Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers
12:00 PM
Author: Courtney Summers
Release Date: January 5, 2010 (paperback)
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Pages: 256
Source: Bought
Overall: 4.5 Stars
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:
Why oh why did I not read this novel sooner? *smacks self in the forehead* I enjoyed Courtney Summer's novel Cracked Up To Be when I read it as a 2010 White Pine nominee, but after seeing Some Girls Are nominated for the 2011 White Pine Award... well, it gave me a push to get a move on! And wow... I'm so glad I didn't put it off any longer because as soon as I began reading, I was immediately pulled right into the story!
Summer's has written an amazing contemporary novel filled with some of the meanest and most vicious girls that I have ever read in the YA genre. Forget a few moments of name-calling and pulling a girl's hair... the Fearsome Fivesome took things to a whole new level. It's a sad but true fact that you can probably walk into any school and find a bully, but I'm glad my own high school didn't have girls as terrible as them. You could tell from the start that someone was bound to get hurt and it only left me on edge to keep reading to see just what would happen next.
With that in mind, I wanted to hate the main character Regina because she was a part of that group and took part in destroying some of her classmate's lives at school, but... I couldn't. She's tight with the 'in' crowd but then in one horrible moment, she finds herself a complete outsider and the latest target of her former so-called friends. So you would think I would be happy that Regina was going to get a taste of her own medicine, right? Well, no. Regina may have done horrible things but no one deserves to go through the awful things she does in the novel and it was with hope as I read that she would try to right some of the wrongs she had committed. Like any person, Regina certainly has her faults but I'm glad she took up the attitude of not going down without a fight... because if she didn't, who else would dare go up against those girls?
The romance in this story provided a nice break from the cattiness, but even so, the relationship was tenuous and fragile... and I couldn't believe how good of a person Michael was to give Regina a chance because he had every right to hate her. It was just another aspect that left me on edge because I kept wondering if they would really find a way to work things out and attempt to forget the past.
I'm so glad I didn't put off reading this book any longer because it was just so good! I won't be hesitating when December arrives and Summer's upcoming novel, Fall For Anything, is released.
Some Girls Are was an intense read and I must definitely give credit to Courtney Summer's powerful, honest writing that tells things for exactly what they are. In real life, some girls are nice and some girls just really aren't.
7 comments
This is definitely one of the most intense books I've read. Great review, and I'm glad you enjoyed it! :)
ReplyDeleteI haven't read this one but I did read her first Cracked Up To Be and this sounds a lot like it. Summers is a master of intense, flawed characters who we can't help but love. Thanks for the review! I'm going to grab myself a copy of this one.
ReplyDeleteOh wow! This sounds exactly like the kind of book I'd enjoy. I'm glad I found this review. I'm gonna add this one to my TBR. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteyou know I really didn't like this one all that much. Maybe because I can't relate but the authors writing is no doubt satisfying to anyone who can. And I still have an eye out for this author. I'm planning on reading fall for anything, that book definitely seems worthy enough to read.
ReplyDeletesounds like the romance is a little iffy, too bad!
ReplyDeleteThanks guys... definitely check out this one out if you're looking for an edgy contemporary read!
ReplyDeleteCarrie- It's not that romance was iffy per say, it's more like Micheal has had a tough time at school because of what Regina has done in the past, so really, he was giving her a second chance. It made the story all the more interesting because due to Michael, Regina now has an opportunity to sort of redeem herself. :)
Sounds very interesting. I like books told from the popular girls' point of view - analyzing who they are and why they do what they do. There's not that many out there.
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