Some Girls Are - Courtney Summers

After hearing many good things about Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers, I made this my first "I just got a new library card and am going to use it" book.

Regina is part of the Fearsome Fivesome and the social standing in Hallowell High cannot get any better. After nasty rumors start circulating, Regina finds herself frozen out of her group and everyone hates her and wants revenge. She then finds herself in a complicated relationship with Michael Hayden, one of the many people she tormented on behalf of her ex-best friend, Anna. Will Regina have the strength and courage to stand up to the people now making her life a living hell or will she roll over and take what she thinks she deserves for being one of the mean girls?

This book was INCREDIBLE and I must add this to my collection. I loved the characters because they seemed to really pop off the page and it showed just how cruel high school kids can really be. Even though Regina was originally as bad as the rest, there were parts that unexpectedly made my eyes sting and I felt a lump rising in my throat because I just felt SO bad for her and I just wanted to hug her.

The only down side to this book was I think it could have been a little bit longer. There was all this stuff going on toward the end and then all of a sudden it's done and over and the ending just seemed easy.

I'm really looking forward to reading more books by Courtney Summers so please excuse me while I go add Cracked Up To Be to my library holds list..

Cut - Patricia McCormick

Back in February I won Patricia McCormick's Cut from Angel at An Everyday Angel and have just now gotten around to reading it.

Cut is about Callie, a fifteen year who has landed herself in a treatment facility for cutting. She refuses to speak to anyone, including her therapist, until she realizes that she wants to get better.

From the description on the back of the book it seemed like it would be interesting but I struggled to finish it, and to be honest, I probably wouldn't have finished so soon after starting except that I wanted to finish this for my online book club's book challenge.

I never felt invested in any of the characters and the story itself came off as flat. All this book seemed to be, in my opinion, was more about Callie's observations of the people around her than her actual problem. This book could have been so much better than it was and I have to wonder how much of the three years McCormick spent on this book, was dedicated to research. Anybody who has any idea what cutting is, could tell you what she does in this book.

I also didn't care for the second person point of view or the fact that this book was 138 pages and only three chapters.

Princess for Hire - Lindsey Leavitt

After last week's book signing, I wanted to read Lindsey Leavitt's Princess for Hire as soon as possible. This was definitely a quick read but took me a while to finish because I didn't get much reading time in with all the chaos of last week.

Desi is a girl who feels like vapor. Her ex-best friend, Celeste, is bent on making her life miserable and what's worse, Desi's crush Hayden is dating Celeste.

After a bad day at work, Desi goes home and wishes for help and out of a bubble comes Meredith. Meredith is an agent for Facade, a princess substitute agency that allows princesses to take a break from their lives while their stand-in goes about their everyday routine.

Desi has longed for something like this and immediately signs up. She soon learns that royalty is not all it's cracked up to be and her heart leads her to make decisions while subbing that the agency is not too fond of. Will Desi be able to continue being a sub or will her desire for impact cause her to go back to her regular life feeling like vapor?

I thought this book was absolutely adorable! Yes, it was more for the younger side of YA readers but that didn't matter to me. This book was just fun and I think any girl who ever had a wish to be a princess when she was younger (or even now) will really enjoy it.

I really understood Desi's desire to make an impact. She wanted to make things better for the princesses she was subbing for and ended up doing for them, what they could never do for themselves. She also gained something for herself that she lacked in her normal life: confidence.

I can totally see this book becoming a Disney movie in the future and since they're the publishing company, I have faith that they would do it justice and I would watch it in a heartbeat.

This was a great debut novel from Lindsey and I cannot wait to read more from her. I see tons of success in her future, not only because she is talented but because she is such a sweet person and deserves it.

This was book #4 in the 2010 Debut Author's Challenge

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Last Olympian

Well it's official. I am done reading the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series and it makes me sad. I loved The Last Olympian but I am not ready to say goodbye to these characters.

The Titan Kronos is planning an attack to take over Olympus and the time is almost near. With the gods off fighting monster Typhon, Olympus is left unprotected and Kronos's army advances on New York City, and ultimately, Olympus.

Percy and the rest of the campers at Camp Half-Blood must protect the city when the gods do not take Percy's claim seriously and with his sixteenth birthday only days away, Percy knows the Great Prophecy is about to come true. Is he really the one whose decision will decide the fate of the gods? Will Kronos be able to be stopped before it's too late?

There is just something about this series that just makes me want more and after talking to Leah, I found out that I'm not the only one that feels this way. We both agreed that while waiting to read The Last Olympian, we couldn't think about anything other than reading this book. Currently, I am reading A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon, Leaving Gee's Bend by Irene Latham, and Cut by Patricia McCormick but all I could think about while reading these was that I needed to know what happened to Percy and friends and I couldn't wait any longer.

I really hope Riordan decides to publish more books that follow Percy into the next stage of his life. The ending did wrap the series up, but it also left a perfect in to another series. In the meantime, I plan on getting my hands on a copy of The Demigod Files so the fun, action-packed, mythological ride won't be over just yet.