Tonight We Rule the World

by Zack Smedley

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Heart-wrenching yet so important, Tonight We Rule the World is the story of a teenage boy whose world is upended when he is revealed as the victim of sexual assault. This haunting, emotional coming-of-age story is sure to linger with readers long after the last page.

From the critically acclaimed author of Deposing Nathan comes an explosive examination of identity, voice, and the indelible ways our stories are rewritten by others.

In the beginning, Owen’s story was blank . . . then he was befriended by Lily, the aspiring author who helped him find his voice. Together, the two have spent years navigating first love and amassing an inseparable friend group. But all of it is upended one day when his school’s administration learns Owen’s secret: that he was sexually assaulted by a classmate.

In the ensuing investigation, everyone scrambles to hold their worlds together.

Owen, still wrestling with his self-destructive thoughts and choices.

His father, a mission-driven military vet ready to start a war to find his son’s attacker.

The school bureaucrats, who seem most concerned with kowtowing to the local media attention.

And Lily, who can’t learn that Owen is the mystery victim everyone is talking about . . . because once she does, it will set off a chain of events that will change their lives forever.

Heartbreaking and hopeful, this is a coming-of-age story that explores how we rebuild after the world comes crumbling down.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781645673323
Publisher:	Page Street Publishing
Publication date:	10/12/2021
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	1,154,361
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 7.60(h) x 1.40(d)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

Zack Smedley is the author of Deposing Nathan, which the New York Times said “is a superb story, told in an original and masterly way.” As a member of the LGBT community, his goal is to give a voice to queer young adults, through gritty, morally complex narratives.

Editorial Reviews

Stellar and haunting”
– Kirkus Magazine, starred review


“Equal parts heartfelt and heartbreaking [. . .] an unflinching exploration of love, betrayal, power, and trauma, and ultimately, what it means to speak your truth in a world that’s never truly been willing to listen. A brilliant read.”
– Stephanie Kuehn, Morris Award-winning author of Charm & Strange


“No one does heartbreak like Zack Smedley. In this story, he weaves an intimate human drama into a thriller of almost mythic power…with brilliant detail and care.”
– Adam Sass, award-winning author of Surrender Your Sons


“Promoted by the publisher as ‘Speak for boys,’ Smedley’s second novel is troubling but deeply felt and extremely well written […] the thoughtful presentation of such a rare topic in YA fiction is welcome.”
– Booklist Magazine


“An achingly beautiful novel. Each character was meticulously realized to create a puzzle piece of a narrative that kept me guessing, wishing, and hoping for Owen’s self-empowered journey to the very end. This is an incredibly important read.”
– James Brandon, author of Ziggy, Stardust & Me


“An important, authentic, thought-provoking story . . . Owen is a character I’ll remember for a long time.”
– Bill Konigsberg, award-winning author of The Music of What Happens


“Unflinchingly honest and powerful. . .Smedley’s authentic, thoughtful voice is essential to young readers.”
– Julian Winters, award-winning author of How to Be Remy Cameron


“A painful and important look at toxic relationships, rape, power, and control.”
– School Library Journal

From the Publisher

09/01/2021

Gr 9 Up—A sexual assault, the secrets surrounding it, and the resulting trauma reshape everything high school senior Owen understands to be true. Switching between earlier diaries and the current time line, Owen, who is on the autism spectrum, details his relationship with his girlfriend, do-gooder perfectionist Lily. Neither Lily nor their friends blink when Owen comes out as bisexual, but the night he reveals this information on social media he is sexually assaulted while on a class trip. He tries to keep the report of his rape and the ensuing investigation secret from Lily, as things between them are already strained and stressful. Though Owen knows who raped him, he refuses to tell the school, his parents, or the authorities. He grapples with what happened to him while trying to figure out if he can do the relationship reset that Lily desperately wants. Owen works through the hurdles that trauma brings, eventually confronting his abuser and revealing their identity to his parents. The intricate layers, stunning revelations, and powerful emotions in this story will captivate readers as well as help them overlook some of the flaws—mainly uneven writing. The structure of the novel, partially told through diary entries, successfully adds suspense and shows how difficult it can be to move forward and just exist in the aftermath of a horrific incident. VERDICT A painful and important look at toxic relationships, rape, power, and control from a vantage point not often seen in YA.—Amanda MacGregor, Parkview Elem. Sch., Rosemount, MN

School Library Journal

★ 2021-07-13
Ignoring things won’t make them go away.

Told in nonlinear chapters, the story follows Owen, a bisexual high schooler from small-town Pennsylvania who is on the autism spectrum. Owen is raped by someone he knows intimately while on the school’s annual trip for seniors. Covering for the perpetrator causes stress across many areas of Owen’s life, from his relationship with his ex-military father—a man who is not proactively addressing his PTSD—to his friends and his girlfriend, Lily. Once the rapist’s identity is discovered, the novel follows Owen in the immediate aftermath of the assault. The story is superbly told, and readers will be simultaneously on the edges of their seats as the narrative slowly draws closer to revealing the rapist’s identity and saddened by the waves of emotional and physical abuse Owen endures as he attempts to make the sexual assault investigation disappear. Other themes, such as Owen’s slow emergence from the closet and the milestone of his driver’s license, add additional complexity and humanity in support of the main storyline. Book clubs and discussion groups will have a lot to ponder. Backmatter directing readers to sexual assault resources would have elevated the title even further. The main characters are White; there is diversity in the supporting cast.

Stellar and haunting. (author’s note) (Fiction. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews