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Rage: A Love Story

3.66 of 5 stars 3.66 · rating details · 1,422 ratings · 160 reviews

A National Book Award Finalist offers an intense portrait of an abusive relationship.

Johanna is steadfast, patient, reliable; the go-to girl, the one everyone can count on. But always being there for others can’t give Johanna everything she needs—it can’t give her Reeve Hartt.

Reeve is fierce, beautiful, wounded, elusive; a flame that draws Johanna’s fluttering moth. Johann...more

ebook, 304 pages

Published September 8th 2009 by Knopf Books for Young Readers (first published August 22nd 2009)

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Apr 21, 2011 Melissa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own, julie-anne-peters, lgbt, read-in-2011, young-adult

Originally posted at Sweet Treats & Thrilling Tales

I can’t lie. Rage is a very difficult book to read. It would be difficult for anyone to read even if they haven’t been in any sort of an abusive relationship. But for someone who has been in an abusive relationship, it’s extremely difficult. However, Julie Anne Peters writes with such a poetic grace that you cannot help but be sucked in.

Reeve is probably the most realistic character of the book. Her pain is real and obvious. She hates what s...more Originally posted at Sweet Treats & Thrilling Tales

I can’t lie. Rage is a very difficult book to read. It would be difficult for anyone to read even if they haven’t been in any sort of an abusive relationship. But for someone who has been in an abusive relationship, it’s extremely difficult. However, Julie Anne Peters writes with such a poetic grace that you cannot help but be sucked in.

Reeve is probably the most realistic character of the book. Her pain is real and obvious. She hates what she does to Johanna and yet, she doesn’t know how to control herself. She very much loves her twin brother Reeve and protects him as much as she possibly can. She can be selfish and yet at the same time she can be extremely unselfish. And that shows in every scene that she’s in with her brother.

Johanna has had an extremely difficult life. From the loss of both parents to the fact that her older sister (whom she adores) appears to have not been able to accept her sexuality to her relationship with Reeve. As much as I wanted to like her, I had a really hard time doing so. Johanna is basically a doormat. She pretty much lets everyone walk all over her. For most of the book, I found myself wishing that she would finally grow a backbone and tell everyone off.

That was my one major issue with this book, and with abuse books in general. Just because someone has become a victim of abuse does not mean that they have to stay a victim. Just once, I’d love to read a book where the victim fights back and does not succumb to the victim syndrome. It is in fact possible to remain strong after being a victim and that is also important. And personally, I think if Johanna hadn’t been such a victim, the book would have ended better. All in all though, Johanna is still a very believable character. Her reactions and fears are very common. So many women (and men) deny that there is a problem or will wait for their abusive partner to change, only to discover that that change will never come.

But despite my two cents on how I wish Johanna had been, I still recommend this book. Books about domestic violence are rare. Especially the domestic violence that occurs within a same sex relationship and I applaud Peters for writing a very real book about a very real topic.(less)

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Aug 14, 2012 April rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romance, teen

It wasn't so much that reading this was painful for me, it was the fact that it seemed like such a rough, tiring journey for nothing. I'll quote Ketchum: '...despite Rage being a painfully realistic portrayal of abuse, and the darker side of LGBT culture, this book left me with a bad taste in my mouth.' It's the same thoughts I felt after the novels completion.

The premise is already thick with deleterious possibilities: a compassionate 18-year-old Johanna, besieged by tragedies of loss and wave...more It wasn't so much that reading this was painful for me, it was the fact that it seemed like such a rough, tiring journey for nothing. I'll quote Ketchum: '...despite Rage being a painfully realistic portrayal of abuse, and the darker side of LGBT culture, this book left me with a bad taste in my mouth.' It's the same thoughts I felt after the novels completion.

The premise is already thick with deleterious possibilities: a compassionate 18-year-old Johanna, besieged by tragedies of loss and wavering relationships, falls for the already hazardous personality of Reeve Hartt, the perturbing elder of the autistic boy 'Robbie' whom Johanna is helping graduate. Johanna has always idolised Reeve from the beginning, discerning that Reeve is her destiny, frequently taking us readers into her fantasy realm named 'Joyland': somewhat lucid dreams in which primarily blissful events transpire concerning Johanna's ill-suited longing for Reeve. Thrown in with this are drifting characters that assume some part in the story, Johanna's constantly-varying-role-as-best-friend Novak, her distant and tragic sister Tessa (accompanied by her husband Martin) and various other personalities that hover here and there.

Now, all credibility to Peters for writing about abusive relationships in women. That is an admirable thing and something that should be made aware of in modern society; it's not always men who are the culprits of abuse. So kudos, Peters, kudos.

HOWEVER, that in itself doesn't make this novel interesting enough to read. I get it, it's a poignant tale that involves broken characters and a sorrowful storyline. Written beautifully it might have been a heartfelt novel, but the colloquialism was off putting for me. I thought some ‘takes’ of Joyland were depicted ethereally with captivating abilities, but that was as far as it went for me personally.

On the other hand, going back to the theme of abuse;
‘By afternoon, the bruising has spread down my whole left cheek. It symbolizes something – trust? Intimacy? You can trust me to take what you dole out, Reeve. I gaze into the mirror and think This is a phase of our love. We’re taking it to the next level.’
I immediately awarded a star to this book just for that small passage. In all its aberrancy, disgust and mere foolery, it’s one of the most poignant perspectives of someone in an abusive relationship (in my opinion). It didn’t – of course – justify why she was going through it, but it certainly gave some sort of explanation as to why she was enduring the constant violence.

Now arguably the most basic of points that irked me was the relationship. Somehow, through some bizarre, unexplained manner, Johanna has become almost ensconced by Reeve’s presence and seems to rapidly yearn for her comfort, which we are forced to accept almost immediately (though no explanation is given). Now, Reeve falling for Johanna is something that we as readers transcend yet can’t possibly understand. Or at least, for me I couldn’t. Whether or not it was – from the beginning – plainly manipulative on Reeve’s part, or some other sort of overpowering desire to dominate a weaker being is unknown, but regardless, it seemed overly brash and hurriedly fashioned.

So alright, not very realistic – we can go with that. Henceforth, why didn’t we, as readers, deserve an outrageously dramatic, unbelievable ending concerning Johanna's and Reeve's relationship? Quoting Ketchum again, it ‘left me with a bitter aftertaste’ because the ending was (for me) so lukewarm and vague. Is Johanna’s harrowing endurance doomed to accompany her for many years to come, spanning from her desire to be near Reeve? Or have we seen some sort of passive resistance, an epiphany of the prior ludicrousness she let herself be put through? Truth is, we’re left unsure. We don’t know, and the truthfully, I myself wasn’t that particularly interested in finding out anyway.

In full: not my cup of tea. Alright in some parts, little bit of drama here and there, a few interesting characters (I'd analyse Reeve's personality to death) but not something I'll likely read again. My rating stands at 2.
(less)

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Apr 24, 2010 elissa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to elissa by: Capitol Choices

Shelves: youngadult, glbtq, my_10s_reads, survival_stories

Took me almost 2 mos to read this, not because I didn't like it, but because the abuse was hard to read about, so I could only take it in small doses. That speaks to the powerful writing here. The ending was very strong and realistic, so I'm glad that I stuck with it, as it was worth it. The characters were all likeable, including the abusive girlfriend. It was very easy to believe that they would all behave the way that they did. First love can be very complicated (or any love, really). Probabl...more

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Dec 27, 2012 Jessie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

How to begin..? Where to begin..? This book left me completely dumbfound. The intensity of the book, of the relationship and what is more astonishing is the reality of it. The reality of the violence not only in Reeve's family but also in the relationship. The story behind the covers is really as intense as the emotion of the title. Rage. Sudden, explosive, the paroxysm of love, hate, fear and acceptance. Personally for me the main characters (Reeve, Johanna and Robbie) symbolized the corruption...more

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Oct 15, 2012 CekMoNSter rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: messed-up-plots, romance, english

If this is a normal hetero love, I would probably dumped the book after a couple of pages. I`m not biased or masochist, because trust me, if I want to read about a girl with her more dominant lover, I would`ve have finish Twilight series or Evermore. Instead, I choose to abandon those, and irate myself with reading this one for a couple of reasons. I`ll tell you.

So Rage is really about a lover story, a literally raging ones where a girl, Johanna assumed (I`m using this 'ass..' word because its r...more

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Aug 10, 2012 Nenia Campbell rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: x-2009s, ya-baby-ya, disturbing, icky-things-going-on-here, lgbtqia, points-for-effort, rape-n-violence, romance-bleh, real-teen-problems, whiny-whiny-angst-angst-angst, wanted-to-like-this-but, wtf, heroine-is-flawed, heroine-is-too-stupid-to-live

With the recent trend of romanticizing psychologically or physically abusive relationships in YA fiction, you'd think I'd have liked this more than I did - but I didn't . I feel a little hypocritical about that, because I'm always bemoaning rapey males and weak females, but despite Rage being a painfully realistic portrayal of abuse, and the darker side of LGBT culture, this book left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

Johanna is a lesbian and her life sucks. Both her parents are dead, so she lives...more

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Jun 20, 2011 Kerryy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I Just Got Finish Reading Rage By Julie Anne Peters. This Book Was Very Interesting. I Learned That Johanna Really Cares About Reeve. She Did Anything For Her. She Even Left Her Bestfriend For Her. In This Book Johanna Was Asked To Help This Boy Named Robby With His Senior Essay So He Can Graduate. Johanna Whould Sit With Robby Every Afternoon After School And Help Robby With His Essay. Then, One Day Robby Wrote Something About Him Killing His Mother. So, Johanna Said That She Was Going To Step...more

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Jun 20, 2011 Gina Blechman rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adult-romance, romance

2.5 Stars
Rage: A Love Story is a good enough book about two girls--one a goody-goody with dead parents, one a bad seed with parents she wishes were dead--who fall in love. Okay, maybe it's a lot less like love and a lot more like denial and abuse, but still..you get the idea.

As previously stated, Rage is a decent story. The pace is excellent. The story is written in the voice of the characters and is very true to them. Rage brings up the topic of abusive relationships in a realistic way. I had n...more 2.5 Stars
Rage: A Love Story is a good enough book about two girls--one a goody-goody with dead parents, one a bad seed with parents she wishes were dead--who fall in love. Okay, maybe it's a lot less like love and a lot more like denial and abuse, but still..you get the idea.

As previously stated, Rage is a decent story. The pace is excellent. The story is written in the voice of the characters and is very true to them. Rage brings up the topic of abusive relationships in a realistic way. I had no problems speeding through it. It's these things that make it a 2.5 star instead of a 2 star book.

There were a few things that irked me though.
1) The characters are 18 (or nearly) year old girls graduating high school, but every once in a while the conversation and thought processes seem befitting of highschool freshman or even eighth graders. I could understand this for the bad girl with the drug adled parents, but not from the goody-goody, super genius. She's top of her class, at the very least there should be some sort of explanation as to her sudden extreme plummet in diction. (Of course, I could be biased from my own goody-goody experience with some not-so-goody women,) but it just didn't feel right to me. I kept picturing the girls as far younger than they were.

2) There wasn't a lot of explanation of why the sweet geek would fall for the druggie degenerate. It's not that the event is improbable, but there does need to be a reason. The story begins with the MC already having a crush on the promiscuous, abusive lesbian, when there are plenty of better girls to choose from, and we never really get to know why. We can sort of assume the reason, but there's never a flashback to the first memory of liking the girl and what struck her as so special.

The reason this still gets that extra half star (and yes, this was well thought out) is because you feel like you're right there with the characters. Even when it's unrealistic, even when you want to know why, even when you're angry at them for being stupid, you feel what they're going through. Still, the plot isn't original enough to give it that midpoint push to make it 3 star material. You can't just add lesbians into the mix and act like the whole scenario hasn't been done before. As much as I usually enjoy Julieann Peters, I can't completely back this one.

Would I suggest adding this book to your summer reading? I wouldn't dissuade you from it. However, I think the books to be reviewed next week will be far better.
(less)

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Jan 18, 2011 Alicia rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: abuse, dysfunctional, glbt, romance, urban

This was a different kind of amazing-- it wasn't the writing but the shock value of the characters' plights. Johanna is living alone as a senior in high school after her father and mother have both passed away and her sister has chosen to unsupportingly move away with her husband. But everyone in the story is dealing with a loss. Tessa (Johanna's sister) has lost two unborn babies (and her parents). So, when Johanna meets Reeve and her autistic twin brother Robbie, her world becomes tumultuous t...more

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Dec 07, 2009 Bunker rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This tale of lesbian courtly love gone awry features Johanna, a reliable and compassionate eighteen-year-old whose life seems destined to be defined by loss, and Reeve, the young woman Johanna has fallen in love with from afar. Johanna has lost her mother and father, and her much older sister, Tessa, who has recently moved back home with her husband, has remained distant ever since Johanna revealed her sexuality. Assigned to tutor Reeve's twin brother, who is autistic and violent, Johanna slowly...more

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Sep 23, 2011 Miss Ami E. Bowen rated it 5 of 5 stars

I don't know why but there seems to be more written about the cases of heterosexual domestic violence than there are about homosexual domestic abuse. This was a very important book just for the act of getting people's attention that domestic violence knows no racial, sexual or religious differences. There are books that you read, like and forget as soon as you pick up another book. With Peters' "Rage: A Love Story" I know that's not going to be the case. I know that the characters within this bo...more

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Apr 09, 2011 Ab rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-ness, queer-lit

The greatness of this book doesn't come particularly in the writing, or the plot -- the presentation of the characters, who they are, what they feel, all of that, is very real ... I feel like this book has successfully climbed out of the alluring mire of the "woe is I -- a gay teen in high school". This girl, Johanna, is gay. She knows it. She figured it out, it was maybe a tough thing to tell her family, etc., but she's past it, and still in high school. She's majorly crushing on another "out"...more

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Dec 05, 2009 Ricki rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I feel like this book took me for a roller-coaster ride. I was hooked and unable to put it down, but there were many aspects of the book that bothered me. Johanna is a fragile girl who falls for an abusive girl, Reeve. Reeve's twin brother has autism, and she comes from a home with a drug-addicted mother and abusive father. Johanna's sister doesn't seem to accept Johanna is gay, and she also is emotionally affected by her miscarriages. To add to all of this, Johanna's parents both died, and she...more

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Nov 02, 2009 Brittany rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: glbt-fiction, rape-sexual-abuse, cutting, young-adult, self-harm

Johanna is a good girl, who wants a bad thing. That bad thing is Reeve. Johanna's dad died in an accident and soon after her mom slowly fades away. Her sister isn't really there for her emotionally, especially after having a miscarriages. Johanna volunteers at a hospice and holds peoples hands to comfort them as they pass on. This is the one thing Johanna wants for herself, the one thing she craves. Everyday she seems to venture off into "Joyland", the place where her and Reeve are together, eve...more Johanna is a good girl, who wants a bad thing. That bad thing is Reeve. Johanna's dad died in an accident and soon after her mom slowly fades away. Her sister isn't really there for her emotionally, especially after having a miscarriages. Johanna volunteers at a hospice and holds peoples hands to comfort them as they pass on. This is the one thing Johanna wants for herself, the one thing she craves. Everyday she seems to venture off into "Joyland", the place where her and Reeve are together, even if it's only in her head. Everyone, including Reeve herself tells Johanna she's trouble. Johanna thinks Reeve is just misunderstood. When Johanna ends up tutoring Robbie, Reeve's brother, she ends up getting further involved in Reeve's life then Reeve would like. Can a love push through all the obstacles they both must face? Can Johanna be the one to save Reeve?

This was a good story about abuse relationships, where everyone is a victim and an abuser. Johanna abuses her friend Novak, Novak's boyfriend abuses her, Reeve abuses people, people abuse Robbie... it's on and on. This isn't just a book about physical violence though, it is emotional and mental violence too. This book doesn't put a glamor on abuse it simply paints it how it really is. I think this is an important novel for teens to read, it could help them see things in a different light. Maybe, make them realize that they are being abused in someone if they are in a bad relationship like those in the book. I liked the scenes of "Joyland" and how they progressed as Johanna did throughout the book. It seemed a little bit unrealistic how much confidence Johanna got after talking to Reeve for awhile, but I guess it can happen if you really want something bad enough. Some scene will make you wince, or shake your head and think "it's so obvious what she's doing to her" but this is all the price of love. I recommend that if you read LGBT lit you take the time to read this. I am sure I will never forget this novel. All in all this was a good LGBT novel, by one of the top names in the genre.

First Line:
"I'm wearing ultra-lowrider camo pants that barely cover my crack and if she looks she'll see the strap of my thong."

Favorite Line:
"Reeve goes in my ear, "Tell her he has herpes."(less)

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Sep 10, 2009 Nancy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, lgbt-books, young-adult-fiction, psychological-fiction

Johanna has been nursing a wild crush on Reeve, who she scarcely knows. She grasps at the opportunity to make a place in Reeve’s life for herself, even as Reeve pushes her away, and as her friends, and ex-lovers of Reeve’s warn her that she’s getting into trouble. Reeve lives in a home permeated with violence, drug and alcohol abuse. She struggles to survive and protect her brother Robbie, who is perhaps autistic. She can’t risk letting anyone get close to her, and violence is the only way she k...more

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Mar 12, 2012 Arlana Brown rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Rage:A Love Story is a great book about love. It covers all the topics of having that person you fall in love with but the most difficult thing is being gay. Peters capture her readers by covering topics must artist are scared to.Johanna who is a teen lesbian falls in love with Reeve Hartt a pretty, popular, hard core girl. Johanna learns her way through life with Reeve. She finally gets her dream of being with Reeve but doesn't know if that is exactly what she wants at the end. She learns that...more

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Dec 09, 2011 Robyn Briggs rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Fiction Lovers, lesbian teens, teens in abusive relationships, Everyone

Shelves: lesbian, books-that-confuse-me, i-liked-it-but, wtf

Rage: A Love Story, a rather misnomer in my opinion, but go ahead, I'll bite.

Firstly, I would like to congratulate the author, Ms.Julie Anne Peters, her book is officially the shortest book I have ever read that took me 10 days to finish. *claps in mock enthusiasm*
Honestly that is not a jab at her more so at me. There are very few books I have found in this world that make me so uncomfortable I literally cannot read them. So Bravo. Well written. (and that is complete honesty). On that same note...more Rage: A Love Story, a rather misnomer in my opinion, but go ahead, I'll bite.

Firstly, I would like to congratulate the author, Ms.Julie Anne Peters, her book is officially the shortest book I have ever read that took me 10 days to finish. *claps in mock enthusiasm*
Honestly that is not a jab at her more so at me. There are very few books I have found in this world that make me so uncomfortable I literally cannot read them. So Bravo. Well written. (and that is complete honesty). On that same note, before we get into specifics I would like to mention one thing: This Book IS a trigger. And as such I believe it should come with a trigger warning, so that people who have dealt with abuse before can prepare themselves adequately. That being said, let's get to the good stuff shall we?

This book was absolutely wonderful. It took a bit to get into, and it was a hard read, but in the end you will be glad you read it.
The story follows Johanna Lynch, Senior in high school, Star-crossed lover, and oh, bonafied, true-to-the-bone Lesbian. The book begins with her obvious obsession of one the most popular (and damaged) girls in school, Reeve Hartt, and essentially the entire book is story of their relationship unfolding. Here's the catch. Where you start the book off thinking it's going to be just a normal find-your-one-true-love relationship story. It is not. It is a story of abuse, and hardship, and finding yourself among the ashes. It is a story on when the thing you hold most dear to you is the very thing that causes you the most pain. Drug abuse, Family abuse, relationship abuse, death, rape, murder, all in one book. (see why I mentioned the trigger warning?) This book is a veritable melting pot of horror.

To be fair, I am going to enter this side note. This book was a difficult one for me too read, because, like millions of other teen girls and boys, I also suffered from extreme dating abuse. I try to be as non-biased as possible at times like these, but sometimes, I have very little respect for the character who reminds me of who I used to be, and it shows.)

This book is a story of Love, and of redemption, but that doesn't mask the fact that one of the most prominent problems in teen society is also one of the most ignored. Dating violence is everywhere, and this book is even more eye-opening because it is a lesbian novel. It shows that dating violence doesn't just happen in heterosexual couples, where the male is violently abusing the female. Girls get violent too.

In conclusion, I would like to say that, if you are like me, the moment you decide you like this book will be an hour after you finish reading it. When your disgust with the weakness Johanna shows against Reeve's violent actions abates, perhaps you will realize just how well-written and true to the bone this book is. It really speaks volumes if you care to listen. And this is me, and I am telling you to listen closely. Perhaps it will ring a bell for you too.(less)

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Apr 06, 2012 Kenisha Hood rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When I first started reading this book, I thought that it was going to be about an obsessive teenaged girl who spent all of her time obsessing over another teenaged girl who she attends her high-school with. It turns out that I was right actually, except for the fact that the main character, Johanna, wasn't obsessive, she was blindly in love. What I like most about this book is that it looks into different issues such as how abusive relationships are not always with a man and a woman but can be...more

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Mar 19, 2012 Frances rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2010, issues, lgbtq

**Spoilers**

3.5 stars. The book is told in present tense, and it's really quite gripping and hard to put down, even when you're upset with Johanna for putting up with Reeve. I also liked the way the book surprised me. I didn't know it was an "abuse" book until Reeve hit Johanna. I already cared about both of them and had to adjust my thinking, just as Johanna did. The abuse was maybe a little over-the-top-- not that it couldn't happen that way, but the time frame seemed sped up. Social services...more

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Jan 11, 2010 Karin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009-reads, youngadult, edgy

Knopf – September 8, 2009

Johanna, a responsible and friendly girl, has admired the wild and dangerous Reeve from afar for a while. She spends a lot of her time daydreaming about her and Reeve in romantic situations in Joyland, a place that only exists in Johanna’s mind. Reeve doesn’t appear to know Johanna exists and one thing holding Johanna back from revealing her feelings for Reeve is the fact that she hasn’t “come out.”

Johanna doesn’t know when she agrees to tutor Robbie, a troubled and stra...more

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Sep 25, 2011 Car rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: my-choice, library, personal, bad, half-read

I'm sorry I guess I'm just a little immature to some of you people but EW. I did not pick up a book to only read about how much this girl wants to get it on with the other girl. Um no sorry this book isn't worth my time then. I read about a hundred pages. The story itself was ok if your interested in that kinda stuff. But I'm not I thought I'd give the book a go. You know it may be about girl on girl stuff. ( sorry trying not to sound mean ) but I just don't want to read about joyland the people...more

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Dec 28, 2009 Jennifer rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book teaches you that when you think you have it rough someone else is going through something much worse. I think this book hits well on a lot of difficult subjects. I think that this book would be great for teens and young adults to read that are beginning to date as it talks about an abusive relationship. This book is really real and not sugar coated. I like how it went full circle and we were able to see consequences of ones actions. This book depicts an absuvie relationship well and di...more

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Feb 03, 2011 Tams rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult-reading-challenge-2011, young-adult-fic

This story disturbed me because I once again saw what someone in an abusive relationship thinks. And the lack of self esteem in a young girl makes me sick to my stomach. I was very glad that even with everything else going on in all the secondary characters lives, they still had time to help her and see that she was in trouble. I was very proud of her for admitting that she needed help. I am glad she turned into an even stronger person for having been through all of that. Although, I know how mu...more

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Jun 20, 2011 Vanessa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, lgbtq

Hm okay so this brief review has some spoilers but not a lot.

I guess this novel was kind of hard for me to read because it reminds me of me and my ex-gf. While she wasn't physically abusive to me, she intentionally hurt me with words. It was emotionally abusive, I guess you can say. Reeve reminds me of her. She's so torn and destroyed on the inside that she inflicts that same pain on other people. Violence is all she knows. While the story was good and kept a good pace, I found myself disliking...more

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Aug 05, 2010 Emily rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I had picked up other works by Julie Anne Peters before, but due to a number of reasons I had never finished them. This one, on the other hand, I finished in about a week; I couldn’t put it down.
The book touches on a topic that many people are unfamiliar with: the abuse that someone who identifies as LGBT can face by someone whom they are in a romantic relationship with. What drew me to this book was the fact that it had addressed a topic that I had yet to seen written about before, much less in...more

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Jul 20, 2010 Alienne rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 09, 2010 Jamie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 14-16, lbgt, dysfunctional

Johanna has a huge crush on Reeve, one which is based almost entirely in fantasy as opposed to reality. She also has lost both her parents and her older sister lives with her as a practically absentee guardian. Rather than feeling victimized by everything, Johanna tries to make things right with those who don't deserve it while ignoring those who need her, something that I found very realistic. The lesbian sex fantasies are quite spicy, and they also show the difference between your fantasy of s...more

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Jan 19, 2012 WillowBe rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: gay-protagonist, a-heroines-journey

I think this is a great book for GLBT teens. FYI, there is no ACTUAL sex. There are is frank sexuality in daydreams and longing, but there is much more SENSUALITY than sex. And I didn't find it offesnsive at all. It took a while to get to the climax, and watching Johanna's descent was painful. I felt like- why isn't anyone SEEING this child?? Why can't they look beyond their own needs and expectations to guide a young person who is desperate for deep connections?? but then we all know the answer...more I think this is a great book for GLBT teens. FYI, there is no ACTUAL sex. There are is frank sexuality in daydreams and longing, but there is much more SENSUALITY than sex. And I didn't find it offesnsive at all. It took a while to get to the climax, and watching Johanna's descent was painful. I felt like- why isn't anyone SEEING this child?? Why can't they look beyond their own needs and expectations to guide a young person who is desperate for deep connections?? but then we all know the answer to that: like Jeannette, noone wants to get too involved.

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My big beef with the book is killing off Robbie . Why, why, why???? If the goal is to give Reeve the space she needs to grow into her own person without having the burden of a disabled sibling, that could have been accomplished by having Robbie kill Anthony- who surely deserved it!- and then enter the penal system. Tessa could have helped him find a fantastic disabled aware public defender who could have then used the senior project essay as proof that they had been through long-standing abuse- used a "Burning Bed" kind of defense. I thought that's why we had the essay in the first place- to serve two functions, not just to alert Jo to their messed up situation. That was a waste of all the time they spent on the essays. yeah, jail would have been hard, but he could have gone to some special unit for mentally different people, or undergone some kind of special school where he'd be trained in social skills, educated with his abilities and disabilities in mind, taught a trade, etc. He wanted just what Johanna wanted- love and connection. And to just kill him off?
I thought that was disrespectful to the character. Reeve could still have learned self-control without him serving as her outward stop mechanism. At the least, it would have given parity between Reeve and Jo- both with dead mothers, but caring siblings and at least one good friend.

Maybe it woudl have seemed to much of a HE, but I think it would have respected the concern and empathy we put into learning to like a character who was so initiallly repellant.

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Jan 14, 2011 Vi rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: lgbtq, romance, girls, teen

Johanna is a young orphaned senior high school teen living in the upstairs apartment from her sister and her husband in her childhood home. Johanna, the ever helpful model student, volunteers at the hospice and is pushed into tutoring a violent and autistic senior into writing his culminating essay. Johanna agrees to help this senior because Reeve, his sister, is Johanna's crush and there is only 14 days left in school. However, as Johanna and Reeve become more involved romantically, Johanna bec...more

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Sep 19, 2011 Dominique Young rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Rage:
A well wriiten exciting love story which caputures the attention of hopeless romantics,gay or lesibian readers & most youth. Julie Anne Peters writes of a young girl(Johanna)hopelessly in love with a trouble highschool girl (Reeve). The story of thier ups & downs in thier relationship can really relate to those of an average teenage girl & or boy. You know how they say 'The things we do for love', it fits perfectly into Johanna's situation with Reeve. This story will suck you in...more

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Glbt

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Romance

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Young Adult > Teen

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Glbt > Lesbian

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Sociology > Abuse

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Contemporary

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About Julie Anne Peters

Julie Anne Peters was born in Jamestown, New York. When she was five, her family moved to the Denver suburbs in Colorado. Her parents divorced when she was in high school. She has three siblings: a brother, John, and two younger sisters, Jeanne and Susan.

Her books for young adults include Define "Normal" (2000), Keeping You a Secret (2003), Luna (2004), Far from Xanadu (2005), Between Mom and Jo (...more

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Quotes from Rage: A Love Story

“Is that all I am? A friend?"

"Of course not," I say. "I love you."

"Am I the only one?" she asks.

"Yes. Completely." First, last, and always.” — 10 people liked it

“She responds by kissing me harder and longer and deeper. She loves me too. She's just afraid.” — 5 people liked it

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