Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers

Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers
"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."- summary from Amazon

I loved Summers' debut and was really excited to read this one and it didn't let me down. It was painful to read this book because of what Regina goes through and yet I still felt compelled to turn the pages and found it hard to put the book down. I literally had to tear myself away from it while reading it at work. What happens to Regina throughout the book is like a traffic accident for the reader- it's a horrible sight but you can't stop looking. Regina is a wonderfully layered character and all the other characters have a good amount of depth to them as well.

The romance is really well-crafted and written in such a realistic way. Everything about this book is realistic, usually brutally so. Seeing how Michael and Regina interact as the book goes on and the obstacles they put up between each other makes so much sense and it was really fun reading about them. The ending was perfect for them.

What I didn't like though was the ending. The book reaches this amazingly heartbreaking and emotional climax and then the ending just seems to fall flat after that. I got to the end and was like "That's it? That's how it all ends between Regina and the Fearsome Foursome?". It just felt a bit out of place considering everything else going on and what we know about these characters. But maybe I just had exaggerated expectations or something.

Either way, this is still a wonderful, heartbreaking and raw book and shows that Summers has no signs of slowing down or easing up on the honesty. She's a wonderful new talent and an author everyone should check out.

FTC: Recieved book from publisher. Amazon link is an Associate link- all profit goes toward funding contests.