Cracked Up to Be
Author: Courtney Summers
Publication Date: 12/23/08
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Blurb (GR): Perfect Parker Fadley isn’t so perfect anymore.  She’s quit the cheerleading squad, she’s dumped her perfect boyfriend, and she’s failing school.  Her parents are on a constant suicide watch and her counselors think she’s playing games…but what they don’t know, the real reason for this whole mess, isn’t something she can say out loud.  It isn’t even something she can say to herself.  A horrible thing has happened and it just might be her fault.  If she can just remove herself from everybody--be totally alone--then everything will be okay...The problem is, nobody will let

Review:
The more of Courtney Summers I read, the more her work reminds me of Sara Zarr's. They write vastly different characters - Zarr's are more subdued, quiet; Summers' are often in-your-face obnoxious and loud. But what is similar about these two authors is how well-realized their narrators' voices are. Zarr's and Summers' characters are unique and real, often unlikable, but always unforgettable.

The protagonist of Cracked Up to Be, Parker, is hard to like. She is brash and sarcastic, offends and lashes out at everyone who cares about her - parents, friends, teachers. There is a reason behind her self-destructive, self-punishing and antagonistic behavior, and it's a big one. You won't like Parker even when you find out her secret, you might even hate her then. But, with all that, she is still a human being worthy of understanding and maybe empathy or, possibly, forgiveness.

Cracked Up to Be is a strong debut. I don't think the climax of the story was constructed the best way it could have been. The last few chapters are a little messy. But I do like how the novel ended. There are consequences to Parker's sins, but there is a hope for her break from the abyss of self-hate too. There are mistakes in our lives that we need to forgive ourselves for, just to survive. Even if they are as heavy as Parker's.

3.5/5 stars

Some Girls Are
Author: Courtney Summers
Publication Date: 1/5/10
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Blurb (GR): 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.

Review:
What a mean, ugly, venomous, relentlessly cruel book this is! I almost developed some ulcer myself just by being in the main character's head.

The "mean girls" novels are not something that interests me very much in YA lit. Ever since Before I Fall I feel mildly dissatisfied in how such stories generally unfold. In Before I Fall, for instance, I thought there was a lot of humanizing and excusing of mean girls going on, with not enough of owning up to their actions and atoning. Some Girls Are is more pleasing in that respect.

Regina, one of the school's meanest mean girls, ends up to be the target of her friends' (or frenemies') wrath and finally tastes her own medicine. The treatment of her is vile, but hey, who cares, she was distributing the same sort of punishments just a few days ago. She deserves everything that's coming her way, right?

Hm, maybe. I won't lie, seeing an ex-mean girl suffer was pretty awesome. At first. But once you get to know Regina a little better, you can't help to feel horrified for her. And it's not only about the abuse (the beatings, humiliation, almost rapes) - she gives back almost as much of it as she takes. It's more about her inner world. Her mind, constantly fixated on fighting back, on guilt, on memories of being a part of a group of so-called friends who can squash you in minutes, on pressures of always hating and being hated. It's an awful way to think. It's a damaging way to live.

I can't say I enjoyed this novel. You can't enjoy a punch to your gut that this book is. But I did appreciate it. I appreciated that this novel doesn't make excuses for Regina and forces readers to forgive her. There are some things in life that can't be easily forgotten and fixed with an I am sorry. But something more important happens here - a mean girl breaks out of the circle of hate and violence and maybe becomes a slightly more aware person. She has to continue carrying the burden of her past actions though. No easy fixes here.

4/5 stars

Feeling Sorry For Celia
Author: Jaclyn Moriarty
Publication Date: 1/10/02
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Blurb (GR):
Life is pretty complicated for Elizabeth Clarry. Her best friend Celia keeps disappearing, her absent father suddenly reappears, and her communication with her mother consists entirely of wacky notes left on the fridge. On top of everything else, because her English teacher wants to rekindle the "Joy of the Envelope," a Complete and Utter Stranger knows more about Elizabeth than anyone else.

But Elizabeth is on the verge of some major changes. She may lose her best friend, find a wonderful new friend, kiss the sexiest guy alive, and run in a marathon.
So much can happen in the time it takes to write a letter...

A #1 bestseller in Australia, this fabulous debut is a funny, touching, revealing story written entirely in the form of letters, messages, postcards—and bizarre missives from imaginary organizations like The Cold Hard Truth Association.

Feeling Sorry for Celia captures, with rare acuity, female friendship and the bonding and parting that occurs as we grow. Jaclyn Moriarty's hilariously candid novel shows that the roller coaster ride of being a teenager is every bit as fun as we remember—and every bit as harrowing.

Review:
HERE IS A REVIEW!!!! RIGHT HERE ON YOUR COMPUTER SCREEN!!!

Like the other Jaclyn Moriarty book I read recently (Finding Cassie Crazy), this is written in epistolary format and includes letters, the backs of postcards, and random notes. The notes from Elizabeth’s mother were probably my favorite bits as they all started in a similar way to how I started this review (HERE IS A NOTE!!! RIGHT NEXT TO THE REFRIGERATOR!!! ) and her mother would give her topics to think on and/or discuss—what she thinks of purple nail polish, what a catchy slogan could be for a product, or thoughts on socks. (I have a lot of thoughts on socks and have, on numerous occasions, been accused (rightly) of stealing socks from my roommates. I practice the old “sibling rule” that if you leave it in my room, it becomes mine.) Liz’s mother cracked me up--“I hope you feel better today. Please ring me at work if you are dead."

Because I read one other Ashbury High book before this one, I can’t help but compare and I enjoyed Finding Cassie Crazy more. The humor was more consistent and I found myself more invested in each of the relationships. The tone here felt more serious and, while I did find much of it humorous, those moments were further apart. (how many times can I say the word ‘more’?) Rather than focusing on a group of friends and their pen pals, Feeling Sorry for Celia catalogs the formation of one friendship (Liz and her pen pal Christina) while Liz is simultaneously having trouble in her relationship with her best friend Celia. I had a hard time with Celia’s character because she was flighty and (overly) adventurous. I see how Celia’s home situation contributed to her wanderlust but it doesn’t mean that I think she’s a good friend to Liz. The developing friendship between Liz and Christina was lovely, as they both supported each other from the get-go and actually cared what was going on in the other’s life. Celia seemed like one of those friends you dread calling because they will just ramble on about their life and never ask you about how you’re doing.

My friend and I were talking the other day about authors we adore enough to read everything they ever write. I think Jaclyn Moriarty is a kindred spirit. (Anne with an ‘e’ would definitely think so) She is funny, her characters are endearing, and she is successful at wring epistolary YA. Keep doing it, JM, and I will keep buying and reading everything you write. In fact, I have the two remaining Ashbury/Brookfield books already lined up.

3.5/5 stars

Cracked Up To Be
Author: Courtney Summers
Publication Date: 12/23/08
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Blurb (GR): Perfect Parker Fadley isn’t so perfect anymore. She’s quit the cheerleading squad, she’s dumped her perfect boyfriend, and she’s failing school. Her parents are on a constant suicide watch and her counselors think she’s playing games…but what they don’t know, the real reason for this whole mess, isn’t something she can say out loud. It isn’t even something she can say to herself. A horrible thing has happened and it just might be her fault. If she can just remove herself from everybody—be totally alone—then everything will be okay...The problem is, nobody will let her.

Review:
Parker Fadley used to be head cheerleader. She had perfect grades and a perfect boyfriend. Fast forward a few months and she is drinking heavily, treating everybody like crap (though this hasn’t changed much), broken up with her boyfriend, and missing every single homework deadline. What happened to cause her decline?

When I was in high school, I had to wear a uniform. Since it was an all-girls Catholic school, my morning went something like this:
6:00—alarm goes off. Snooze.
6:15—alarm goes off. Snooze.
6:30—alarm goes off. Snooze
6:45—roll out of bed wearing t-shirt and boxers. Put on socks. Pick up polo shirt, kilt, and clogs from floor. Brush teeth.
7:00-7:30—drive to school. Eat granola bar. In school parking lot, put polo and kilt on over pajamas.
Proceed with day.

This is funny to me because Parker’s hungover/total mess description basically aligns with my every day of high school look. I don’t remember brushing my hair for four years. But, thankfully, I wasn’t such a psychological mess. The narrative in this book basically follows Parker in the present day but snippets of the night “it” happened are interspersed in the text until it all unravels. I found this both intriguing and annoying; the latter because the night kept building up little by little but what we already knew was repeated. (x, then x and y, then x and y and z) By the end, I was practically shouting at the book, “I GET IT! I KNOW XYZABCDEFGHI happened. Just frakking tell me already!” (though I already had it figured out)

But you’ll notice that I gave this one four stars. I love Courtney Summers’ writing style. She writes the horrifically mean girl like no one else. (more prominently in Some Girls Are) Her characters are realistically flawed and you can almost smell the desperation that drips off of nearly every one of them, whether they are desperate for friendship, love, or forgiveness for missteps. This book isn’t for everyone for that reason—it is a frustrating read because you see all of these characters trying to help Parker find what she is looking for and she walks all over them and manipulates their feelings. I don’t know if I could have the patience for her that several of her peers did, especially considering I didn’t have much patience for her as a reader.

The “love triangle” (if you can call it that) in this book was a little bizarre. Parker’s ex-boyfriend Chris is still in love with her and will basically do anything for her. The more-like-a-love-square is filled out with Parker, Chris’s new girlfriend who is Parker’s frenemy, and new guy Jake, who is attempting to get Parker to open up about what happened. Flash! Bang! Drama! Anyway, Courtney Summers lovers will find the same old awesome in this one: gritty topic, beautiful writing, a bitchity main girl, and a lightning fast read.

Shoutout to Cory, who interviewed Courtney Summers last week at The Book Lantern.

4/5 stars