“Fair is foul and foul is fair,” a quote from William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, inspires the title of Hannah Capin’s latest novel which is a modern and unapologetically twisted re-telling of Shakespeare’s tragic, dark, and bloody play. Packed full of clever nods to Shakespeare’s original and quotes pulled directly from the text and dropped into the new narrative, Capin’s novel is a perfectly contemporary new take on the story which still successfully maintains the bare-boned structure, wickedness and gore of Shakespeare’s Scottish play.

In Hannah Capin’s Foul is Fair, Lady Macbeth is depicted by Jade, an LA teenager who attends a party with her three best friends (also known as her coven) for her 16th birthday, has her drink spiked and is sexually assaulted. “I decide how it ends. Every night except one.”

Instead of reporting the attack, Jade decides to take things into her own hands, snatch back the power that’s been taken from her, and take revenge on the boys. Jade is the perfect example of a woman who does not want to be a ‘survivor’ or a ‘victim’ of sexual assault, who boldly takes ownership over her body and her trauma, and says “those boys didn’t turn me into anything.” All Jade really wants is to regain her strength and power.

A re-telling of Macbeth for the #MeToo and #TimesUp era, Hannah Capin’s Foul is Fair is a book dedicated, “To all who survive, every day, in spite of everything: those who forgive and those who fight, those who seek justice and those who seek revenge, those who have stood up with the whole work watching and those whose stories will never be told. You are strength and you are power.” The narrative which in it’s dark and twisted way condones vigilante justice and revenge, shines a much-needed spotlight on rape culture, gender-based violence and slut-shaming in the book’s fierce feminist-battle cry of vengeance.

Capin’s Foul is Fair also tackles several other issues including abusive relationships, bullying and suicide. What’s more, through Jade’s friend Mads, Capin’s novel examines transphobia and transphobic bullying. Although Mads’ gender identity is never explicitly cited in the book, references to Mads’ “deadname”, flashbacks to transphobic behaviour in the school playground and quotes such as; “The first day Mads’s father let her be her real self at school,” drop hints to the reader that Mads is transgender. While at the same time, the subtly of these hints, and the agency Mads maintains throughout the novel (despite the bullying), show how easily a true friend can accept their best friend’s gender identity and how powerful this acceptance can be; “Mads, my Mads, who once upon a time when we were eight and taping knockout-pink Barbie Band-Aids over skinned knees, looked at me and told me the name she wasn’t and said I’m Madalena, and I said Good.”

Hannah Capin’s Foul is Fair is a truly intersectional feminist tale for a modern age. An unforgettable, gripping, thrilling and blood-thirsty novel which leaves you thinking about it long after you finish reading it. Fast-paced and dripping in blood, there’s never a dull moment in this brilliant and powerful new adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, which would definitely make an amazing film or even TV series.

Warning, while this book does not depict the full rape scene, flashbacks are featured throughout, therefore for anyone who may be triggered by a close examination of sexual trauma, this book will not be a safe read. What’s more, any readers who are uncomfortable with substance abuse, physical violence, gore, murder, suicide, transphobia or bullying may find this book a difficult read.

I did like the idea of this and the way it set to adapt the original play but I just did not care for the characters and found huge portions of it just ridicolus and danferous in this idea of revenge violence it seemed to be promoting. I don't think looking back i was the intended audience for this at the end of the day but I'm sure that there are those who will love this for the message and scenes it contains.

I just couldn't gel with the melodramatic teenage style of this novel and unfortunately I couldn't finish it. This is merely my personal taste and no criticism of the novel.

This was fantastic book to kickoff my new year with. Macbeth meets the #MeToo movement where everyone gets their just desserts - Shakespeare style. Brimming with magic and curses, the vivid imagery of Foul is Fair overflows from every paragraph giving you a sense of the eerie and the supernatural right in the home of the jocks and the flock-girls. I would highly recommend this electrifying thriller.

You really have to suspend belief to read this crazy, over the top, ridiculous story.

However I did find it entertaining. The author did a good job of creating tension throughout the whole story, and the characters were deliciously unhinged. Kept me swiping the pages to know what was going to happen next despite my constant eye rolling.

Wow. This book was something. Foul is fair is a Macbeth retelling centered around a girl taking bloody revenge on her rapists. Now, I’ve seen Macbeth in a theatre about 200 years ago, so of course I couldn’t remember everything. Basically nothing, but that didn’t matter. You don’t need to know Macbeth, but if you do you recognize certain things and you’ll just get happy about yourself that you know stuff and that’s a bonus, I guess?

But back to Foul is Fair. It’s one of the best revenge stories I’ve ever read. Was it bloody? Yes, verily so. Was there murder? Yes. Was it twisted and dark af? Yes. Did I enjoy it anyway? Hell yes. That’s what made the appeal of the story. That, and the characters.

There’s Jade, the protagonist. The girl who is rape and wants the revenge she wouldn’t get on normal ways, because she’s up against the rich boys who can do what they want. She refuses to be weak, refuses to break. Instead, she is determined, smart and clever, scheming. Together with her three friends (her coven) she works out a plan to get revenge. I absolutely loved this group. They would do everything for each other. If one needs anything, the others will be there, no matter what. And that’s exactly what they do. For this story, Jade is the one who’s in charge, who’s on the path of revenge and the coven is behind her. Their friendship is so strong and so powerful. If this were a fantasy books, those four could rule the world.

The girls‘ targets are a group of boys from St. Andrew’s who assaulted Jade at a party. She transfers to this school to take her revenge one by one. To get to them, she picks out a boy, Andrew Mack. The boy who wasn’t envolved but knows enough. It seems like this might get a love story, though it’s clear from the very beginning who is playing and who is being played with. He is a way to get what she wants.

Hannah Capin has written such a bold and powerful, twisted and messy (in the best way) story. The writing style was so good, so fitting, staccato sentences having my eyes glued to those words, wanting more and more while my brain felt like being fucked with for most of the time. I was on edge and I read this book so fast. I’d recommend this book to everyone, especially survivors, but be aware that there are major trigger warnings.

A reworking of Macbeth but with Jocks from an elite, private school as the King and nobles., jockeying for position. Lady Macbeth is Jade our protagonist (from whomse POV the saga is told) a teenager from a neighbouring elite school who with her "coven" of witches" her 3 best friends set out to celebrate Jade's birthday by crashing a party given by one of the Jocks. Jade becomes seperated from her friends, has her drink spiked and is gang raped. She dyes her hair and gets transferred to their school and enacts her revenge (following the Macbeth plot) with nods to Cruel Intentions and Heathers.

I found this book very easy to read, the writers style was quite compulsive. I didn't believe in the timeline (one week to convert "Macbeth" to do your bidding) and how exactly Jade influenced her "Macbeth" so quickly and expertly was kind of glossed over. The police investigation didn't hold water either. However, despite these plot flaws I did want to get free time so I couldn pick this book up and read how the story would playout. It is dark and viscious and the morality is beautifully skewed as Jade has very good reason to seek revenge. You don't need to have read Macbeth to read this book.

I loved this book! It's funny yet dark, disturbing and ruthless. It's brilliantly written and I couldn't put it down

I tried this before Christmas and couldn't get into it. I wondered if I was too old for the book as I struggled to engage with the story - there just seemed a disconnect for me. Given the extreme assault she endured, I couldn't quite connect her various reactions. Nor those of the people closest to her. So I put it aside and enjoyed the festivities - this was no time to force a book. With the New Year I picked it up again and tried to find a better connection, and it soon came into focus. Past the setup of the attack and the initial reaction, this book finds its feet. This is a classic gothic tale set in the modern world.

The plot plays out well in the most part. The tension builds as Jade exacts her revenge and it became easy to justify that "one more page" hook. Until the end. It felt rushed and inconsistent with the rest of the book. Which, looking back, was also my issue with the opening too. The opening and close hurry you along, while the majority of the book is decadently slow-moving. You can soak in the darkness of Jade's revenge, but only in the middle. The pages at either end of the book are more like a hosepipe blasting the story at you. In truth, it felt a bit like I was reading something for Netflix - not a bad thing in itself, just something to give context to the pacing, and probably ideal for those more in the expected audience.

This won't be for everyone due to the underlying themes, but if you can stomach that it's a decent read with some strong subtle touches.

A modern retelling of Shakespeare's Macbeth, this YA book hits all the right notes and delivers a refreshing new take on a classic story

Foul is Fair was not what I expected at all, and instead is a completely bonkers tribute to Shakespeare's Macbeth. Elle goes to a high school party and is raped, she vows revenge on all those complicit and what follows is an entirely unbelievable chain of events. Firstly it’s hard to comprehend a group of sixteen year olds behaving in this way, no matter how privileged they are. Secondly there is so much repetition, it’s not always clear what is going on, who is being spoken to or is speaking. The ending is predictable and unsatisfying. Disappointing.

This is a loose modern retelling of Macbeth, based around a wealthy Californian high school girl who is drugged and gang raped at a party, then proceeds to murder — or provoke others into murdering — each of the assailants and their accomplices in turn. And yes, it is about as dark and shocking as that summary suggests. It’s definitely not for everyone. I’d stay away if you’re uncomfortable with violence, prefer relatively nice protagonists or are looking for a cheery or light-hearted read. There were one or two points where it started to push up against my pretty high threshold for dark reads and morally gray/villainous protagonists, but on the whole, I really enjoyed this.

The story is all in first person, and a lot of what makes it a standout read is a combination of Jade, the protagonist’s, characterisation and her voice. Rather unusually, she’s a bit of a mean girl type — or perhaps something worse — even before she faces the rape or goes on her revenge spree. Both she and her group of best friends could easily be the bitchy, bullying antagonists in a more stereotypical YA novel or film, and theirs isn’t a perspective you see all that often. It creates quite a different dynamic and makes you feel a bit more uncomfortable in rooting for her bloody schemes than if she was a generally sweet person who got pushed over the edge. But it also makes her fun to read, even in the novel’s darkest moments. Her narrative is brimming with energy, drama and life and sweeps you along.

It’s fair to say that a good deal of the plot is a bit far-fetched and not entirely believable. But basically, there’s no point looking for realism or picking out plot holes. You need to suspend your disbelief in much the same way you would with a contemporary fantasy novel and just go with the flow.

There’s a very diverse main cast in terms of race, gender, and sexuality. Off the top of my head, the MC is of Indian descent, her absolute best friend is trans, and her other two best friends, one of whom is of Asian heritage, have a will they/won’t they lesbian romance sub-plot. What’s quite nice is that all of these facts are just slotted subtly into the narrative without them being a big deal. No one is coming out or facing bullying over any of these characteristics (other than in a brief flashback to some transphobic bullying back in middle school, which the friends also got revenge over). It’s particularly refreshing to see this diversity in the context of a group of characters who are a part of the popular clique and who are unashamedly allowed to do bad things. And the strength of the four girls’ friendship was oddly heartwarming in the midst of all the darkness.

Conversely, all the characters — protagonists, antagonists, love interests and secondary characters — are, to a greater or lesser extent, very rich and very hot. They’re also all generally pretty unpleasant and not that happy. Beyond the rapist boys and the murderous girls, there’s a general undercurrent of more minor cruelties and unpleasantness —unhappy relationships, backstabbing frenemies, distant parents, broken homes — that made me feel a bit tired at times. And whole swathes of the plot require you to really buy into the idea of school popularity mattering hugely. The equivalent to the original Macbeth’s attempts to become King of Scotland is people trying to become “King of the School.” I can’t say that’s something I found it really easy to identify with, but again, you need to go with it.

This review probably sounds a bit conflicted, even though I’ve given a 4 star rating. And that’s totally fair. The book took me on a bit of a roller coaster and that there were bits where I was loving it and bits where I was less sure. But I suspect that’s the sort of reaction the author wants to illicit. As I said above, it’s not for everyone, but if this sounds like something you might be interested in and the themes don’t sound too alarming, I’d strongly recommend giving it a go.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review – thanks as always to Netgalley for sending this to me!

Foul is Fair – a YA retelling of Macbeth that revolves around rape culture and revenge – gave me some very mixed feelings. When I first started reading it, I was hooked. The characters were incredible, the writing style was visceral and so powerful. I loved Jade and her ‘coven,’ and I was excited to see Macbeth adapted through a modern-day lens, with the women taking a far more central role in the story. That being said, I got around forty percent of the way through the book and then it took a nosedive and I found myself struggling to finish it. If I hadn’t received it for review I probably would have DNF’d it, in all honesty.

The romance – if you can call it that – is what killed this book for me. In Foul is Fair, Jade takes on the role of Lady Macbeth while her new boyfriend Mack is, fairly blatantly, Macbeth. Their relationship is a little odd, largely centred around their power dynamics instead of their feelings… but something about it really didn’t work for me, and I started to lose interest quickly. Foul is Fair is a book about revenge, and while girls are obviously allowed to have feelings, even in the wake of trauma, it just didn’t feel right for me. Jade’s feelings for Mack felt like a weakness in the plot, something that detracted from it instead of adding to it, and I was both confused about the nature of her feelings for him and annoyed by their presence. I didn’t find Mack a compelling character – just like in the play, he’s actually pretty weak, a puppet for Lady Macbeth to manipulate in her quest for power. I felt distanced from him, and from their relationship as a whole, and as soon as it became a central narrative thread I found myself highly unmotivated to continue.

Things come together well again at the end, with Jade reunited with her friends as they engage in one last bout of vengeance, and that just drove home the strength of this book, which I feel should have been emphasized more: female friendship. Jade’s friends leapt off the page; they felt so real and sharp and clearly defined compared to the male characters that we focus on for so much of the book, and it serves to illustrate how much they drop off the page during the middle. This kind of makes sense, since they fill the role of the witches – who only show up at a few key points in the original play – but I wanted more of them, because the book really came alive when they were around. Every word was like a honed blade that seemed dull and lacklustre every time Jade left them behind.

Overall, Foul is Fair was an interesting book with an amazing writing style. I feel it had a lot of potential, I just got bogged down in the middle and think it would have benefited from an excision of the romance plot.

Brilliant story of revenge with badass characters you will love.

It is well written and so surprising that I thoroughly enjoyed every violent, excessive page!

A wonderfully written and powerful story, heart-wrenching at times and made of the stuff of a female dream of revenge.
I loved the the well thought plot, it made me root for Jade and I couldn't help being involved in her story and in her revenge.
It's a story that mixes feminism and thriller, gripping and engrossing. A book you cannot put down and makes you turn pages as fast as you can.
I look forward to reading other books by this author.
A great read, strongly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Macbeth via Beverley Hills 90210 (showing my age there I know). It's fast-paced, never gratuitous and sure to appeal to many readers.

The story is an important one, particularly in the wake of 'me too'; a teen is raped at a party by the over-privileged sports team after having her drink spiked. This is not an isolated incident, but the boys' wealth, social standing, good looks and athletic prowess mean that their behaviour is overlooked. These girls are determined to be no one's victim and set in motion a violent and deadly revenge on all the boys who attacked her and the girls who condone their behaviour. The first murder they commit is a serious of the most audacious and Machiavellian manipulation, and the sheer chutzpah of the girls had me cheering them on. However, I struggled to get on board with the rest of the revenge; the time scale didn't feel realistic and the plan became less about a female master manipulator (like Lady Macbeth) exerting her power and more fantastical than I was willing to invest in.

It is a story of female friendship and loyalty in the face of adversity, albeit from females with money, privilege and good looks on their side. They are unapologetic for their anger and need for revenge, and this is a refreshing, if slightly unnuanced, depiction of female empowerment.

My thanks go to the publishers and Net Galley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

This was an absolutely bonkers but utterly enjoyable YA read. A clever modern retake on Macbeth - basically The Craft but they actually kill people! I loved the concept and if I'd read this when I was 15, it would have been an obsessive, underlining key paragraphs read over and over again joy. It was so refreshing to read some YA that wasn't dystopia. romance or horror but where the female protagonists are properly challenging to read and properly angry and controversial. This book doesn't sit on the fence with its graphic violence, sexual assault, drug taking, drinking and manipulative narcissistic characters - but most of these things do actually happen at high school, just not to this extent.

Where this book fell down for me was that the stream of consciousness POV starts on such a high point that it has nowhere to go with pacing, it's so incessant that the intensity almost wears off and loses its impact on the reader. There were times - in the middle - where I could skip through paragraphs and pages whilst I waited for the action to properly continue. But this is a minor style criticism because like I say, it was so refreshing to read something so properly bold and controversial and angry. Capin has done a great job and I'd definitely read something by her again because she's not been afraid to take us right into the heart of darkness with her, when so many would pull back.

A good, challenging read.

I really liked the premise of this novel, however, fount it really difficult to read - it was the style of book that I found a little offputting! I recommend this novel for those looking for a millennial thrill ride with some twists that may not be suitable for everyone but results in a good ending.

FULL REVIEW: https://wordsunfilteredbys.com/2019/12/20/foul-is-fair/


this, first of all, is a book you have definitely got to read. bare in mind, it does go into detail about things which may be triggering for some.

i don’t know where to begin.

i–

this book tore my heart out into so many little pieces and stomped on it, before slowly beginning to mend it. as Elle slowly got her revenge. as those golden boys began to pay.

but from the very beginning, i fell in love with Hannah Capin’s writing. her style took my breath away.

It's Elle's sixteenth birthday. All she wanted was to party and make great memories. But her memories soon turned to nightmares when she woke up battered and bruised. Her drink had been spiked. She remembers being pinned down by several boys. Elle now calls herself Jade and she plans to get her revenge on the boys who attacked her.

There is a trigger warning page at the beginning of the book. Jade and a group of friends set out for revenge on the boys that attacked her. The teenagers are stereotypical rich kids. This is a fast paced, dark and creepy read. The story is loosely based on Macbeth.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Penguin Random House UK Children's and the author Hannah Chapin for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.