Rite of Rejection Review

Rite of Rejection by Sarah Negovetich    

I only read 40% so

Reasons I DNF this Book;

 At the start of the novel the MC and her friend are both shopping for the acceptance ball and apparently dance cards have a great importance to these teen girls. Rebecca chooses a paper version of the dance card and the salesman guy comments how wise she is for choosing a paper version over the electronic.  Interesting, being wise is now tested on your choice of dance cards. As this was the introduction for the story I think the author was trying to hint that Rebecca was a smart character but what kind of way is that to highlight your character’s cleverness. How long she spent choosing and talking about dance cards was pointless and boring.

There were a lot of clichés. Her friend just ticked the stereotype of being the cutesy boy crazy best friend. Rebecca not knowing her own beauty but then getting the attention of a ‘hot’ guy seconds later.  Rebecca being brainwashed by the government before the acceptance ceremony and let’s not talk about her preferences in men, Miss I want a man who demands power and who can save me from every situation.

Eric being so perfectly fake, when he was first introduced I was hoping she would ditch him when she left to go to the Pit but no such luck. Shocker he got rejected! Also Eric and Daniel – I bet that’s going to be a love triangle. Of course they are going to compete against each other for her attention and I bet she loves that. Also Eric is a creep – he’s all over Rebecca and he’s moving way to fast.

What I don’t understand is if the Pit is so bad and everybody is to be feared why are people approaching her, only her and giving her advice. Why are two guys protecting a Rebecca, a stranger to them! Why are they so accepting of her? Have they learned nothing from their experience at the Pit! Also when she’s doing the test that Elizabeth sets her to do when she goes into the building she isn’t caught by any workers, surely even without cameras they’d spot a criminal walking around.

One thing this book includes is how badly women are treated. The circumstances of the Pit and anything like it as the idea isn’t exactly original, it’s a harsh life and realistically women are abused physically, verbally and sexually in these situations. So there’s this scene when someone new to the Pit like Rebecca is raped by a man from the Pit or a guard and no one helps her and Rebecca feels this shame and fear and in this scene you really understand the dangers of the Pit and you connect to Rebecca. After this scene Rebecca decides she wants to be safe and so she decides she’s going to try and join the team and also that night all the girls hide in their shared room and as a reader you see the character growth and you feel sadness. But what pissed me of me so much was this was such an important scene and then the next day she’s thinking about boys again. Like seriously you witness something like that and you decide to change but then you just go and be stupid.