Some Girls Are

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 courtneysummers.ca

My Rating: 5/5

This story is authentic through and through. I've read a handful of books where there is a group of  mean girls that are trying to sabotage a particular person that may or may not have been their friend in the past. A lot of these stories tend to be humorous and cute with somewhat cliche portrayals of characters, scenarios and so on. Some Girls Are uses this semi familiar topic and takes it to an all new level.

If you are familiar with Courtney Summer's first novel Cracked Up To Be you'll know that she does not hold back. There is something about her writing style that makes everything feel so realistic, an accurate portrayal of what actually goes on in real life as opposed to a cleanly wrapped up version that is easier to acknowledge. Quite simply, she tells things like they are which I greatly appreciate and admire. Her stories are raw and well portrayed so much so that as a reader, I can almost feel the characters in the same room with me as I'm reading. There's such honesty in Courtney's writing that is compelling on its own. I feel that young adults will really be drawn to her novels because they're real. There's no stepping around difficult subjects and harsh language when necessary. Her novels revolve around what happen and they are truthfully portrayed.

I found myself entirely submerged within this story. I hated Regina's old "friends" and the way they went about treating everyone around them as if they didn't matter. Really, this book was an emotional roller coaster. One moment I was angry, the next curious and eager to see what happened at the flip of a page. These emotions would suddenly turn to sadness and disappointment followed by countless others.

I found all of the characters to be so accurate and spot on. Courtney Summers doesn't just come out and tell you about all of the events that unfolded before the opening chapter. Instead, they come spewing out as the story progressed which is I feel is the most exciting way of relaying information. Every character in this novel was three dimensional and well developed.

Regina Afton is a very interesting protagonist. You sympathize with her because she's being targeted yet you also dislike her at the same time because you know she's guilty of similar things in the past that are now occurring to her. It's difficult to create someone who the reader will sympathize with while detailing all of the terrible things she'd participated in, in the past. I really liked that Regina was flawed. It's easy to make a seemingly perfect lead character but it's a lot harder to give this "person" severe flaws while still having to make her likable to the reader.

Another character I really enjoyed was Michael Hayden. I don't want to give too much away when it comes to him although I felt that he was definitely one of the better characters. My heart really went out to him and I felt that he added a lot to this novel. I also cared a great deal about him by the time everything was said and done.

I definitely recommend Some Girls Are to everyone. It is a truly terrific novel. You will not regret having read this one.