Book Review: Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers

Regina was one of the most popular girls at school until she is accused of sleeping with her best-friend's boyfriend.  Despite the fact that what really happened was anything but consensual, Regina becomes the target of her one-time friends, who decide to make her life at school miserable. 

Writing
Fine.  I think the author did a good job of capturing the voice of teens, but it was typical YA fare.  Nothing jumped out at me either way.

Entertainment Value
Excellent.  I read it in one sitting over the course of about two hours on a rainy Sunday afternoon.  It's a quick read and engrossing.  I appreciated Regina as a character - incredibly difficult to like, but also somewhat sympathetic.  Even as you know she doesn't deserve sympathy, you can't help but feel for her. 

As far as believability is concerned, I think the love-interest aspect is far-fetched.  The story could have carried itself just find without including a romance - and the romance takes away from the story itself in this case.  It makes the plot harder to believe and Regina's character a less sympathetic for me.  Yeah, sure, she's tormented and loses all her friends in addition to this horrific incident that inspired the whole plot, but, consolation prize, she gets a hot angsty boy to make out with.  I wish YA authors in general (and I'm sure there are exceptions to this rule) would realize that readers can appreciate a book like Some Girls Are, even if there isn't kissing and even if the main character doesn't wind up with a boyfriend by the end.

Overall - yeah, I'd definitely recommend it.  It's a fast read on an interesting and timely topic, even if it doesn't always ring 100% true.