Foul Is Fair

by Hannah Capin, Emily Lawrence (Read by)

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

A #MeToo reimagining of MacBeth, this searing story of vengeance is unapologetic, fierce and immensely satisfying. With complex relationships at its core, there’s a lot here to keep the pages turning.

“This revenge fantasy is as brutal as it is beautiful…An absolutely gorgeous retelling, artistry on every page, Oscar-worthy if it were a film.” — NPR

Hannah Capin's Foul is Fair is a bloody, thrilling revenge fantasy for the girls who have had enough. Golden boys beware: something wicked this way comes.

Jade and her friends Jenny, Mads, and Summer rule their glittering LA circle. Untouchable, they have the kind of power other girls only dream of. Every party is theirs and the world is at their feet. Until the night of Jade's sweet sixteen, when they crash a St. Andrew’s Prep party. The night the golden boys choose Jade as their next target.

They picked the wrong girl.

Sworn to vengeance, Jade transfers to St. Andrew’s Prep. She plots to destroy each boy, one by one. She'll take their power, their lives, and their control of the prep school's hierarchy. And she and her coven have the perfect way in: a boy named Mack, whose ambition could turn deadly.

A Macmillan Audio production from Wednesday Books

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250262745
Publisher:	Macmillan Audio
Publication date:	02/18/2020
Edition description:	Unabridged
Product dimensions:	1.00(w) x 1.00(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

Hannah Capin is the author of Foul is Fair and The Dead Queens Club, a feminist retelling of the wives of Henry VIII. When she isn’t writing, she can be found singing, sailing, or pulling marathon gossip sessions with her girl squad. She lives in Tidewater, Virginia.

Editorial Reviews

07/01/2020

Gr 8 Up—Emily Lawrence narrates Capin's contemporized adaptation of Macbeth, featuring overprivileged L.A. teens with a #MeToo narrative overlay. Out at a party with her three best friends Elizabeth Jade Khanjara is gang-raped by a group of prep school lacrosse stars. She refuses to be labeled a "victim," or even "survivor"—instead, she's the "avenger"; her last name is a feminization of khanjar, meaning "curved dagger," summoning Shakespeare's possessed leitmotif. She demands revenge, tranferring to her rapists' school, enrolling as Jade, and within 13 days, the squad will be dead. Lawrence's voice drips vicious manipulation as Jade wreaks overdue punishment over and over again. Lawrence growls through the perpetrators, initially pompous, convinced of their unchallenged power, until Jade reduces them to desperate whining and ineffective begging. VERDICT More train wreck than classic, once begun, turning off—even as you know how it all ends—is not an option.—Terry Hong, Smithsonian BookDragon, Washington, DC

School Library Journal - Audio

Emily Lawrence narrates the first-person story of Elle Khanjara. On her sixteenth birthday, Elle crashes a prep school party with four of her girlfriends. While there, she is drugged and gang-raped by four lacrosse players. Afterward, Lawrence's voice reflects Elle’s anger in tones that range from cruel sarcasm to cold and calculating. Determined to exact revenge, Elle changes her appearance and her name. Upon infiltrating the school, she and her crew take the first steps in their plan to murder the rapists. Lawrence captures the building suspense that is the driving force of this novel. Her voicing of Elle’s memories of the rape is chilling and unapologetic. This is not a gentle listen; neither the narrator nor the author spare listeners from the story’s emotional intensity. S.W. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

APRIL 2020 - AudioFile

MEDIUM, "Most Anticipated Young Adult Books of 2020"

BOOKRIOT, Recommended 2020 YA read

NPR, "Favorite Books of 2020"

PASTE, "The Top 10 Best Young Adult Novels of February 2020"

POPSUGAR, "34 Promising New YA Books to Look Out For in 2020"

PUREWOW, "16 of the Best Young Adult Books Flying Off the Shelves This Holiday Season"

"This isn’t a how-to-murder-your-classmates manual; it’s a ferocious, frenzied reaction to a world that has, for too long, treated women as collateral damage in stories that have been deemed more important than theirs...Jade’s first-person narrative, steeped in rage and drenched, unapologetically, with gore, moves at a relentless pace." - Booklist (Starred Review)

"Rhythmic, propulsive prose drives this bloody retelling of Macbeth at a relentless pace all the way to its violent end...impossible to put down." - Kirkus

"An unapologetic, addictive tour de force that will leave readers entranced and empowered, a fantastically grafted story with an inevitable ending that you won’t soon forget." - The Nerd Daily

"This revenge fantasy is as brutal as it is beautiful...An absolutely gorgeous retelling, artistry on every page, Oscar-worthy if it were a film." - NPR.org

"Capin’s twisty, blood-soaked take on Shakespeare’s play is a propulsive, white-hot juggernaut of vengeance that packs a viscerally satisfying punch." - Publishers Weekly

"This revenge fantasy told from the point of view of a rape survivor will shock and awe." - School Library Journal

"This book is not to be missed." - Paste

"Capin’s writing will seduce you with its beauty and then, when you least suspect it, slice you to the bone—just like Foul is Fair’s captivating, vicious, entirely unforgettable heroine, Jade." - Layne Fargo, author of Temper and co-host of Unlikeable Female Characters Podcast

"Fierce, vicious, and electric. If books had teeth, Foul Is Fair would have fangs. Capin's language glitters dark and her writing cuts deep. Revenge is a dish best served by this deliciously unapologetic coven." - Laurie Elizabeth Flynn, author of Firsts and Last Girl Lied To

“Vicious and beautifully brutal, Foul is Fair gives a sword to every girl who has ever been a victim and makes them a warrior. This book is pulls no punches and will make anyone think twice before uttering the phrase ‘just a girl’. An unapologetic feminist battle-cry that leaves you breathless and thirsting for vengeance.” - Sonia Hartl, author of Have a Little Faith in Me

"Foul is Fair delivers the story of a girl who snatches control back from a world that stole it away, through whatever means necessary. Hannah Capin deftly combines stunningly lyrical prose with the raw power of engulfing fury, sending a message written in blood. In a world where too many are forced into silence, this book roars back." - Sophie Gonzales, author of The Law of Inertia and Only Mostly Devastated

"Jade does what uncounted sexual assault survivors have dreamed of doing—she takes matters into her own hands. What ensues is part Buffalo Bill-style revenge fantasy, part diabolically well-planned manipulation, and it's all done in lyrical prose that feels dreamy and so much like Shakespeare. A gorgeous, scorchingly emotional novel perfect for fans of Mindy McGinnis' The Female of the Species or Courtney Summers' All the Rage." - Wendy Heard, author of Hunting Annabelle and The Kill Club and cohost of Unlikeable Female Characters podcast

“Foul is Fair is a clever reimagining of Macbeth centering a teenage Lady M. It’s a dark, brutal revenge fantasy, sharply feminist and brimming with melodic prose. Capin’s sophomore novel is bloody brilliant—exceedingly bloody, and every bit as brilliant.” - Dana Mele, author of People Like Us

From the Publisher