Some Girls Are

Some Girls Are
written by Courtney Summers



Courtney Summers is back with another amazing release, Some Girls Are. It's so very Mean Girls in its captivating narration. The point of view is a fascinating one, the journey into the life of an ex-queen of her high school social circle. Summers' writing creates a whole world around Regina Afton, with dimensional characters each with their own stories to tell. By now, Summers has established a very distinctive narrative tone and style, and even though it carries that repetition, it's just as powerful as it was in her debut novel, Cracked Up to Be. The thing about the novel is that were I not reading it in Regina's point-of-view, I know for a fact that Regina Afton would be the epitome of the girls I hated in high school. It's such a great thing that Summers does, giving teens a glimpse of what both sides of the high school social structure have to deal with, and that the popular girls have their own set of problems, too. There's no big message on how to save the world or better oneself, but Some Girls Are contains the comfort teens need, the knowledge that what's happened to them has happened and will happen again to others on all levels of the social ladder. And while it's not quite happily ever after for Regina, it's an ending that certainly gives closure and drives the message deep.

Rating: 5/5

Also by Courtney Summers: Cracked Up to Be
I got this book from...:LibraryThing Early Reviewers

Looks

Argh, a week. A whole week without updating or really getting much reading done. Is this what this stupid college thing is going to do to me? And I'm not even there yet! I am extremely sorry for the lack of updates, but I cannot make any promises--these next two/three weeks are probably going to be the most hectic of my life. Here's hoping I can find some time to get at least some reading done! Anyways, silly ranting is over, time for a long overdue review.

Looks
written by Madeleine George



Looks is a really amazing unique book, written in a vividly honest perspective. It is one of the best embodiments of high school awkwardness that I have read in a long time, and that is very refreshing. I was glad to see a teacher, Mr. Handsley, playing a role, giving this book even more parallels to Speak than the already evident ones (narration by a "invisible girl", fly on the wall high schooler). The really striking thing about this is that all of the characters, no matter how minimal a role they play, are extremely well-developed, and you will get emotionally attached to at least one of them, no matter who you are. It's an interesting commentary on life, particularly a teenage one, where everyone tries so hard to break out of that invisible mold we're all at one point or other stuck in. We are all connected, and yet we barely notice it. The moment when the girls are at long last given names to match personalities is a powerful one, reminding us that thin or overweight, we are all one.

Rating: 5/5