Waiting on Wednesday (32)

Waiting on Wednesday was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It features upcoming releases we can't wait to get our hands on.

This week's pick is...

This Is Not a Test

Courtney Summers

Coming June 2012 - Preorder it below

Indiebound | Amazon | BN

Yall, Courtney Summers wrote a zombie book. This scares me a little in that Courtney currently holds the title of Queen of Contemporary, but she's earned my trust by writing not one, not two, but three freakishly amazing novels thus far. She's on my auto-buy list, and I'm not going to let a few zombies scare me away.

Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers

I have a confession to make.

::whispers::

I hate writing reviews.

I love reading, I love blogging, and I love sharing my thoughts and opinions. But when it comes to actually sitting down and writing a review, I freaking hate it! It's so hard to 1. be original and 2. give a great book a worthy review.

Such has been my problem with Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers. This book just came out in January, and I was super excited to have gotten my hands on it so quickly. My library takes for.ever! to get new titles, and I'd be really poor if I went out and bought every new book I wanted. So, a HUGE thanks to Other Shelf Tours for providing me with a copy :)

I was first introduced to Summers about a month ago when I read her debut novel Cracked Up to Be. I LOVED this book and was blown away by Summers' writing. I was practically itching to get my hands on Some Girls Are, and I was not disappointed.

Regina Afton was a member of the Fearsome Fivesome, the most popular group of girls at Hallowell High. Her life was only about waiting on Anna Morrison, the leader of the group, and making her classmates' lives hell - just for the fun of it. All of that changes when she's stabbed in the back and awful rumors about her and Anna's boyfriend begin to spread.

Now "frozen out," Regina's ex-friends are determined to get revenge. Her only company is a boy named Michael who's been outcast because of Regina's own bullying. What follows is a horrifying chain of events Anna and her friends create to get back at Regina for something she didn't do.

Wow. That's all I've been able to say since finishing this a few weeks ago. I've been writing, erasing, and rewriting this review ever since - trying to get it just right. I'm still at a loss to describe how Summers' writing makes you feel. It's like watching a suspenseful movie - you're on the edge of your seat and you can't even eat your popcorn because you're afraid you'll miss something. What happens in this book is truly awful but, again, so so relevant. (In case anyone forgot, you can read the stories of Phoebe Prince, Carl Walker-Hoover, or Jaheem Herrera to see how bullying can affect today's youth.) Even though this book made my skin crawl, I could not put it down and read it in just a few sittings. It was an emotional read, and I found myself hating Regina one minute and really pulling for her the next. Summers' ability to pull you in and not let go has put her on my favorite author list. I cannot wait to see what Courtney has in store for book three.

Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers

Parker Fadley is a good girl gone bad. Her entire high school is placed on red alert when the cheerleading captain and future valedictorian starts coming to school drunk and failing classes. Her parents think she's suicidal and the school officials think she's playing for attention, but what Parker really wants is to just be left alone. She breaks up with her boyfriend and is mean to her friends in hopes of alienating herself from everyone who cares about her. Her plan goes from bad to worse when the new guy at school won't let her push him away. No one understands Parker's desire to disappear, but then they also don't know the truth. Parker is hiding something horrible that happened - something that may be her fault.

 
The only thing better than finally getting your hands on a book you've been waiting for is loving it more than you thought you would. Don't get me wrong, after all the rave reviews I'd read, I had high expectations for this book. Really high. Who knew they could be surpassed? Parker is such a great character. She's bitchy and ugly, but you can't help but love her because her pain is so honest. I was blown away by the way the "incident" is revealed. I kept thinking back to Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak while reading. It really wasn't difficult to figure out Melinda's secret. (Not that knowing the ending detracts at all from the awesomeness of Speak.) That being said, I love a good mystery, and even though Cracked Up to Be is not a particularly suspenseful book, it almost felt like I was on the edge of my seat waiting for the big reveal. Summers' cast of characters are perfectly flawed, and her story is completely relevant to today's youth. I wouldn't believe it was her debut novel if I didn't know any better. I can't wait to see what she has in store in her second novel Some Girls Are.