Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers

Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers
Published: January 5, 2010
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
(256 pages, paperback)
Summary: Climbing to the top of the social ladder is hard--falling from it is even harder.  Regina Afton used to be a member of the Fearsome Fivesome, an all-girl clique both feared and revered by the students at Hallowell High... until vicious rumors about her and her best friend's boyfriend start going around.  Now Regina's been "frozen out" and her ex-best friends are out for revenge.  If Regina was guilty, it would be one thing, but the rumors are far from the terrifying truth and the bullying is getting more intense by the day.  She takes solace in the company of Michael Hayden, a misfit with a tragic past who she herself used to bully.  Friendship doesn't come easily for these onetime enemies, and as Regina works hard to make amends for her past, she realizes Michael could be more than just a friend... if threats from the Fearsome Foursome don't break them both first.

--

Tensions grow and the abuse worsens as the final days of senior year march toward an explosive conclusion in this dark new tale from the author of Cracked Up To Be.

--

My thoughts: Courtney Summers has created another amazing novel that is as simplistic as it is poignant. Regina is one of the elite popular group, the girls everyone loves to hate. She's not a nice girl either; she takes cues from her supposed best friend who is just as nasty. And then nasty rumors spread that Regina slept with her best friend's boyfriend. Regina's friends turn on her and start making her life a living hell, one complete with torture and more nasty rumors. After reading Some Girls Are, I'm kind of stunned. Summers is a brilliant writer, and she captures the cruelty of high school girls perfectly in this one. I simultaneously felt bad for Regina and was glad she was getting what she dished out for three years of her life. It was honest and brutal and beautiful because of it's honesty and brutality.

--

Regina is definitely a mean girl. Her friends and her have spent the last few years of their life being nasty to other girls and making life miserable for anyone not willing to worship them. And even some of those who do worship them. While I didn't feel that Regina herself was the nastiest of the girls, she certainly wasn't the sweetest either. It's really something when you're reading a novel and you're torn between hating the main character and sympathizing with them. Regina was a twisted girl, but Summers portrays her as a victim of circumstance, almost. I almost couldn't blame her at times. She didn't really change much during Some Girls Are, but she was transformed in that, she realized how horrible she had been, and in a way, gained the perspective of her previous victims.

--

Again, the Summers' writing is amazing. It's breathtaking, truly. It's simple and to-the-point in a great way. It fit the tones of the book and revealed Regina's life and struggles in a way that made me feel like everything single thing that happened was actually happening.

--

The plot was not for the weak of heart. It showed really how cruel popular girls can be, and to what lengths they will go to get what they want. It might be considered stereotypical, but in my opinion, Summers does a fine job of exploiting how vicious girls get, whether they are popular or not. I loved everything that happened (in a Living Dead Girl kind of way - I loved that Summers wrote it, but I don't love that it happens) in the story, and it was all perfectly paced and perfectly realistic. Even the romantic (if you can call it romance) parts were great. I loved Michael, and I felt his emotions too.

--

Overall, Some Girls Are prove the point that some girls are nasty, cruel, and learn their lessons. Every pages, from the first sentence to the last meaningful word, was well-written and honest. If I wasn't a fan of Summers before, I definitely am now, and will look forward to any of her other books, if this one proves what talent and skill she has. Recommended to any readers, all ages, looking for a deep, emotional, brutally honest novel.

--

Covering the Cover: It's fitting, and simple, which I like.
Characters: 4/5
Plot: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Overall Rating: 5 stars

Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers

Title: Cracked Up to Be
Author: Courtney Summers
Published: December 23, 2008 by St. Martin's Griffin
(214 pages, paperback)
Summary: Perfect Parker Fadley isn’t so perfect anymore. She’s quit the cheerleading squad, she’s dumped her perfect boyfriend, and she’s failing school. Her parents are on a constant suicide watch and her counselors think she’s playing games…but what they don’t know, the real reason for this whole mess, isn’t something she can say out loud. It isn’t even something she can say to herself. A horrible thing has happened and it just might be her fault. If she can just remove herself from everybody—be totally alone—then everything will be okay...The problem is, nobody will let her.
o
My thoughts: Parker Fadley just wants to be left alone. She's so hell-bent on pushing everyone away, in fact, that she goes to life-threatening lengths to keep people from getting close. On my first impression, I thought Parker was some washed up, bitchy, smart-ass. But Parker made me look at her repeatedly and constantly re-evaluate her life. Summers really knew what she was doing when she put in tiny parts of the night that quite obviously changed Parker's life and repeat the beginning of it over and over again. I loved Parker at first because of her wise-ass comments and her perfectly developed attitude. Then I started hating her, because while Chris and Jake are in love with her, she only pushes them away and makes them run in circles around her. But slowly, I realized just how complex Parker was and how she wasn't a girl you love or hate; she became the reader.
o
Okay, that might be a little bit of an overstatement; but halfway through this short novel I started feeling Parker's emotions--or more accurately, her apathy. Chris is sweet and caring and still totally in love with her despite her flagrant disregard for him. I loved how persistent Chris was and how he knew what was going on with Parker before she even knew. Summers did a great job developing them. Jake was also great, and I was pining for them to get together, even though the direction the novel was heading in didn't really indicate they were. But that was just how Summers wrote the novel; you wanted one to happen and something totally else happened, and while you want to be upset it didn't go the way you hoped, you couldn't help but nod along and realize that's exactly where Cracked Up to Be needed to go.
o
The writing was amazing in this novel. It was fluid and sharp and unforgettable. The repetition added a flair that could have been easily overlooked. In fact, a lot of the greatness of this novel could be easily overlooked because of its simplicity. It was simply written but written about complex story lines that demanded more attention. I loved how Summers transformed Parker from cold and cruel without making her anything less than cold and cruel. Parker didn't change, but my view of her certainly did. And I believe that is because the writing was so real and raw.
o
The plot was all that much; it was basically the stages between Parker's downfall and her inevitable uprising. But I don't think Summers wanted the story of what was actually going on to matter, but the realizations and revelations Parker has to be the main focus. And the romance certainly wasn't bad. I would've liked to see more development there, but I can appreciate an open-minded ending.
0
Cracked Up to Be is about a high school perfectionist who is filled with grief and unforgiving of the fact that she is human. I think everyone has felt this way at some point in their lives, even if they weren't the OCD perfectionist Parker was and that made this novel wonderful to read and to think about. It had writing that made you look twice and language that made your mind work hard to connect the murky dots. The ending was great too; sometimes the resolution can't be perfect, just like the rest of life. Summers has written a poignant, thoughtful novel that anyone can relate to. It was a great read that stays with you in a haunting way, past the last uplifting page.
o
Cover: 5 stars
Characters: 5 stars
Plot: 4.5 stars
Writing: 5 stars
Overall rating: 5 stars

Waiting on Wednesday (2): Fall for Anything by Courtney Summers

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Breaking the Spine to highlight upcoming releases we're anxiously awaiting! Grr, there are just too many to pick just one. My pick this week is:

Fall for Anything by Courney Summers

Pub. Date: Dec. 21, 2010

When Eddie Reeves’s father commits suicide her life is consumed by the nagging question of why? Why when he was a legendary photographer and a brilliant teacher? Why when he seemed to find inspiration in everything he saw? And, most important, why when he had a daughter who loved him more than anyone else in the world? When she meets Culler Evans, a former student of her father’s and a photographer himself, an instant and dangerous attraction begins. Cullen seems to know more about her father than she does and could possibly hold the key to the mystery surrounding his death. But Eddie’s vulnerability has weakened her and Culler Evans is getting too close. Her need for the truth keeps her hanging on...but are some questions better left unanswered?

--

I loved Cracked Up to Be, and I love photography, so this book looks amazing. Plus, I love the cover. And when there aren't any reviews to judge a book by, there's always the cover! A mysterious suicide + photography + a mysterious boy = a great novel.