Some Girls Are
by Courtney Summers
by Courtney SummersGenre: Young Adult
Where I Got It: Around the World Tours
ISBN: ARC 978-0-312-57380-5
246 pages
My Rating: 4 stars
Synopsis:
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.
My Thoughts:
Wow – what a powerful book! I read it almost in one sitting! If you’ve ever wondered about bullying and it’s effect on teenagers, this is a book you should pick up. I’m sure many of us have dealt with bullying in one form or another (emotional/physical), so this book is very current in that regard. The book centers around Regina, part of the “Fearsome Fivesome”, who is the right-hand of Anna, Queen of the clique. Whatever Anna says to do, the rest of the Fivesome do it. When Regina finds herself as the designated driver at a party, she’s not very happy. The night turns worse when something happens that changes the course of her high school life. She becomes ostracized from the Fivesome and soon suffers the consequences of her supposed “betrayal” the night of the party. She is emotionally and physicallly harrassed by her former friends, for something she didn’t even do! It was so frustrating to read this book because the reader knows the truth, but Regina is unable to get her former friends to understand. They laugh it off and say she’s lying! Very aggravating!! Especially about a very serious situation!
Regina manages to find an unlikely ally in Michael, a boy she used to bully herself. This relationship is a bit odd and awkward, but Regina and Michael are able to help each other in ways we’d never think of. I really enjoyed the scenes with Regina and Michael. The unlikeliness of their friendship pulls you in and you just want them both to find peace and healing.
I wasn’t sure if I would like the main character, Regina. She used to be a big-time bully herself, but reading about her “fall from grace”, the author was actually able to make me sympathize with the character and her situation.
This is a very fast read and you won’t want to put it down once you start! It’s a hard book to read since it is about bullying, but I would definitely recommend it.
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I read this – I think, over on goodreads – I loved your take…I soo agree with you, this is one powerful, book that's a fast read – I really had a hard time liking Regina, but she grew on me…and even though I did not really like her in the beginning I really connected with her…is that weird LOL I think that's kinda weird!
Wow. Bullying. I remember those days. Luckily, now that I'm in college, I don't really have to deal with all of that. Still, the effect that it can have on people is so serious and worth reading about and thinking about and talking about. Great review. I'll definitely add this to my TBR pile.
Great review! But I don't think I will read this book. Movies or stories about American highschool life just don't interest me. They're all the same childish craps. I heard on Fox news years ago about a group of highschool girls (something something Four) being charged for some criminal acts they inflicted on fellow schoolmate. I don't like reading books that are elaborating on news stories and filling in details..
As for bullying, I never experienced in my highschool, and never heard any of my girlfriends or relatives who expereienced. I went to highschool in Hong Kong, and we had to wear uniform. We had to look the same from head to feet, just like the U.S. military. The dress code was always very strict. Teachers were straight too. We would never ever dare to be slightly not polite to our teachers, our parents or each other, let alone bullying. Our parents would punish us big times if only we didn't behave in school. The social norm back in Hong Kong highschools are "1: to make the grades, 2: to make the grades, 3: to make the grades." Besides our schoolwork was so heavy, (always 10 or more homeworks everyday) we barely had enough time to eat dinners, forget about spending time bullying our friends or hanging out in the malls in tiny tops or mini skirts … (Plus our parents would not buy us clothes like that…) I like my highschool system and all my highschool schoolmates, we had to help each other out on our studies in order to surive all our gruesome exit exams after exit exams and then we had to rely on each other to study our international advanced placement exams besides our very own advanced placement exams in Hong Kong. I was much busier in highschool than I am now as an adult in America. Looking back, I really feel lucky that I didn't grow up here. I had a very fine education that makes it very easy for me to secure good jobs anywhere in the world. I also can't imagine going to school and being bullied or shot…. or feeling pressured to dress like Britney Spears or Kim kardashian.
The highschool here totally have very different peer pressure. The peer pressure I experienced was, "How many foreign languages you speak fluently? Did you get an A in your Advanced Calculus? Did you get an A in English and Chinese Literature? What music instruments do you play? What universities are you going to go?"
I rather be worring about these than worrying about if I would get shot or if I could get a date to go to prom with me…
I really feel sorry for the American girls who go to the public highschools here… They are cheated of their best time to learn.. and then they graduated without knowing much, but a lot of emotional baggage from being bullied.