Book Review: Fall for Anything

Courtney Summers skyrocketed to the top of my favorite authors' list with Cracked Up To Be and Some Girls Are. Her nitty-gritty, realistic approach toward a teenage girl's life is engrossing and captivating. So I was pretty sure Fall for Anything was going to knock my socks off.

Sadly, no socks went flying. Though it might have rolled them down a bit.

According to the book's blurb:

When Eddie Reeves’s father commits suicide her life is consumed by the nagging question of why? Why when he was a legendary photographer and a brilliant teacher? Why when he seemed to find inspiration in everything he saw? And, most important, why when he had a daughter who loved him more than anyone else in the world? When she meets Culler Evans, a former student of her father’s and a photographer himself, an instant and dangerous attraction begins. Culler seems to know more about her father than she does and could possibly hold the key to the mystery surrounding his death. But Eddie’s vulnerability has weakened her and Culler Evans is getting too close. Her need for the truth keeps her hanging on...but are some questions better left unanswered?


Seriously, it sounds great. But I think I psyched myself up for it a little too much. And when it was all said and done, I kept thinking "If I had written this book, this is what I would have done..." which is pretty dang snobby of me.

But, like Eddie, I wanted answers. And I wanted drama. Culler Evans has such potential to be a creeptastic creep, but it seems like Summers shies away from that at the very end. It's hard to elaborate without giving away the entire plot, but I fully expected Culler to be A) the answer to Eddie's questions or B) be the thing that finally breaks her. But he ended up doing neither. I wanted fireworks and  all I got was fizzle. And, of course, (SPOILER) there is never really an answer why her father killed himself. Which, granted, is the way things can be in real life, but, call me crazy, if we spend an entire novel chasing for the answer, I expect to get one at the end. Even if it's not a pretty one. I want some sort of satisfaction. This story felt circular. It ends right where it started, without any significant changes to the main character or her motivations. It was frustrating.

And yet, I still liked it. It's very frustrating, circular, soul-crushing emptiness is just so RIGHT for the subject matter. Suicide is not easily explained or excused, and Summers was true to that idea to the end, leaving the reader just as confused and lost as Eddie. Just for that, I have to recommend this read.

(But I think I should stop reading books dealing with suicide, as they always tick me off.)

Rating: 4 stars (out of five)

Book Review: Some Girls Are

Once I find an author who rocks my socks off, I tend to pick up all their books and devour them like a pint of Cherry Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream. That's what led me to Courtney Summers' Some Girls Are. I read Cracked Up To Be and LOVED it. It was powerful, it was unique, it was so utterly YA and yet completely NOT what most YA delivers (a cheesy romance that would never last IRL). Summers' stories are about girls trying to find themselves in the midst of inner and outward turmoil. Discovering the best and worst facets of their personality and, ultimately, growing up.

But there are still boys. Of course there are boys. What teenage girl can live without a boy, right? But Summers' romance is like the chocolate drizzle on a sumptuous sundae (okay, I want ice cream now). It's not all about the lusty moans and starry eyes (if at all). Summers' romance is--OMG--REALISTIC.

Realistic romance! What a concept!

According to the book's blurb:

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.

Since I'm a character junkie, this book was totally right for me. Regina is so REAL. I started off not liking her, not feeling sorry for her, but just sort of pitying her. But one thing Summers does well is flesh out her characters. No one (not even the antagonists) are shallow, superficial or one-dimensional. No one is wholly evil or wholly good. It's like--say it with me--REAL LIFE.

The one thing that kept me from giving this book five stars was the ending. It almost seemed too easy. But I've spent a lot of time thinking about it and now I'm not sure if it was as easy as I thought or if it, too, was just realistic. After all, some things (even feuds) just sort of lose steam after a while, right? But, bloodthirsty wench that I am, I wanted a few more cat-fights before things settled. Sigh.

Rating (out of five stars): 4.5
Recommended: Yes. Please, please, please read this if, like me, you're sick of emo vamps, brawny werewolves, sexy faeries and CONTRIVED LOVE TRIANGLES. Here's a dose of real life for you.