Waiting On Wednesday (40)

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine, in which we highlight an upcoming book release we're eagerly awaiting.

This week I'm waiting on This Is Not A Test by Courtney Summers, because, Courtney Summers! The premise had me raising an eyebrow initially, but I have faith that she can pull it off in her highly emotional fashion.

It’s the end of the world. Six students have taken cover in Cortege High but shelter is little comfort when the dead outside won’t stop pounding on the doors. One bite is all it takes to kill a person and bring them back as a monstrous version of their former self. To Sloane Price, that doesn’t sound so bad. Six months ago, her world collapsed and since then, she’s failed to find a reason to keep going. Now seems like the perfect time to give up.

As Sloane eagerly waits for the barricades to fall, she’s forced to witness the apocalypse through the eyes of five people who actually want to live. But as the days crawl by, everyone’s motivations to survive begin to change in startling ways and soon the group’s fate is determined less and less by what’s happening outside and more and more by the unpredictable and violent bids for life–and death–inside.

When everything is gone, what do you hold on to?

[Synopsis by Goodreads]

This Is Not A Test (how epic is that title, by the way?) is due for release in June of 2012 by St. Martin's Griffin.

Feel free to leave a link to your own Waiting On Wednesday post in the comments, and I'll be sure to have a look.

Review: Fall For Anything by Courtney Summers

Fall For Anything by Courtney Summers

Pages: 230
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Published: December 21st,2010
IBSN: 9780312656737

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. Culler 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?
[Synopsis by Goodreads]

Fall For Anything follows Eddie as she tries to understand her father's unexpected suicide. I knew immediately this wouldn't be some light, fluffy chick lit, but I really wasn't prepared for how intense it was.

The characters - each and every one of them - were fleshed out, and seemed to jump from the page. Their personalities were realistic and uncliched.

Courtney Summer's writing style was, as always, amazing. She's one of those authors who could write on any subject and still engage me. Her prose clearly evokes the Eddie's voice. I felt immediately sympathetic towards her, feeling depressed right along with her. I love books like this one - that can make you feel what your character does.

Fall For Anything maintains the same gritty tone that has completely enthralled me in the rest of Summers's books, but the plot felt different. Much more serious, with a mysterious element.

I case I had any doubt, this book settled it: Courtney Summers is the queen of bittersweet, realistic endings. Her books are the cure for fairy tales.

I give Fall For Anything a 5 out of 5, and look forward to what she comes up with next.

Review: Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers

Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers

Pages: 256
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Published: January 5th, 2010
IBSN:  9780312573805

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.


[Synopsis by Goodreads]

I really shouldn't have read this book so soon after Fall For Anything (my review of which goes up tomorrow). Courtney Summers's books are so powerful, raw and intense that they shake you to the core. Reading two of them in a row? I'm going to be emotionally useless for days.

I've heard this book likened to Mean Girls so much that I wasn't prepared for how raw and honest it was, as opposed to funny and light. Though I can see the similarities between the two, Some Girls Are was much deeper.

The characters are distinct from one another and well written. Even the most effed up characters were made to feel realistic. Our main character, Regina, is easy to relate to, and I felt sympathetic for her through most of the book (I wanted to slap her at the end).

Some Girls Are is one of those books that makes you genuinely care about what the characters are doing. In other books, I'll sometimes think, "I don't like what they're doing", but in this, I was like,"Dammit, WHAT are you doing?!"

A must-read for anyone with not-so-fond memories of high school. Hell, a must-read for anyone. I give Some Girls Are a 5 out of 5.