All the Rage by Courtney Summers

One of the many things I love about Courtney Summers as an author is that her books always, always have something to say. They're brutal and ugly and almost painful to read in their honesty yes, but each one says something that needs to be said. Unfortunately, I don't think All the Rage follows this trend.

Rape books. Rape is a tough subject to write about and I am not one of those people who think you shouldn't write about something just because of that. But rape has been covered so many times in YA fiction that honestly, I don't see why we need another book about it. Yes, the majority of rape books cover the subject so badly that it shouldn't be allowed. Yes, All the Rage actually manages to cover the topic well and doesn't shy away from the unpleasantness of it all. But it's still a rape book and, as a story, we all know how those go. I don't think anyone thinks rape is right (what constitutes as rape is a different matter but that's not touched on here) and so, what does this book say that is new?

Don't get me wrong, this is still a fantastically-written story and it does have some interesting elements presented in the usual raw style. It doesn't pull any punches. If you read any book about rape it should probably be this one. I just think in comparison to Summers' other books (particularly Some Girls Are which is very similar but infinitely better) it falls a bit flat.

My other main problem with it was the ending. Summers' usually ends books abruptly and without resolution but this was one of the worst examples I've seen. While with the others I can usually make some excuse for it, this book was definitely lacking. That doesn't mean I don't understand why it ended where it did but it was incomplete in a way that doesn't justify it. I felt the story owed me more that it gave and there was no true payoff to getting emotionally invested in it.

The bottom line? If you only read one book by Summers, go for Some Girls Are. Otherwise this is sill miles better than most YA fiction out there, if not deeply more uncomfortable to read.

Overall Rating:

.5

This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers

Okay, confession time. At the risk of sounding a bit of an idiot, I didn't actually know this was a zombie book until I started reading it.

Yeah, yeah, I know. With Courtney Summers though it has reached the point where I will basically read anything she writes, occasionally without reading the blurb first. In a way though it was nice. For one thing, I was actually surprised when the zombies turned up. For another, I might not have gotten into the zombie genre if I hadn't read this book.

This is Not a Test is one of those books where not a lot happens. You want action? This isn't for you. But if you're looking for gut-wrenching desperation, a gritty look at broken people and a general downer atmosphere then this book is perfect.

There is no question about it, what drives this novel is its characters. Maybe it's just my naivety to zombie fiction but I found a zombie apocalypse from the POV of someone who doesn't want to survive very refreshing. Sloane stumbles through the book like she's in a dream and the whole narrative style has this sort of hazy, uncertain atmosphere.

Is it perfect? No. Some people are bound to find it drags in parts and the ending does that typical Summers' thing of not really giving the reader any closure. The ending annoyed me greatly the first time I read it but the more I think about it, the more I like it. The other thing is that this, like her other books, is not a particularly easy read in terms of emotions. It packs a punch similar to Some Girls Are and while it might not leave you feeling happy, it will certainly leave you feeling something.

Overall Score:

Fall for Anything by Courtney Summers

I was very excited to read this book. It sounded so different from Summers' other stuff that I was intrigued. Upon finishing though, I was somewhat disappointed.

This is the trouble with Summers' work-the endings. They're so damn unsatisfying that the moment you finish, you're left with nothing but bitter rage. And then you stop and think about it for a second and it quickly turns to love. The ending of Fall for Anything provides no answers whatsoever and really, there's no solution to the story. But such an ending fits so well with the theme of the book that it's hard for me to fault it for that. Plus my heart was pounding like crazy on the last couple of pages which is always a good sign.

The plot itself is not action-packed but the beautiful writing makes up for that greatly. I did notice the fact that nothing much happened more so than I did in her other books though. Eddie was naturally very passive as a narrator and while it didn't detract from the story, it did feel a lot shorter and less fleshed-out than some of her others perhaps did.

The title-I absolutely adore it. It's very, very clever for various reasons.

The characters-meh, perhaps not as intriguing as some of her past ones. Eddie was rather passive as I've mentioned which was fine since it fit with the idea that she was grieving. Milo on the other hand didn't really have much of a personality either. Culler was slightly better developed but barely. A lot of what you get from the characters is inferred rather than stated so there's a lot of room for different interpretations here.

Ultimately, I consider Fall for Anything the weakest of Summers' books. That still makes it a very good book on the whole with a reasonably strong plot and decent enough characters. I'd recommend reading it but after the other ones perhaps, and only if you're the sort of person who can cope with an open ending.

Overall Score:

.5

Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers

Those who have read my review of Cracked Up to Be might remember me saying that wasn't the book which made me fall in love with Summers' writing. That honour belongs to this book right here.

Some Girls Are is not an easy book to read but trust me, it is so, so worth it. It's gritty, it's powerful, it's so ugly at times that it can drive you into despair but there's something beautiful about the emotional punch it packs. Essentially, this tells the story of a queen bee's fall from grace and it holds nothing back. This is bullying at its very worst. Does it cross the line into unrealistic? I really, really hope so. I don't want to believe that the stuff in this book actually happens on a regular basis.

The hardest thing to read though is the ending. Why? Because there's no satisfying revenge! Throughout the whole novel I was screaming for Regina to retaliate, do something to bring them down. And to be fair she does, it just isn't nearly enough. Then again though, this also adds to the realism of the book. Sometimes people do get away with terrible stuff.

The ending was annoying for another reason too in that it didn't quite satisfy me. In some ways, an open ending was the perfect way to end it but at the same time some closure would have been nice. This is clearly a feature of Summers' writing though in general, given I had the same feeling after finishing Cracked Up to Be and This is Not a Test. Another feature of Summers' writing is great minor characters. Every person in this book feels like they could be real and it's wonderful to read a book with such depth.

Personally, I think this is a book that every girl (if not everyone) should read at some point in their lives. It's difficult to say that I enjoyed reading it because it is fairly brutal but I definitely loved it. Any book which can promote such strong emotions without resorting to cheap methods deserves credit.

Overall Score:

.5

Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers

I'm just going to come out and say it right now. I am a huge Courtney Summers fan. I discovered her books last summer and after reading almost all of them, I fell 100% in love with her style. Cracked Up to Be is her first book and the first one I read. But it's not the one which made me fall in love with her.

Don't get me wrong, Cracked Up to Be is a solid book. It tells the story of Parker Fadley, a girl who used to be Little Miss Perfect but has fallen from grace. I know, I know-standard YA fare right? You'd expect this book to be utterly tedious, full of first-world problems and an ex-cheerleader's whiny ranting. You'd expect it to be predictable with your standard high school stereotypes who all act like complete idiots just to prolong the inevitable conclusion. You'd expect it to not be worth reading.

Trust me when I say this novel lives up to its name. Parker is definitely a disturbed girl and better still, she's written accurately as one. This is no toned-down, light and fluffy story. It might not be as brutal as some of her other works but the characters have real problems and they act like it too. True, the side characters are sometimes a bit flat and not really developed enough to seem truly realistic. But what is realistic is the way Parker is shown to deal with things and really, it's almost disturbing to read at times. Kudos to Summers too for not going with the expected 'horrible incident' either. I definitely did not guess how this book was going to turn out and that's refreshing considering how the concept of popular girls with dark secrets is hardly a new one.

So why does this book not get 5 stars? Well as I mentioned, the characters fall a little short sometimes. The ending itself is also a little unsatisfying as it doesn't really come to a solid conclusion (which I don't always need but it would have been nice in this case) On the whole though, Cracked Up to Be is definitely worth checking out. It might not be Summers' best but as far as books go, it's still pretty damn good

Overall Score: