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.

Review: Die For Me by Amy Plum

Die For Me by Amy Plum

Series: Revenants (#1)
Pages: 352
Publisher: HarperTeen
Published: May 10th, 2011
IBSN: 9780062004017

Source: NetGalley

DIE FOR ME is the first of three books about Kate, a sixteen-year-old American who moves to Paris after the death of her parents. It introduces a new version of the undead with revenants, beings who are fated to sacrifice themselves over and over again to save others’ lives. Kate finds herself falling for Vincent, who she discovers is not the typical French teenager he appears: he is something else entirely.

DIE FOR ME presents a new supernatural mythology presented in a city where dreams are sometimes the same as reality.

[Synopsis by Goodreads]

Die For Me is Amy Plum's paranormal debut novel, set in the city of lights, Paris. Since Anna And The French Kiss, I'll pick up any YA set in France.

   The old cover, that I prefer
to the real one. I'm
a notorious swirly hater.

Die For Me created a unique paranormal world, but it didn't create unique characters. Our main character is the usual grief-stricken, insecure sister to a girl who out shines her.

It also suffers from what I've heard referred to as 'Twilight syndrome', where almost nothing happens for most of the book, and then the complication is tacked onto the end. Though, to be fair, it at least hinted at what was coming (eg. Kate meeting the villain about half way in, and having a weird feeling about him).

Die For Me was, overall, pretty light. I didn't think the writing style was bad, but it wasn't great. The chemistry/relationship between Vincent and Kate wasn't bad, but wasn't great. The plot wasn't bad, but wasn't great. It felt pretty average to me - enjoyable, but not enthralling.

In short, I had mixed feelings about this book, but the premise was interesting and I'm curious to see where the rest of the series goes.

I give Die For Me a 3 out of 5.

Review: Where She Went by Gayle Forman

Where She Went by Gayle Forman

Series: If I Stay (#2)
Pages: 264
Publisher: Dutton Juvenille
Published: April 5th, 2011 (today!)
IBSN: 9780525422945

Source: NetGalley

It's been three years since the devastating accident ... three years since Mia walked out of Adam's life forever.

Now living on opposite coasts, Mia is Julliard's rising star and Adam is LA tabloid fodder, thanks to his new rock star status and celebrity girlfriend. When Adam gets stuck in New York by himself, chance brings the couple together again, for one last night. As they explore the city that has become Mia's home, Adam and Mia revisit the past and open their hearts to the future - and each other.

[Synopsis by Goodreads]

Scenario: you click the wrong bookmark by accident and end up on NetGalley. You decide to browse the recent Teen & YA titles anyway, and come across a title from Penguin. You wonder since when they started using NetGalley. You see the book is Where She Went. What do you do?

Duh. Request it, because if you're anybody you'd have read If I Stay already and adored it.

If I Stay was heart-wrenching and beautifully written, and I expected nothing less from Where She Went. If anything, Where She Went exceeded my expectations.

I never thought I could understand what would possess Mia to leave Adam, but I did. I even found myself emphasizing with Mia: in her situation, I'd probably leave, too. But at the same time, I completely felt sorry for Adam.

It was nice to get into Adam's head. In If I Stay, I remember often wondering what he was thinking. I usually dislike sequels that come from a different perspective, but Where She Went was an exception to that rule.

The writing style was beautiful and poetic. The lyrics from Adam's band between chapters were written as prettily, if not more so. I found myself trying to put rhythm to and sing them.

The ending was a perfect and satisfying conclusion to Adam and Mia's story. This series is one I could read over and over again, being affected by it each time.

I give Where She Went a 5 out of 5. I'm not doing it justice with my review, but really, read this book. It's even better than If I Stay. If you haven't read If I Stay, read that too. They're both short - make a day of reading them both back-to-back.

Waiting On Wednesday (19)

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 All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin, because I've read her two other young adult novels (Memoirs Of A Teenage Amnesiac and Elsewhere) and loved them. 

Chocolate and coffee are illegal, paper is hard to find, water is increasingly scarce, and New York City is rife with crime and poverty. And yet, for Anya Balanchine, the sixteen-year-old daughter of the city’s most notorious (and dead) crime boss, life is fairly routine—going to school, taking care of her siblings and her dying grandmother, trying to avoid falling in love with the new assistant D.A.'s son, and avoiding her loser ex-boyfriend. That is until someone in her inner circle ends up poisoned by the chocolate her family manufactures and the police think she’s to blame. Suddenly, Anya finds herself thrust unwillingly into the spotlight—at school, in the news, and most importantly, within her mafiya family.

[Synopsis by Goodreads]

All These Things I've Done is the first in the Birthright series, and is expected to come out on the 27th of September.

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: Cryer's Cross by Lisa McMann

Cryer's Cross by Lisa McMann

Pages: 233
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Published: February 8th, 2011
IBSN: 9781416994817

The community of Cryer’s Cross, Montana (population 212) is distraught when high school freshman Tiffany disappears without a trace. Already off-balance due to her OCD, 16-year-old Kendall is freaked out seeing Tiffany’s empty desk in the one-room school house, but somehow life goes on... until Kendall's boyfriend Nico also disappears, and also without a trace.

Now the town is in a panic. Alone in her depression and with her OCD at an all-time high, Kendall notices something that connects Nico and Tiffany: they both sat at the same desk. She knows it's crazy, but Kendall finds herself drawn to the desk, dreaming of Nico and wondering if maybe she, too, will disappear...and whether that would be so bad. Then she begins receiving graffiti messages on the desk from someone who can only be Nico. Can he possibly be alive somewhere? Where is he? And how can Kendall help him? The only person who believes her is Jacian, the new guy she finds irritating...and attractive. As Kendall and Jacian grow closer, Kendall digs deeper into Nico's mysterious disappearance only to stumble upon some ugly—and deadly—local history. Kendall is about to find out just how far the townspeople will go to keep their secrets buried.

[Synopsis by Goodreads]

Cryer's Cross, much like Lisa McMann's other series, is incredibly unique. It features mystery, romance, an unconventional protagonist, and a small town with long-buried secrets as a backdrop to the story.

Kendall, the main character, had OCD. I've never read a book before - at least, as far as I can remember - where the story came from the perspective of someone with a mental condition. It was written realistically and obviously well-researched.

Cryer's Cross is written in third person, and though Lisa McMann executed it well, it didn't really have the emotional pull first-person could have had. But then again, being in the head of someone with OCD would have been really chaotic, I imagine.

Interwoven into the book, between chapters, were short, creepy passages from an unnamed "We"  that helped set the eerie tone of the story.

The plot was slow and intense, the mystery of the disappearances slowly unraveled throughout the novel. A lot of tension led up to the end, making for an engaging read.

The ending tied up the plots, and had a bittersweet feel to it. Overall, it was an intense and enjoyable read.

I give Cryer's Cross a 4 out of 5.

Review: Entangled by Cat Clarke

Entangled by Cat Clarke

Pages: 374
Publisher: Quercus Publishing
Published: January 6th, 2011
IBSN: 9781849163941

The same questions whirl round and round in my head: 
What does he want from me? 
How could I have let this happen? 
AM I GOING TO DIE? 

17-year-old Grace wakes up in a white room, with a table, pens and paper - and no clue how she got here.

As Grace pours her tangled life onto the page, she is forced to remember everything she's tried to forget. There's falling hopelessly in love with the gorgeous Nat, and the unravelling of her relationship with her best friend Sal. But there's something missing. As hard as she's trying to remember, is there something she just can't see?

Grace must face the most important question of all. Why is she here? 

[Synopsis by Goodreads]

Entangled opens with our protagonist, Grace, in an eerily white room with nothing by way of entertainment sans pens and paper. Her would-be captor, Ethan, encourages her to write, and so she does. Her story is told partly through present tense as she struggles to remember how she got there and partly through her past tense writing.

Grace's voice is clear and confident. Though I kind of disliked her at times, I could always see where she was coming from. And besides, you aren't supposed to love the main character - you aren't supposed to want to be them. You're supposed to be interested in their story, and that I was.

From the blurb you could already tell that Grace was no longer friends with Sal or Nat's girlfriend prior to the beginning of the book, but why that is became very obvious very early into the retelling. I could understand why it took Grace so long to find out, but was still slightly annoyed by it.

Cat Clarke's writing style was engaging and incredibly clever and she tackled intense subject matter unflinchingly. She's definitely an author to watch out for.

The ending of the book tied up the loose ends, albeit in a vague way. I had to reread the last few pages and then think some before I actually understood what happened. I love an ending that makes you think, especially long after you've finished reading.

I give Entangled a 6 out of 5.