A quick rundown: Zoe Alamandar's only goal is to win the State Field Hockey Championships. This win will secure the scholarship that will allow her to live her dreams outside of Central New York. She works with her co-captain Ava Cervantes to create a team of girls that will secure the win. However, after Zoe is sexually assaulted at a party, her goals radically shift. She is driven by her need to make sure no girl feels unsafe ever again. Zoe and her teammates make the decision to stop playing by the rules and make sure justice is served. Soon after this decision, their town has a group of guardians protecting young women all over. Unbeknownst to this team, one night of protection may cost them everything. This book is full of female friendships and encouragement.
My thoughts: I was a bit hesitant to read this at first. While I was fascinated by the idea of a contemporary YA piece covering topics like sexual assault, especially from the perspective of a sports team, I knew that it might not be what I was hoping for. After listening to this, I found that I was right and wrong. I think that it was absolutely an interesting perspective, but I think that it fell just a bit short of what I was expecting. I don't know enough about field hockey to really speak to those scenes, but I did find them engaging. the vigilante aspect was interesting, and kind of fun to picture, but I don't know how much I actually enjoyed it. As more of a positive, I really enjoyed the diversity of the characters and how strong their friendships were. Both of these felt really realistic, and I felt like I could be at home in their friend group. I also liked that there were "harder" conversations happening throughout the book. While the double standard conversation was important, I think more attention could have been given to the white privilege discussion that occurred. This was a very interesting book, and I think I'd want to reread it just to see if my feelings stay the same. Trigger warnings for Dangerous Play: Rape and sexual assault, toxic masculinity, sexual harassment, near death, violence
Overall rating: 3/5
Dangerous Play is available for purchase today. Be sure to add it to your Goodreads shelf and see where it's sold here. Also, be sure to check out Emma Kress’s website here!
I was lucky enough to be able to listen to this Advanced Reader's Copy through my partnership with NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
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