and were the only two brunettes on the cheerleading squad.

Peyton and Liv: When Peyton met Liv, she thought “Wow, this girl is so cool and an awesome dancer and so much fun, and I want to be her friend so badly!” When Liv first met Peyton, she thought, “Wow, this girl is such a sweetheart and seems like the kind of serious, caring person that I could have a really deep friendship with, and I want to be her friend so badly!”

Peyton and Melanie Jane/Ana: Peyton had seen both of them around school (and Melanie Jane at church), but had never really talked to them. Peyton thought Melanie Jane was flawless and popular and would have been terrified to approach her. She thought Ana looked unbelievably sad and closed off and wished she knew her better so she could give her a hug.

Ana and Liv/Peyton: Ana thought they both seemed like nice girls, but was very hesitant to make friends with girls because she’d been burned in the past.

Melanie Jane and Peyton/Liv: Melanie Jane thought Peyton was super quiet and never talked and thought Liv desperately needed her advice re: The Cyrus-Swift Phenomenon.

Liv and Melanie Jane/Ana: Liv thought they both seemed really cool. Definite tacklehug potential there.

3.  Who is your favorite: Liv, Peyton, Melanie Jane or Ana? And why?

I don’t have a favorite because I seriously love all these girls, but I will say that Peyton is the most like me in personality (though not in interests and life experiences) and Liv was the most fun to write because she’s so energetic and spontaneous. But even though I don’t really have a favorite, I LOVE when other people tell me who their favorite is, so keep it coming! J

4.  Which one of those four girls did you find a little bit challenging to write about?

Ana was challenging to write about for me. I think it’s always challenging when you’re writing about an experience that’s outside of your collection of life experiences. I wanted so much to get everything right as far as what happens to Ana and how she reacts and feels, and I know that’s different for every person, but I wanted it to be right for her.

The other challenging part of writing Ana (and to an extent, the whole book), was the research I was doing. I was reading articles about girls who were raped and then bullied or dismissed when they tried to speak out, articles about football culture, articles about people with privilege doing terrible things to other people. I’m very tender hearted, so reading these articles hurt. But it also made me feel more than ever that this was an important story to share with the world.

5.  What are they (Liv, Peyton, Melanie Jane, and Ana) afraid of?

Peyton – Talking to new people/Making new friends

Melanie Jane – Falling in love

Ana – Speaking out/People not believing her

Liv – Giving someone who hurt her another chance

They may or may not conquer these fears by the end of the book J

6.  What do you hope readers will take away from reading The Revenge Playbook?

I hate to tell people what to think about any of my books, but I would love it if my book inspired girls (and boys too) to speak up, to make a difference in their community, and to support each other.

On June 16, 2015, use the hashtag #BFFdraft to talk about who you’d want in your ultimate BFF group. You can pick YA characters, celebrities, girls who are doing cool stuff to make the world a better place, girls who are already your besties.

For more information go here or to the Thunderclap campaign. Or you can help us spread the word on June 16th, 2015, by tweeting the following message:

Who would you #BFFdraft (YA character, celebrity, girl you already know) to be in your BFF crew? http://t.co/pbdR1jL7mD #RevengePlaybook

— Patricia Lopez (@TUABFC) June 14, 2015

Follow the The Revenge Playbook Blog Tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.

Rachael Allen lives in Atlanta, GA where she's working furiously on her PhD in neuroscience. When she's not doing science or writing YA, you can find her chasing after her toddler and her two sled dogs. Her debut YA novel 17 FIRST KISSES, is forthcoming from Harper Teen. Rachael may or may not have had 17 first kisses...luckily she doesn't kiss and tell.

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