I somehow missed Nancy Schwartzman’s film Roll Red Roll back in 2018, which told the story of a notorious gang rape of a 16-year old girl after an early season football game in Steubenville, Ohio. The horrific events would perhaps (most likely, IMHO) never have come to light were it not for smart phones and social media…but I digress.

The girl was from another school – so by definition an outsider. The people involved were at three different parties that night, with the net result being multiple sexual assaults, documented by both still photos and video, along with voice messages. The incredibly detailed investigation included almost FOUR HUNDRED THOUSAND text messages and, although many of the incriminating items were deleted, they had been captured by a dedicated researcher and blogger, whose posts went viral, resulting in national coverage. 

Several reviewers complained about the exact thing that made this book (and film) great: it goes beyond the story of the star athletes and their attack on Jane Doe. It definitely does give ALL the detail you might want (and more) about the actual events of that night, but it also explores the WTF factor: what is it that made this town such a safe haven for sexual assault? Why were the athletes given a free pass to do whatever they wanted? Why was there such collective disdain for women, and so much victim blaming? What role did the town’s slide from a nice middle class place to a dying rust belt town with more than its share of problems play in this event, and others like it? Schwartzman takes readers beyond the city limits of Steubenville into the whole #metoo movement and the forces that allow both the crimes and the acceptance of the “boys will be boys” mentality to continue. 

My favorite line about the book is that “Schwartzman proposes ways to unlearn the norms of a society that too often sacrifices its daughters for the sake of protecting its sons.” Well done, a necessary if painful look at several contemporary issues. Four BIG stars. (I sought out the film after I read the book. Both are excellent). Thanks to Hachette Books and NetGalley for the copy in exchange for this honest review.