Review By: Stephanie Kenific
Published: 2024
Genre(s): Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Contemporary, Fiction, Crime, Friendship, Realistic Fiction, Psychological Thriller
Audience: Grades 10–12
Content Warnings: Sexual assault (off page), suicide attempt (off page), violence
Star Rating: ★★★★☆
Goodreads Link: Rabbit & Juliet
Publisher’s Summary:
Seventeen-year-old Rabbit has been struggling to stay above water since her mom died. In the span of a year and half, her small Georgia town has become unbearably hellish: Her ex-boyfriend, resident golden boy Richard, turned into an unrelenting stalker; her friends are nonexistent; and her dad is campaigning hard for Functioning Alcoholic of the Year.
But all that changes when the sarcastic, gorgeous, and frustratingly impenetrable Juliet Bergman walks into Rabbit’s life. All hard angles and James Dean bravado, Juliet throws Rabbit a life preserver just before her depression threatened to sink her. Then one morning, Rabbit’s ex-best-friend Sarah–Richard’s current girlfriend–shares a horrific discovery about Richard and his crew that pitches Rabbit back into darkness. The three girls vow to enact revenge on the boys for what they’ve been doing to unsuspecting girls at parties. With Juliet leading the charge and demanding blind loyalty from the girls, Rabbit falls harder for her than she thought possible. It isn’t until Rabbit is faced with a startling act of violence that she must decide how far she’s willing to go–for herself, for Juliet, and for justice–when love and grief threaten to topple everything.
Review:
Rabbit and Juliet was quite the journey. Rabbit is a teenager who lost her mother in the last year, and after a suicide attempt is coerced into attending a grief group. While the meetings often feel pointless, Rabbit meets the electrifying Juliet during one unexpected encounter. The two hit it off quickly, and Juliet quickly takes Rabbit under wing, inviting her for extended stays at her absent but extremely wealthy father’s house. Through Juliet, Rabbit reconnects with a former friend, Sarah, who drops a bombshell on Rabbit: Rabbit’s ex, and Sarah’s current boyfriend, has a photo of Rabbit undressed and unconscious. The three girls crash a party at Richard’s house and discover that he and his friends have a trove of photos of other girls in similar states. Juliet, whose influence over Sarah and Rabbit continues to grow, convinces them that they must seek personal revenge. With increasing fervor, the girls train to physically attack the boys responsible. Along the way, Rabbit realizes her strong feelings for Juliet are more than platonic. She is pulled deeper into a toxic spiral with Juliet. When the story reaches a violent climax, Rabbit must decide whether she can still think for herself.
The book is dark and emotional. Still, it is a valuable read for older teens. Many young people find themselves in obsessive or unhealthy relationships, and Rabbit’s story provides an opportunity to examine how those dynamics form. Rabbit often ignores her instincts and follows Juliet even as things escalate. While Rabbit does not experience consequences for her involvement in the violence, it is clear that she will be emotionally marked by the relationship for life.
