League of Strays

by L.B. Schulman

This suspenseful debut follows a group of teenage misfits in their delicious quest for revenge on those who have wronged them at their high school. When a mysterious note appears in Charlotte's mailbox inviting her to join the League of Strays, she's hopeful it will lead to making friends. What she discovers is a motley crew of loners and an alluring, manipulative ringleader named Kade. Kade convinces the group that they need one another both for friendship and to get back at the classmates and teachers who have betrayed them. But Kade has a bigger agenda. In addition to vandalizing their school and causing fights between other students, Kade's real intention is a dangerous plot that will threaten lives and force Charlotte to choose between her loyalty to the League and her own conscience.

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Mystery, Romance, Thriller, Realistic Fiction, Fantasy

288 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2012

About the author

L.B. Schulman is the author of two young adult novels. Her most recent, STOLEN SECRETS (Boyds Mills Press), was released on September 19, 2017.

Although technically a YA, STOLEN SECRETS' complex themes will appeal to readers of all ages. Check out the great reviews from Bay Area Librarians, School Library Journal, VOYA, and School Library Connection on her website at LBSchulman.com. While there, please join her quarterly newsletter for updates, tips for writers, and more.

L.B.'s debut YA novel, now sold as an E-reader, was LEAGUE OF STRAYS. Through the eyes of 17-year-old, Charlotte, the novel explores the ways we deal with bullies and the psychology of sociopathy.

L.B. lives in California with her husband, two daughters, and a couple of "SPCA specials." When not writing, she's obsessed with genealogy and her family tree. She now knows she's related to Johnny Cash, the first male to be hung at the Salem Witch Trials, Humphrey Bogart and shockingly, her own husband (distantly, thankfully.) She's met five third to sixth cousins and loved all but one of them. She's also a private creative writing tutor for high school students and a freelance editor and advisor on children's book projects.

L.B. hangs out at these cyberspace locations near you:

Quota: L.B. Schulman
Twitter: @lbschulman
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LBSchulman/
Instagram: lb.schulman

Reviews

[Emily May]

Edit 07/12: I still stand by everything I've said in this review, however I do not and will never support Stopthegrbullies and I feel sad that the author is doing so. Especially when her book is about how bullying - even of those who are bullies - is wrong.
....................................................................................................

If I ever say I'm not going to read a book which has been the centre of goodreads controversy, just ignore that and take it as I will probably give in to the pressure of my own curiosity. No matter how much the subject matter (etc.) may displease me, I can't resist the call of a highly-debated book. My initial intentions today when I picked up my kindle and opened League of Strays was to read the supposedly gay-bashing scene and then read the last couple of chapters, just so I could work out for myself what the author's intentions were of including such an upsetting event. I ended up reading the majority of the book's second half, however, I am not going to give a rating because I feel that not reading the first part of the book makes me unqualified to do so.

Firstly, I'd just like to say in the author's defence that I've seen no evidence of this sock-puppeting. I know this doesn't necessarily mean it isn't true, but it seems as if goodreads members have become extremely paranoid since the earlier author attacks and a lot of it is without good enough reason. A negative comment on your review from a new member or a private account doesn't mean that it's the author coming to bash your review. There are plenty of morons out there that get off on this kind of thing, we used to just call them "trolls" before we started crying "author". Also, when the author attempted to defend herself and deny the accusations, people then started jumping down her throat for being unprofessional... if something is a complete lie regarding the individual and not her work, then I can see no reason why she shouldn't speak out about it.

Right. And that so-called gay-bashing thing she did. I'm honestly not here to comment on the story or the characters, I'm not going to talk about whether it's boring or engaging - because I think the beginning is a big player in deciding these things and setting up how you see the rest of the novel. This might be a crap story and the characters may be as bland as they come. But one thing I gathered - and it was quite clear - was that the group's ideas were not meant to be viewed positively. It's evident in the way the story ended with Kade getting arrested and Charlotte commenting that he no longer looked attractive - he looked like a criminal. It seems very obvious to me that the author's message was negative about the group and their actions. There are all kinds of lessons you can take away from this, you can learn that violence only breeds violence, that sometimes the worst things start with good intentions, that revenge can make you just as bad as the one who wronged you.

I also think this book goes some way towards showing how people will turn the other cheek to things they don't like if it means they can fit in with a crowd and avoid being the victim. The league offers these comforts to Charlotte, they offer her the kind of life she's always wanted... as long as she plays along with their games.

I hate homophobia. I hate that people can experience so much mental and physical abuse just because they choose (or have no choice) to love someone of the same sex. I hate that it happens... but it does. The author shows that it happens and she eventually shows that any type of bullying is wrong - even bullying to get back at bullies. I'm not sure I'm quite as much of a pacifist as Schulman, but the "two wrongs don't make a right" idea is far better than the gay-hater portrait that has been painted of her. Schulman doesn't hate gays, Charlotte doesn't hate gays. Kade is the sicko who gets a kick out of watching people get beaten up, but we're not actually meant to like him. This is the key thing, if we were supposed to root for a character who likes to see gay people get beaten up, then you could call the author out on her homophobia. But Kade is meant to be a twat, and frankly, this makes all the difference.

One more comment from me: the writing. I've seen it praised, I've seen it described as being like a child's writing... I'd say it's nothing spectacular but is still pretty standard for the young adult genre. In my opinion, it's neither notably good or bad.

[Rose · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bullying is a difficult subject matter to write about, but I think it's one that's worth merit considering many kids, pre-teens, and teens are subject to it at schools. It is also worth talking about peer pressure and how being part of certain groups that influence one to do terrible things to other people are immoral.

That said, I think "League of Strays" started out as being a book that wanted to show the induction of a girl, among many students, into a secret group that functions like a cult, with a charismatic but dangerous leader to boot. I actually give that idea merit because with a premise of that nature, this could've turned out to be a book that came across with a lot of emotional punch and a strong message behind it.

Instead, after finishing this, I feel emotionally sucker-punched in the wrong way. It wasn't good, I'm going to say that point blank. There were so many portrayals that came across as half-handed that it made me feel frustrated, and I couldn't believe that they weren't vetted out of this respective book, nor do I believe that the heroine of this novel does some of the things she does. Granted, I do see moments where Charlotte acted well to be able to put herself out of the group's influences, but I did not like the routes she took while getting there. Not at all.

Let me give a brief summary of the book before I go into any further details: Charlotte is a young woman who's recruited into a secret group called the "League of Strays". She meets in secret with a group of people who aren't sure why they're there, until the darkly charming Kade shows up. He profiles every single one of the members of their respective history, and champions the group as a friend system that supports each other, despite some jarring putdowns. He asks the group what some of their worst bullying experiences were and after some understandably hurtful accounts, decides to take matters into the Leagues' hands. They begin getting even with the parties that have wronged them - it's appropriate to say "revenge bullying" to describe this process. From burning a grade book to sabotaging school property to insinuating a kid is gay and results in that kid being beaten for that reason.

Wait...what?

*starts humming* One of these things is not like the other...all of these things are quite terribly wrong.

I'll backtrack a bit and explain. Charlotte, among some of the other girls who are in the group of Strays are following Kade because he's apparently a hot boy who can do no wrong. Nevermind that he tells Charlotte that she looks like a former love interest he used to know and knew the shortcut that girl took home. Never mind that said girl no longer went to the school because of Kade, and Kade admits this readily - proudly even. I think at this insinuation, people are to think that there's something more to him than meets the eye - a bad framework, but Charlotte doesn't see it. Yet. She chalks it off as "research."

The burning of the gradebook and the vandalism I saw as the teens being immoral. I understood the context and followed it without very many qualms. When the acts of vengeance became more violent, my resolve wavered a bit. I'll admit, I'd first heard about the implied gay bullying scene from some of my respected circles of readers. That deterred me at first from picking up the book. I decided to take a chance and see the context. It's a blunt portrayal, even more twisted seeing how some of the members were taking pleasure in watching the attack, and wanting the character to not succeed in escaping. But things get more icky as the book goes on.

For one, the bullied character who's actually gay - Richie (who might be the only character I liked in this book, to an extent) ends up being at the blunt end of a manipulation scheme that not only results in him getting hurt (maybe not as hurt as he would've been - to Kade's devised plan), but also seems to resolve the conflict by portraying Richie as going back in the closet, technically speaking.

This upset me on a few levels. One, Kade knew that Dave (who suspected Richie had something to do with the plot, which ended up breaking the jock's arm) would try to pursue Richie and beat him up. Yet, Kade knew that he didn't want to jeopardize the Strays' identity. So what does he do? Makes one of the female members of the strays intervene while Dave gets a few blows in, and allows the girl to claim to be Richie's girlfriend. Dave apologizes because he thinks he was mistaken in assuming Richie's sexuality. Problem solved. Actually no, it's not solved at all - it's made that much more complicated in an offensive way.

Look, I'm going to interject here - it's hard enough that many teens struggle coming to terms with their identities in this stage of life - whether it's finding ways to be independent, keeping up with school, finding their identity socially, physically, mentally, emotionally, sexually or other considerations at certain stages. But the one thing that should be clear is that a person of any age should never feel afraid enough to hide who they are - no matter what the dimension entails - gender, age, race, orientation, religion - what have you. Granted, Richie's character is a confident one in spurts, and I like that about him. However, Kade manipulates Richie in a way that closes his identity in again, and Charlotte distinctly states that she can't give the impression that Richie's gay because it will get him beat up again. I don't know whether to take it as a part of Kade's manipulations or if the scene was just that ambiguous on what it was supposed to portray.

Things get much worse. As Charlotte starts questioning Kade's motivations in the mix of her romantic interactions with him, she starts uncovering dangerous parts of his past. There is a fair amount of victim blaming because it involves an assault. One of the things Charlotte says about it?

Quoted:

"Even if it is him, she dropped the charges. That proves him innocent, right?"

I think my jaw dropped to the floor. So then Charlotte proceeds to call the victim and it results in one of the most emotionally detached scenes in the whole book. I didn't find it realistic at all. It was mostly telling and the violence of the act didn't match the emotional delivery.

Yes, eventually Charlotte does find Kade to be dangerous, scary, and repulsive, but the way getting there is rather rough, and I didn't appreciate some of the portrayals here. I'm not saying that Schulman isn't a decent writer, but the transitions here are very rough and don't make sense with respect to the characterizations in points. That hurts the portrayal more than helps it.

Overall, I think there are better books that show the repercussions of bullying/peer pressure, and manage to do it in a thrilling way without seeming so farfetched.

Overall score: 1/5

Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher ABRAMS/Amulet Books.

[Wendy Darling]

How ironic.

[Shannon]

The cover makes this look like a Twilight rip-off, but it's not even paranormal. I also don't like the plot's idea of people bullying others because they were bullied. That doesn't make them better than someone, it makes them worse.

[Lisbeth Avery {Domus Libri} · Rating 1 out of 5]

Reason I didn't want to read it (then I got an ARC).

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Actual Rating: .5/5 stars

**Caution: spoiler alert and ranting**

This book is wrong on so many levels. The story is about kids who decide to et revenge on all the injustices in their highschool. The injustices include a mean physical education teacher, a homophobic bully, and a mean girl.

Ok, not all people may find that plot idea offensive. If the author wrote this better, it could actually have been a good book. May have been.

A cult needs a good leader. Someone who can easily persuade people into doing insane things. Kade was meant to be a great leader. He ended up being a crazy, stalker.

The beginning of the book starts like this. Three hormonal idiots girls are sent a letter, without a stamp or return address, telling them they are invited to join the League of Strays. It tells them to meet in the middle of a park at night.

So of course they do meet and after a few minutes two teens come in. Kade and Richie. Kade tells them that he’s been “profiling” them. These quotes are what he really says.

“Zoe Carpenter. Let’s see, mom divorced Zoe’s stepfather last year. Well, technically, he was number three. She lives in a home of revolving men, but only one her mom really loves in Jack… Daniel’s.”

He was profiling the girl. But not only her.

Nora Walker. Mom and dad work seventy-hour weeks at their high-tech jobs. Needless to say, they aren’t around much. When she was twelve, Nora’s fifteen-year-old sister committed suicide by downing all of her mother’s migraine medicine. Now an only child, Nora makes it her personal missing to erase her parent’s pain.

What do the girls do? Even though he’s been stalking them for who know’s how long, they stay. The only reason for it? He’s hot.

And we’re only 4% into the book.

I imagined Kade following me from class to class, taking notes. The idea of someone spying on me was definitely creepy.

This is what smart people do. Good Charlie. But then, in the next sentence she thinks:

.. I wanted to hear more. What else did Kade Harlin think of me?

Sure, he’s hot. Ok, I’ll forgive you (barely). You are desperate, loners (which the author loved to remind us of). But he ADMITS to being a psycho more or less (as if you couldn’t see it though maybe you were blinded by lust).

I wrote poems about her and left them in her art locker. Everyday, I checked to see if she’d written back, but she never did. I memorized her so I could learn everything there was to know about her. She liked egg salad sandwiches, and her favorite perfume was a five-dollar bottle of Forever Yours that she stole from Wal-Mart. She’d had six boyfriends in the past two years. I even knew the shortcut she used to get home.

Perhaps this was meant to be romantic, but do you see it that way? IT’S NOT! Ok, now that I’ve hit the big 600, I should get onto the review.

Characters:
This book could have been so much more if Charlotte had more the five brain cells. She followed Kade around like a puppy dog and ruined people’s lives. By the end, she realized something was wrong with this guy, but only by the 80% mark.

I hated her even more after this:

Sidney Bishop told Nicole Haines that Mark Lawrence had beat up his girlfriend, who was recovering at Glenwood Community Hospital with a broken hand. I prayed it was true, because that would mean our plan for Dave had nothing to do with this latest development.

So she basically said, she wanted someone to be beaten up so her sorry hide will be ok. I can’t explain how ANGRY this made me feel.

Kade was by far the worst love interest I”ve eve had the displeasure of reading about. He was Patch from Hush, Hush, Daniel from Fallen, and Noah from The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer all rolled into one. What has been read can not be unread.

The only reason Nora was in the book was as the mean girl trying to take Kade away from Charlotte. The. Only. Reason.

Richie was a walking, talking stereotype of a gay guy, but he was the only character that got anything remotely like a smile to appear while reading this book.

Plot:
Could have been good, like I said. But it wasn’t.

The plot needed to be thought out more. One of the things the League did was burn the grade books because of a C. In gym. Fine, I’ll go with it. Except for the fact that most teachers now use ELECTRONIC GRADING. I’m homeschooled. Even my family uses ELECTRONIC GRADING. Burning the books does nothing.

The next “prank”, and I use that term very, very, loosely, was revenge against a guy who bullied Richie (the gay guy). TO get back at him, they place in his friend’s locker a fake note stating:

Hey Big D,
I couldn’t stop thinking about you all day. What happened between us was incredible. It was my first time. I know I’m not experienced, but I hope it was still good for you. ‘ll see you at nine at the post office parking lot like we talked about. Wear black.

Until then, Michael.

First: why the post office? So the bully goes there thinking he’s going to “do it” with a popular girl in the highschool. Because his “friends” think he’s gay they beat him up and break his arm. The main character goes along with it and then they have a PARTY.

The idea was interesting as could well have been an amazing book. The author couldn’t pull it off though.

What I liked and disliked:
Liked:
■ Charlie did realize what she was doing was wrong
■ Richie was a bit cute

Disliked:
■ Charlie was an idiot
■ Kade was abusive, stalking, and horrible
■ Poorly thought out

In conclusion:
I. Could. Not. Stand. This. Book.

I couldn’t. I would never recommend it.

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Favorite Character: Richie
Favorite Quote:

It sounded reasonable.

Find this review and more at Domus Libri!

[Anna Staniszewski · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was filled with interesting characters and subtle mind games. I was intrigued to see what lengths the league might go to as they were led by a character who seemed to know how to push all their buttons.

Others have mentioned that this book had a negative view of gay teens, but I didn't see that AT ALL. In fact, I thought it was the exact opposite.

The characters did some questionable things in the name of revenge and had to deal with the consequences, which I thought was fascinating to watch. I was afraid of the things Charlotte might be forced to do next, and I was rooting for her as she grew into a stronger and more determined character.

[Lucy]

Never going to happen.

[Nemo (The ☾Moonlight☾ Library) · Rating 2 out of 5]

See this review and more on The Moonlight Library!

League of Strays delivers an interesting, twisted concept that leaves a distinct impression of distaste in one’s mouth all wrapped up in a nicely decorated book cover. The cover art is intensely accurate – from the pose of the two models, the uncertain, uncomfortable fear in Charlotte (who is physically accurate) and the brooding, constipated look of Kade (who is also physically accurate). I say constipated because Kade is an intensely unlikeable character, and one who is never intended to be anything else.

When Charlotte is invited to become a part of the mysterious League of Strays, she is introduced into a culture where the apparent aim is to punish those who have wronged or slighted the members of the group. It is led by the enigmatic, charismatic Kade, who is a sociopath. He seduces three of the four members of the group in his twisted manipulations using his good looks and simply paying attention to the other members. That’s all they want. Kade’s touch is used to demonstrate this point. Charlotte’s very aware of this, because she is an outwardly lonely soul. It’s also the major reason why the four members revolve around Kade and get trapped in his sick little game. They each want to be included, and the peer pressure gets to all of them.

First, the bad news:

Apart from her loneliness, I don’t see why Charlotte was chosen to be a part of the group. Ritchie is chosen because he’s apparently the only gay in the village, Zoe’s picked because her mother is an alcoholic, Nora is chosen because she’s focussing on being the valedictorian and has absent parents, but Charlotte? Apparently Charlotte suffers from overprotective, controlling parents. In reality, we the audience only ever see evidence of Charlotte’s mother being a caring, concerned parent and although her father makes a rather logic-defying conclusion that Charlotte might be sleeping with some of the boys targeted by this bully group (52%), he’s okay as a father figure as well.

Charlotte also demonstrates her utter stupidity when she expresses a desire to be stalked because in her mind it means someone cares for her. “Kade has laid his heart at this girl’s feet, and she’d stomped all over it. If it had been me, I would’ve loved to get a poem like that, to have someone care enough to write it.” (13%) Because apparently it’s wrong if a girl rejects a guy who fancies her. Maybe it’s even bullying? Who knows. Here’s an interesting article by Foz Meadows about guys and friendzoning, which resonates quite strongly with Kade’s attitude. You know, the attitude of a future rapist and everything.

In fact, multiple times Charlotte pretty much disgusted me as a character. She lies about her ‘bullying’ experience (16%), reveals that at age 17 she still can’t cook (47%) nor make her own breakfast (then complains when her mother does it ‘wrong’ 49%), finds doing simple chores repressing (setting the table 36%), and then whines about being controlled by her mother. Meanwhile we’re also told that when her mother couldn’t afford to buy Charlotte a ‘trendy’ pair of pre-torn jeans, her apparently strict, controlling, unfair mother took a pair of sewing scissors to Charlotte’s existing jeans to give her a home-made pair (38%). This is just one example of Charlotte’s mother showing us a caring nature that we are told is overbearing and strict. Later, we are told that Charlotte believes if she ended up pregnant, her parents would support her unconditionally (47%). Doesn't sound like overbearing, overprotective, controlling, strict parents to me.

And then some stuff happened that was pretty stupid. The League breaks into and trashes an office. Prior to this, Charlotte has taken your standard Mary-Sue-I’m-an-adorable-klutz tumble and gashed her leg open. While Kade hands out gloves to prevent the police from taking prints, not one mentions maybe keeping Charlotte’s gushing blood out of the office. No one even mentions it. Charlotte only mentions it once more, and no blood is ever found in the office in the aftermath (25-26%). Charlotte has a five line conversation with her mother that makes her fifteen minutes late to class (41%). One of the bully group’s attacked ended with a ‘piercing scream’, the victim lying ‘still as a portrait’ with the straps of her gown cut, and a witness says ‘some guy in a ski mask got her’ (emphasis mine). I assumed the girl was dead. Logical assumption to make. Apparently not. (69-70%)

At around 90% the story stopped making sense with entire sentences missing and even a whole scene. I assume this will be fixed in the final version but still, it’s a lot of work for an ARC to go through.

Schulman also apparently has no concept of the beats of dialogue. Often I got lost wondering who was speaking, and was informed too late to really feel that the novel was smoothly written.

Now the good news:

Charlotte is aware of Kade’s sociopathic tendencies. Although at first she finds it romantic, she later learns that it's not, even though she is somewhat blinded by her own lust. She has the ovaries to stand up to him.

Schulman gets bonus points for four reasons: Charlotte’s hobby, which is the viola; including a gay character; including a mixed race character; never presenting Kade as anything other than the controlling, manipulative asshat we all know from ‘romances’ such as Twilight, Hush, Hush, and Halo.

The end of the novel is really what bumped it up to two stars. I don’t want to spoil it, but Charlotte has ovaries. She doesn’t necessarily experience drastic growth as a character, but she does learn to go after what she wants rather than let others walk all over her. She learns that no matter how hot a guy is, sometimes he is just a controlling, manipulative, stalking asshole.

An advance reader copy was kindly provided by the publisher.

[Tomoe Hotaru]

As a disclosure, this is on my "no thank you" shelf simply because the book description does not catch my interest.

However, in the book (or/and author)'s defence, I've seen a fair amount of discussion for quite some time now, classifying this book as "gay-bashing", hence why a lot of people have decided not to read it.

I haven't read a single page of this book, so I really can't speak much, but these things really do pique my interest for a genuine discussion.

As I believe it's unwise to judge a book based on hearsay/others' opinions, I think it's important to consider the following questions.

does it
(a) really promote gay-bashing? or
(b) simply contain scenes where gay people are treated abominably?

There is a difference between the two, which admittedly are not mutually exclusive, and I believe it's important to distinguish when a book is (a) or (b), or both.


League of Strays and Gay Bashing

[Evie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you ever been bullied or teased? Have you been laughed at for being overweight, too tall or too short, too nerdy, or simply not cool enough to fit in? What if you could do something about it? What if you were offered a chance to join a secret group, one that would offer you understanding, support and friendship? And what if you could get revenge on all the people that humiliated you over and over again, hurt your feelings, smashed your confidence and dreams to pieces? Would you do it?

When Charlotte's father is offered a new job, the entire family moves to a different town. For Charlotte that means starting her senior year at a new school (which, obviously, is not easy), but also a new beginning and a chance to get away from Tiffany, a girl that bullied her at her previous school. But her hopes for a fresh start are dashed when she learns that Tiffany's family moved, too, and her tormentor will be attending the same school. Once again, Charlotte feels trapped, lonely and afraid. So when an opportunity presents itself to join a secret club called League Of Strays, Charlotte takes it, thinking she finally found a group of people she can trust and rely on. Little does she know the trouble she's getting herself into...

League Of Strays is a one of the most interesting novels I've read this year. Skilfully written, emotionally engaging, powerful, at times even deeply disturbing, it's a fascinating and complex creation. A story with a message that is extremely important and provocative, relevant and disquieting. Many books have been written about bullying, most of them from the perspective of the victim, some from the bully's point of view. League Of Strays is different from all of them, because it offers the reader an insightful look at both sides of the spectrum. And not only do we get to explore both sides of the story, but we can also see what happens when the bullied become bullies themselves. It's a book about misplaced trust, revenge, fear and peer pressure, loneliness, desperation and finding somewhere to belong. A story of people who are so hungry for attention, friendship, kindness and acceptance that they'll push their limits and do just about anything to get all that.

I found the characters to be extremely well developed. Some of them inspire sympathy, others (like Kade) are all too easy to hate and despise, in the end, though, all of them are essential to the story. L.B. gives them distinct personalities and talks about the motives behind their actions, their feelings, fears and hopes. She assigns each of them an important role to play and breathes life into their paper souls. I can't say that I liked them, but these characters are not meant to be liked or admired, they're real, flawed, lost and confused. You sympathize with them, you feel sorry for them, you get angry at them, you find yourself relating to them, but you don't really like them. Kade? Kade is a whole different story. He's a perfect anti-hero. Manipulative, charismatic, dangerous and cruel, he knows exactly what to say to get people to do what he wants them to do. Charming and caring on the outside, he's all rotten and evil on the inside. A true monster in disguise. I'd read this book just for this fascinating character alone!

There's no denying the fact that this is a book with a moral, an issue-driven story designed to teach the reader something about life and bring light to a very important topic: bullying in schools. Finding this message is up to you, though, as L.B. does not spoon-feed anything. To me, the message was clear: bullying is not OK. It's never OK, in any form or shape, even if bullying is a response to being bullied. Actions have consequences, no wrongdoing goes unpunished and, in the end, the story concludes in a very satisfactory way, but to get there you need to read all the way to the end, and you need to read with understanding. Nothing is obvious, things are not what they seem to be at a first glance, there are lies, deception and manipulation involved, and to see through all that, you really need to focus on the story and let it carry you away. I've seen way too many people misunderstand the message in this book and all I have to say to that is: no, this book does not in any way condone or promote homophobia or bullying. If you think it does, you have clear comprehension problems, or you're nitpicking at certain scenes in the book, taking them totally out of context.

L.B. Schulman's writing style is honest, raw and very smooth. It invokes many emotions, good and bad alike. Personally, I found League Of Strays to be absolutely unputdownable. Not only was I dying to find out how the story will end and when/if the revenge-madness will stop, but I was also genuinely scared for Charlotte and afraid of Kade's manipulative personality. I won't lie, this book was all kinds of creepy and disquieting, but never - not even for a minute - was it a meaningless, pointless kind of creepy and disquieting.

At less than 300 pages long, League of Strays is a fairly quick read, but also one that is sure to resonate deep within. It's the kind of story that stays with you long after you turn the final page. I myself was deeply affected by its profound message and couldn't stop thinking about the plot, the characters and the events depicted within its pages. L.B. Schulman did a remarkably great job shaking me out of my comfort zone. Her story sent cold shivers down my spine, made me wince and frown, pulled me deep into a very dark and unpleasant place. It's a thoroughly riveting blend of drama and thriller, and an unforgettable look at the nightmare side of high school. A brooding and unnerving piece of contemporary fiction that I highly recommend to fans of intelligent and provocative issue-books.

[Rayne]

Two wrongs don't make a right.

I understand the point of the book. I really do. To be honest, if someone had approached me while I was in High School and offered me a chance to get revenge on the people that bullied me and my gay best friend, I probably would've accepted the invitation. But even back in those immature days of my youth, I had a working brain, which means that if getting revenge would physically hurt or emotionally scar people, or if it would in any way make me every bit the bully that I despised, I would've send that person to hell and carry on with my life. There's simply no excuse for the things I've read about this book. At this point, I honestly don't care if the protagonist redeems herself in the end, if they all regret it or if she decides to stay away from that obviously deranged and sick idea of a love interest, there's simply a line and those characters obviously crossed it. This protagonist seems like she'll just become the unquestionable and unbeatable Queen of YA moronic 'heroines', but what has me raging is the blatant and disgusting gay bashing. I seriously doubt an actual gay guy, one who has been bullied to no end because of his sexual orientation, would agree to have someone else bullied because they are gay. What freaking pride could he or she have in their sexuality if they would use it violently against someone, even if to prove a point? What point could he or she possibly hope to prove by doing the exact same thing that was done to them? I get that the point was to make the bully go through the same ordeal, but we keep going in circles if to prove how painful it is to be bullied because you are gay you decide to show how horrible it is under social standards to be gay.

Needless to say, I will not be reading this one. Not because of the trolling or the fake accounts or anything like that, but because of the contents of the book. What kind of 'moral' could I possibly take from a book that gives her protagonist no confidence, no self-worth, glorifies a violent sociopath and makes him a desirable person, and, willingly or unwillingly, promotes intolerance towards homosexuals? This is off my reading list and, from the moment I click 'save', off my mind.

[Samara · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had read a mixed review on League of Strays, but I wanted to give it a try and see whether I'd enjoy it or not. These are one of those times were I wish I had checked the reviews first before I read it and listened!
League of Strays is a group of "misfits" who want revenge, and tend to use violence quite a few times (ever heard of: violence doesn't solve anything?!). Right of the bat I didn't like Charlotte. I could just tell that she would get on my nerves throughout the entire book. That doesn't even compare to how it turned out. I wanted to slap some sense into her so many times for the way she thought. Seriously, your going to make out with a guy you just found out has assaulted and stolen before?! I really couldn't handle the book, especially when they beat up a teen because they thought he was gay! That was something I wanted to skip but seriously, who writes that? The way the scene was written, it was almost as if Charlotte expected the jock to get beat up because he was gay. Throughout the book, all they do is bully when there trying to get revenge for being bullied. This book just has a lot of wrong in it. The author is not a bad writer but I think what she did wrong was write about a delicate subject like bullying and not write about the way someone should.

This is an ARC given by Netgalley and ABRAMS/Amulet books

[Patricia]

This could be a good trashy YA.

NOT ANYMORE.

Nothing has brought as big a smile to my face as this site. http://stopthegrbullies.com/

— L.B. Schulman (@lbschulman) July 12, 2012

[Katie_la_geek · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't find this as contoversal as others probably because this book had almost bored me to the point of sleep by the time it got to that point.


Full review to come closer to publication.

[Lynn Dubinsky · Rating 1 out of 5]

A book where its ok to bash gay teens? Fuck no! My son is gay and I don't tolerate shit like this.

[Suzanne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Crappy title, often a harbinger of a crappy novel. This one ought to come with a warning: "No real teens were depicted in the making of this story."

That was probably my biggest problem with it: I couldn't stop saying to myself, What teen I know acts like this or would recognize themselves in the stereotypes depicted? Anyone in touch with high schools in 2012 would know there are cameras and that teachers rarely rely exclusively on paper records for grades. So much two dimensionality.

So a new girl at the school receives a note at school inviting her to join a mysterious group--with a seriously lame name, yep, League of Strays--by meeting at a park at night. She is joined by the awkward genius girl, the gay and tormented guy, and an angry combat boot chick with a deadbeat mom. Then Kade himself shows up, the puppet master who has been watching the others for long enough to know they are vulnerable to his manipulation, enough to say yes to his master plan: Revenge on those who have harmed the five of them. A warped sort of together-we-are-strong and can kick some serious butt. Yes, let's inflict pain on others as has been done to us. Very Old Testament.

The message, intentional or not, seems to be that the victims should become victimizers. After needy Charlotte falls for Kade, his own secrets start to unravel, and in time--almost too late--she comes to see him as a dangerous sociopath. Only the most inexperienced readers won't see what's coming and that Kade is bad news.

I actually found myself surprised, while reading, that this one had gotten published in this state. Bringing out a book is so costly that if a draft for a contracted one comes in seriously flawed, wouldn't the publisher invest in some major revision? Not sure that happened here.

[Julie-anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK so one thing I have learned not to do is read reviews on Goodreads just as I've started reading a book, cause people on there are really judgemental and a bit weird about what they find to be "disgusting".

League of Strays is about a group of misfits/outsiders that are rounded up by "alluring" (read: creepy as fuck) Kade, who seems to know everything about them. He groups them as friends but in reality he wants them to get revenge on their bullies. All of them have stories of their worst moments and they target the people that caused these. Turns out "alluring" Kade has an agenda of his own against the principal and is actually a bit of a sociopath! He's got history that no one knows about and has been stalker-y and crazy before, with an unhappy ending.

One scene in particular that a lot of Goodreaders are having a problem with is when the League set up the mandatory gay character's bully. They send a note to his team mate supposedly from a gay lover then contact the bully and fool him into thinking he's meeting a chick for sex, instead he meets his team mates and they beat him up while the League watches from afar, he ends up getting his arm broken. Now, I'm sorry, but that scene? Not disgusting. Sadly that scene could and probably does happen, some people are idiots and do think it's OK to treat gay people like crap. I'm not saying this sort of action is good, but I don't find it "disgusting", I find it believable and I don't find anything wrong with the author writing a scene like this. In fact, even worse things than this happen more often than they should. And it by no means says to me that the author is "condoning" this sort of treatment, it says to me that she's not afraid to write about stuff that (sadly) happens on a daily basis. What's wrong with that?

My one problem with this book wasn't the storyline, it intrigued me, my problem was the characters. They were supposed to be seniors in high school (So what's that? About 17ish?) and they acted about 13 or 14, they came across as pretty immature and very gullible. The fact that all 3 girls were more than happy to listen to this complete stranger just because he was "gorgeous"? Honestly, I find that a bit unbelievable.

So all being said, if you can get over the immaturity and naivety of the characters (especially the "heroine") then I think this book is a quick easy read.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dear Reader,
Throughout reading the entire book, it was impossible to tear myself away from the fantastic story that is League of Strays. The only two things that could take me away from finishing this novel were: 1) sleep deprivation and 2) my mom pushing me out the door to whatever was planned for me to do that day. This innovative tale exemplifies both great writing skills and a phenomenal story line. The “dark” demeanor of this story adds an intriguing fervor, but the League of Strays so called “darkness”, is in such proportion throughout the book as to not overwhelm the reader. Also, the characters within the League of Strays are well crafted, and the story is tweaked in such a way that little bits of the characters’ true personalities are revealed in creative moments throughout the book. I can honestly say that I have a clear vision, in my head, of each character. I can envision how they dress, their hair, their facial features and expressions, and how they hold themselves throughout the book. This is not only portrayed by the initial descriptions of the characters, but the dialogue and reactions of the characters in each chapter. The bottom line of this review is: I love this book. I am a fourteen-year-old eighth grader, going into high school, and I find this novel relatable, well written, exciting, captivating, and believable. Those are only a few of the fantastic adjectives that one could use to describe this novel. I believe every young adult can relate to at least one character, situation, or choice in this incredible story.

Sincerely,
A Girl Who Knows Her Books

[Beryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, what a page turner! Caveat: As the author's annoying big sister I have every reason to give this book a hard time, but it gets my highest compliment:it took me out of myself and into its world. I said to others "be quiet, I'm reading" because I was so caught up in the intriguing interplay of people. Each character has a personal agenda and a group agenda, Kade was a fascinating character study and the primary voice in the book, Charlotte, wasn't one dimensional and predictable like so many YA novels. She was caught, between grown up things and holding back, between pressure from others (and not really her peers)and a reluctant conscience. It's funny too...boy did I hear some familiar scenarios (mom trying to force breakfast on a student halfway out the door to school...who hasn't been there?). What can I say? Kade is sexy and a master at what he does (no spoilers). READ IT. And not just because she's my sister. Read it because there's never enough good books out there. And no one knows better than teens that everyone has a different plan for you, and you are never sure what your own plan is for yourself...until push comes to shove.

[Cynthia Levinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's hard to believe that this is a debut novel. The characters are sharply delineated and complicated. The plot is complex and suspenseful. The setting is convincing. The writing is spare and incisive. This will keep YA readers engrossed and goose-pimply.

[P.M.]

This should be titled "Biography of A Sociopath". It had no redeeming features and showcased a teen who was so totally manipulative that he was disgusting. His band of enthralled cultists were blind to his character and worshiped at his altar. This gets no stars.

[Jazmin · Rating 3 out of 5]

EDITED 8/6: reading a few different perspectives (mainly just one of the good ones, as opposed to the scathing ones, I should stop READING REVIEWS BEFORE I READ THE BOOK dammit)



Ms. Schulman definitely deserves a gold star for dealing with tough subjects like bullying and homophobia, along with the sociopathic Kade.

However, the one thing that still creeped me out was that fact that Kade knew everything about everyone in his League without them knowing at all. I would've high-tailed it out of there, but you know, he's a sociopath and definition is they have:
"Glibness and Superficial Charm" and are: "Manipulative and Conning
They never recognize the rights of others and see their self-serving behaviors as permissible. They appear to be charming, yet are covertly hostile and domineering, seeing their victim as merely an instrument to be used. They may dominate and humiliate their victims." Both of which Kade has in huge numbers. I think I was blinded by the negative reviews leading me to the one down there *arrow facing down*. This book should still be read at everyone's own risk, considering the nature of the story.

I redact my statement of Charlotte being a brick, to a poor girl who's being groomed by the sociopath as one of his victim (especially since she's basically been ignored since her time at the school, and having anyone, even someone as creepy as Kade, could definitely see how she got roped in). You also see how hard she tried to escape (but he's a cunning mofo)

By the middle,you're just praying nothing bad happens to the poor kids after being manipulated like that.

AND, he also grooms the girls to keep fighting for his affections (in a sense, you'd have to read it to get that statement), and it makes you sick for the girls because they're being treated as expendables

Doing a quick skim-through again where I got the newly changed review, guys please don't go all haters on each other and on the author. This isn't a new book that doesn't know what it's doing; it's an old book dealing with controversial topics, but a lot of people seem to think it's stumbling around stupidly.

Although, the author could have also focused on the League a little more, because we got a few pages insight to each of them, but I really wanted to get into their heads to know their feelings of loneliness. I really just felt like a spectator.



*******************

Morbid curiosity and hope the douche of a person "Kade" gets handled out properly like being sent to a mental psych ward or some deep intensive therapy. I just.. ugh..



OH YAY the villain was ACTUALLY sentenced to jail for a year. and two years probabtion. NO NO NO NO NO!!!!! The boy deserves some psychiatric help, the principal LITERALLY STATED near the end that Kade had sociopathic tendencies. SOCIOPATH!!! C'MON GUYS. Oh, the characters were really dull, the only ones I cared for were Zoe and Richie. *shrugs* What can you do.

Gay bashing/Homophobia is addressed in this book, but it was SHAMEFUL for anyone to be proud of their "sexual status" (I've no FRAKKING idea what the word I was gonna use)

Uhm, sociopathic tendencies... check. Also, Charlotte could you be more stupider? COULD YOU!? I mean, near the middle/end she tries to get away from Kade, but like every creep, he tries to 'seduce' her back. Oh god *dry heaves*

Oh, and they're supposedly seniors.... with pranks that were seriously stupid but risky if they were caught. I mean, this book is.... meh. If you want to read a contemporary fic about a sociopathic boy, the girl who's the main character who's about as interesting as a brick, and very unstable teens who would've been sent to the nearest guidance counselor *slams head against desk*

I don't know what to tell you guys, but read at your own risk.

[Kathy Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story could be subtitled "The Pied Piper Returns." Charlotte has moved to a new school for her senior year because her father was offered at partnership at a new law firm. She was more than willing to start over and get away from her nemesis Tiffany who had been teasing her since kindergarten. Unfortunately, Tiffany's family moves too and they are back together at school. Charlotte is having trouble making new friends when she receives an invitation to be part of a club called The League of Strays.

The club is the idea of Kade Harlin who is handsome and charismatic and almost hypnotizes Charlotte with his beauty. Kade has assembled a crew of loners - Zoe who wears Army gear and is dealing with an alcoholic mother, Nora who is trying to be the perfect students to make up for the suicide of her older sister, and Richie who is gay. Kade convinces them to share their life stories with each other and decides that they will band together to have revenge on those who have done them wrong.

But the revenge plans quickly escalate beyond Charlotte's comfort level. Their first effort to get back at a teacher who is giving Nora a C- in Phy. Ed. and thus wrecking her perfect GPA turns into a major act of vandalism and causes the teacher to resign. Charlotte's conscience is bothering her but she is still so mesmerized by Kade that she goes along.

When the second plan materializes she is even more troubled. Kade decides that they need to get revenge on David who has been taunting Richie by making it look like Dave is gay. Dave ends up getting beaten up by one of his football teammates and getting a broken arm. Charlotte has even more qualms of conscience but can't believe that Kade could have known what would happen.

This is a story about peer pressure and the desire for friendship that is carried way too far. Kade is a Pied Piper-like character who convinces the others to go along with his plans. It takes quite a while for Charlotte to get out from under his spell. It takes long enough that she loses the chance to attend a prestigious music school because Kade becomes more important to her than her music.

I was suspicious of Kade from the beginning. The facts that he was seeing a therapist, had a parole officer, and had the high school principal watching him closely sent up red flags for me. But it was also easy to see how he could convince a group of loners to become his gang. He offered them a sense of belonging and friendship that they were all hungry for. Too bad it was only because of his deep-laid sociopathic plans.

This was an engaging and compelling story that had me quickly turning the pages to find out what happens next. Fans of contemporary fiction will be the best audience for this one and I look forward to sharing it with students at my high school media center.

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

The League of Strays is a wonderful debut novel from LB Schulman. It deftly addresses what happens when some of the well known pitfalls of High School are augmented with potentially unscrupulous intentions. Alienation, the need to find one’s crowd and friends, peer pressure and developing one’s identity are all combined into a tasty meal of a story. It is a story of growth perfect for the YA audience it is intended for.

While the cast of characters are clearly recognizable – the brain, the pretty outcast, the doting mom – Schulman does a nice job of building depth in each character engendering empathy and understanding from the reader. I’ve read many books where I enjoyed the story, but didn’t care about many of the characters. This wasn’t one of them. I was especially impressed with the character of Richie, a well imagined, gay teenager living in a Midwest town that won’t really try to understand that some differences aren’t bad.

Homophobia does appear in this book. So does understanding and acceptance. I believe these scenes in the novel are central to the plot and the experience of the reader. It’s a different world than when I grew up – one of my class mates came out my junior year and caused a huge stir. Now, I believe it is important for our children to understand the basics of sexuality and understanding so that high school has the chance to become less hostile and more welcoming. I think kudos are in order for showing what can happen when understanding is short changed for fear and mob mentality. Showing a young reader what often happens can help eliminate hate. I believe it helps the YA reader learn and make up their own mind. Even as adults, athletes stay in the closet, afraid to enrage their teammates. Pretending that doesn’t exist is disingenuous at best.

I especially appreciated the way teenage alienation and peer pressure were layered into the story. Too often the pressure to “fit in” is either ignored or not given enough attention. This is the underlying heart of the story. As someone who didn’t always fit it, the story rang true and didn’t over simplify the issue to characters suddenly solving all of life’s issues. Sometimes, making progress is a result worth celebrating. Peer pressure has rarely been as simple as “have a smoke” or “take the joint.” It often has more to do with activities, friends and bullying. League of Strays hits the mark on its portrayal of peer pressure and what it does to teens.

I really enjoyed the book and I believe its intended audience will too. And so will their parents.

[Natalie Lorenzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could not put this book down! Charlotte, a nice girl who always follows the rules, slowly gives up who she is to fit in with the expectations set by Kade, the handsome leader of the League of Strays. The small decisions she makes add up over time until Charlotte no longer recognizes herself and she must make a choice: stand up for what's right and go back to being friendless, or follow the security of a crowd that smothers her soul.

There are books out there about bullying, but this story is about victims of bullying who become the bullies. League of Strays will make excellent fodder for in-depth discussions in classrooms or book clubs about bullying, revenge, and the ramifications of following the crowd. A must for every high school library and guidance counselor's office bookshelves.

[Story Carnivores · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Reviewed by Shaunta)

Here's the thing. Readers aren't supposed to love the characters in League of Strays. These kids are doing very bad things for the first 2/3 of the book. Like damaging-to-other-people bad. They belong to a revenge club, after all. And even when those bad things get out of hand, they keep doing them. The main theme of League of Strays is how off-the-rails decent people can get while under the influence of a sociopath.

The book starts with Charlotte Brody, the main character, making some really, really bad decisions. Really. Bad. But I could almost understand them. I was a lonely high school student once, and I felt Charlotte's desperation to be accepted. My criticism is that the reason for her loneliness wasn't strong enough, and it wasn't laid out quickly enough. She had to lie to be accepted into the League of Strays, which makes me wonder why she was there at all.

The other main character was a boy named Kade, a teenage Charlie Manson, who brings together a group of misfits to form a sort of teenage Lion's Club of revenge. He also makes most female people melt with just a look.

Here's where the author almost lost me: There are three girls, all of whom travel in the dead of night to answer the call of a mysterious note inviting them to join the League of Strays. And then Kade pops up and confesses immediately to practically stalking them. Charlotte has multiple sets of warning bells, but doesn't act on them. She and another girl immediately start stumbling over themselves over this boy, and are willing to do really questionable things for him, based only on his looks and charm. Hmmm. Kade goes to their school, but apparently this charming, drop-dead gorgeous boy, is new to them? If they had already known him, crushed on him, whatever--even from afar--it would have gone a long way to making the beginning of the book smoother and the girls more likeable.

After a lot of thought, I think my greatest criticism of this book is what isn't there, rather than what is. I wish the author had taken time in the beginning to make me really care about Kade and Charlotte, before they started doing such unlikeable things. It would have made the descent into the downward spiral that much more powerful. It also would have made some of the more controversial scenes (such as the one where a straight boy is set up in front of his friends as gay, with the purpose of inciting revengeful bullying) easier to process.

All of that being said, by the end I was invested in the story. I wanted to know what happened next. This is a big deal to me, and one of my personal signs of a good story. The premise is so good. And the story hits it's stride in the last third. Right about the time that Charlotte gets a backbone. I'm not someone who finishes a book she's not enjoying, so that I could not put this book down in the second half means a lot to me.

What I loved: I loved Richie. There was something so sweet and lost about him. I especially loved the relationship that developed between him and Zoe. Richie was also, really, the only character who redeemed Kade a little bit. I loved the Prom with the Dead and that whole scene. I loved the whole music back story. It read really authentic. The individual stories for the main kids in the League of Strays all read very true. Zoe's alcoholic mother, Nora's grieving, neglectful parents, Richie's experiences, and Charlotte's over-bearing parents all were really well done.

What I didn't love: Kade's sociopathy wasn't developed well enough. League of Strays is a short book. It has plenty of room. If it had started out more slowly, given me a chance to really fall for Kade before he starts doing sociopathic things, it would have been better. Rather than being told how gorgeous and charming he is, I would have preferred to find out for myself. I needed to care more about Charlotte. A lot more, and a lot earlier, so that her bad decisions mattered more to me, and so that I could eventually forgive her for them.

My grade: This book gets a B- from me. The idea is so strong, and the last 1/3 is compelling. The first 2/3, though, has some issues.

[J.C. Phillipps · Rating 3 out of 5]

League of Strays is the story of high school senior, Charlotte, who joins a group of loner students – all whom have been mistreated by someone at their high school. The purpose of the group is to seek revenge on those that have done them wrong.

The story begins at a slow pace, in my opinion, as the “League” spends the first eight chapters passing notes, meeting up at mysterious places, and sharing their stories. Personally, I tend to like a faster pace, so this was a bit of a challenge for me to get through. But the timeline is linear and clear and it makes sense that the group needs to develop trust in each other.

When the League takes on their first act of revenge, the pace quickens and I think Ms. Schulman does a really nice job of balancing the thrill and danger of the act. I was curious to see how far the group would go and concerned about them getting caught.

My main problems with League of Strays are character based. I found Charlotte to be weak, passive, and boring. When she disagrees with the League, she says nothing and does nothing for fear of being rejected by her only friends. I don't see Charlotte as an unrealistic character, just unlikeable.

I understand that Charlotte has to grow throughout the story and it's the actions of the League that finally make Charlotte take an honest look at herself and force her to decide who she wants to be. But I feel if you ask a reader to care about Charlotte in the first place, you have to give her some attributes, and Charlotte has none. She's not funny or witty. She has poor judgement in people. She doesn't know herself at all. She's rude to her parents (who are actually pretty supportive of her.) And she's an average student. She's milquetoast.

And then there's Kade. Kade, the suavest, most confident 17-year-old in the world. He also happens to be a lying, manipulative sociopath. And I'm not giving anything away with that statement because he reads like a lying, manipulative sociopath from page 6. One of the biggest mysteries in the book, to me, was wondering if we were not supposed to get that. It seems so obvious.

I suppose I can understand why a teenage girl with low self-esteem might view Kade as sexy and mysterious, but again, it doesn't make me think much of Charlotte. And I think it would have been a more exciting journey for me, as a reader, if I could have found something appealing in Kade in the beginning, so that as time went on I could wonder about his true nature and his motivations.

League of Strays, for me, was okay. But I do think, after reading the book, it would offer a lot to discuss in a classroom or book club. Is revenge ever justified? And if so, to what degree? And, more specifically, do your root for the characters at the end, after everything they've done? Or do you think they deserve a stricter punishment? (I could go on, but I don't want to give away any major plot points.)

League of Strays wasn't exactly my cup o' tea, but it might be yours.

[Amy Joynes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Originally at ...http://teenyreader.blogspot.co.uk/

Plot: Charlotte is the typical good girl, she practices her Viola everyday and obeys her parents every command however all is about to change when she finds a letter in her locker inviting her to join 'The League Of Strays' a mysterious group of loners that band together and serve out revenge to those that have wronged them. However Charlotte soon becomes uncomfortable by what the League is doing but can Kade, the leader of the league change her mind?

Good Points: I liked most of the other characters in the book and I thought there was a nice blend of personalities in the group. At points I liked some of the pop culture references in the book but to finish I think the ending was a little weak, though it did leave room for another book.
The author was successful however in portraying the creepy socio-path that is Kaden, however in my opinion because I hated him from the start it kind of lost the build up that I think the book needed and I think that's why I just didn't sympathise with Charlottes character.


Bad Points: Okay now some things got me a little annoyed within the book if I must be honest, for example the character of Kade who at the beginning of the book is described by Charlotte as 'Kade really likes to research people' *translate* and alarm bells ringing-- STALKER ALERT! This factor seriously creeped me out and I just could not see where this Charlotte character was coming from, I think that's why I just didn't sympathise with her or relate to her within the book at all.
I thought the beginning of the book could have had a little more about Charlotte's life before the whole joining the League thing because it kind of made me hate her character a little and in my opinion sort of rushed the plot too much.
Also there are some questionable expletives here so as I have already seen many may take offence to parts of the book.


To Sum Up... Now I know this book has had quite a lot of hate from people who vowed never to finish the book, but I decided to read it anyhow because I think everyone should read the book for themselves before heading off making decisions. Yes at times in the book I think the author went a little too far but couldn't it be argued that so did Suzanne Collins when she was killing all of those kids in the Hunger Games?
The book was okay overall in my opinion, I didn't especially love it as I thought the ending was a little 'meh' but it was an okay read , ignoring parts to the dialogue that I really don't think a teenager would ever say.
Try it for yourself though, the book is out October 1st.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has been considered very controversial, and, to be honest, I'm not sure why. I think this comes from people who don't finish the book, and come away with the impression that the author approves of all the things the league is doing. But that's not fair. Because even Charlotte doesn't think that what she's doing is good. Now, that brings up another question: if she thinks that what the League is doing is wrong, why doesn't she stop it? But see, I think that's the brilliant part of the book. I think that a lot of people are self-righteous enough that they think that they would never put up with that kind of bullying. And some of them wouldn't. But some of them, in the right circumstances, would. I'm not trying to be mean or troll or anything, so don't jump all over me, but it's true.

Now, put yourself in Charlotte's position for a second. You've been bullied by the popular girls all your life. You just moved and left your only fried behind, and she's moved on without you. You've been at your new school for a while, but don't really have any friends. Then, suddenly, you get a slightly creepy invitation for a meeting, where you meet two other girls and two guys, one of which who is extremely manipulative and knows how to play people. And they offer to allow you to get back at the people who have been mean to you. And you have people to talk to. People who understand what you've been going through, and the only friends that you have. By the time you start realizing that these aren't harmless pranks, you're dating the charismatic leader and are good friends with a few of the other members. And for a girl who has no other friends, it would be hard to realize that if you left, you're leaving your new friends and your first boyfriend.

See, and that's what I think people who hate this book because they think it's "gay-bashing" don't understand. Charlotte never thought that what they were doing was right. It was just that she was committed by the time she wanted out, and she was afraid of Kade, for good reason, too. So, yes, Kade was completely messed up. And in a way, this book was, too, because it kind of made you realize just how easily some people can manipulate others.

Anyway, I don't think that this book deserves all the bad reviews it's been getting. But that's just my two cents :)

[Chloe (Girl In The Woods Reviews) · Rating 4 out of 5]

LEAGUE OF STRAYS was a quite interesting book with a deep mystery ready to be unlocked. I loved the characters and the settings written throughout the book, making this book what it is now. Especially the main protagonist of the book, Charlotte with the rest of her friends and members from the LEAGUE OF STRAYS: Nora, Kade, Richie and Zoe.

THE MEMBERS OF THE LEAGUE OF STRAYS:

CHARLOTTE; quiet and different was a character who I loved from the start. Rebelling parents and fighting and crying for her causes, she was a character perfectly made, I say "Charlotte is a fun character I've read about in a long time."

KADE; strange and mysterious is a young man who is like a modern day Dr Jekyll and My Hyde. To me, he had type of innocence yet he also had that craziness in the way he talked and his actions showed but in the beginning he was like every other average guy until we start revealing the missing pieces of his life.

NORA; smart and lost. She is an incredibly smart girl who was bullied by her teacher with the help of the LEAGUE OF STRAYS there were some misdoings and adventure, she's pretty smart with her use of words and language, a typical brain power.

RICHIE; loyal and follower, he's like a second partner in crime or side-kick. He's bestfriends with Kade which makes them a strange pair eventhough he got bullied for a long year, kicked in the butt and got suspended for bringing drugs to school, I think he was someone who needed someone else to follow after; someone like Kade...

ZOE; kick-ass and hard-hearted. I liked this character with her fiery actions and her liveliness to all the characters included. She added that something that pulled everyone together and through the years of being bullied, she still stood tall and fought her way through, someone you could trust and someone you could fight side by side with.

Final Summary: Mysterious, on-the-go and heart-thumping, League of Strays was entirely compulsive and brave. It was simply brilliant as I read the start till the end!

Thanks to NetGalley!


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