Playing Favorites with Courtney Summers

It has been said that playing favorites isn't nice, but sometimes it's impossible not to! Join me weekly at The Hiding Spot as I share a favorite author... and the author shares a few favorite things of their own.

COURTNEY SUMMERS

Genre: Contemporary YA

Books:

Cracked Up to Be (2008)

Some Girls Are (2010) Review

Mean girls and emotionally charged novels are Courtney Summers' specialty. Filled with main characters you hate to love, brutal emotion, and dark themes, both of Summers' novels are must reads for teens and adults.

MY FAVORITES

Novel: Some Girls Are

It was hard to choose a favorite between Summers' two amazing novels! Perhaps it's simply because I read SGA more recently, but it came out slightly ahead.

Character: Regina

Regina is absolutely, perfectly horrible. She's the epitome of the mean girl in all of us... and the fact that some part of me identifies with her creates a bond that has me forgiving her transgressions and cheering her on. Well, cheering on the good decisions anyway.

Quote: "I elbow my way through the mass of people to get to my locker because there's something immensely satisfying about the toughest part of my arm connecting with the softest part of everyone else."

This quote, from page 3 of Cracked Up to Be, sets the tone for both of Summers' novels.

THE FAVORITE FAVORS

Author: Robert Cormier.

Everything he writes is incredible and difficult in the best of ways.

Quote: "I have always believed in the principle that immediate survival is more important than long-term survival." - Jack McClelland

I just love this quote and revisit it a lot.

Song: Toto's Africa!

Do I even have to explain this one? I run away screaming from people who do not love this song.

Animal: Birds!
I love any and all types of birds. I've had quite a few as pets growing up. They're wonderful.

Word: Fisticuffs.
Just say it out loud! Have you said it yet? See what I mean? Typing it is also fun. That is why it is my most favourite word ever.

For more information about Courtney and her novels

check out the links below:

Interview at The Hiding Spot

Website

Twitter

GoodReads

Review: This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers

It’s the end of the world. Six students have taken cover in Cortege High but shelter is little comfort when the dead outside won’t stop pounding on the doors. One bite is all it takes to kill a person and bring them back as a monstrous version of their former self. To Sloane Price, that doesn’t sound so bad. 

Six months ago, her world collapsed and since then, she’s failed to find a reason to keep going. Now seems like the perfect time to give up. As Sloane eagerly waits for the barricades to fall, she’s forced to witness the apocalypse through the eyes of five people who actually want to live. But as the days crawl by, the motivations for survival change in startling ways and soon the group’s fate is determined less and less by what’s happening outside and more and more by the unpredictable and violent bids for life—and death—inside. When everything is gone, what do you hold on to?

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I'm in awe of Courtney Summers. I've come to the conclusion that she can't write anything I won't end up in love with. 


I'm completely freaked out my zombies in realistic settings - because I seriously believe that the zombie apocalypse will happen someday and I am so, so screwed - but I couldn't pass up a book by Summers. Honestly, I've become dependent on the fact that she releases a new novel every year, and I couldn't not read This Is Not a Test just because zombies and gore make me a bit nauseous. And, though I can't say that any of Summers' novels are particularly happy, I find them oddly comforting. These are the novels that people refer to when they say reading makes them feel understood and less alone.


The best thing about This Is Not a Test is that yes, it's a zombie book, but it is so much more than that. For me, it was everything I loved about Summers' past novels, including the intense emotion, flawed characters, and desperate situations PLUS zombies. I mean, Summers' novels always crackle with intensity, so much so that I didn't believe she could turn it any higher, but she definitely proved me wrong.


I've yet to stop myself from falling in love with all of characters in Summers' books. It's a bit ridiculous really. I've even gone so far as to name pets after them. (Okay, one pet. My cat, Milo, is named after a character from Fall for Anything.) Like Summers' past novels, the characters in This Is Not a Test each have a distinct personality. I always feel that I truly understand what motivates each character's actions and emotions, whether they're the main character or small, seemingly unimportant character.


I can't stress enough how much I adore each and every novel Summers' has written and, though This Is Not a Test is in some ways a departure from her previous novels, it is, at it's core, what readers have come to expect from  her. Plus zombies. And while this book may sound horribly bleak, I've come to find that Summers' always leaves her characters, and her readers, with a shimmering ray of hope. Even during the zombie apocalypse.

St. Martin's Griffin, June 2012, Hardcover, ISBN: 9780312656744, 320 pages.

Review: Fall for Anything by Courtney Summers

Title: Fall for Anything
Author: Courtney Summers
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Pub. Date: December 2010
Genre: Contemporary YA
Keywords: Grief, Suicide, Love, Lies, Secrets
Pages: 240
Description (from arc):
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 had a daughter who loved him more than anyone else in the world? When she meets Culler Evans, former student of her father's and a photographer himself, an instant and dangerous attraction begins. He 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 some questions should be left unanswered.

Courtney Summers is the Queen of Mean; she holds hold court over characters that readers love to hate... and just plain love. Readers are well aware that Summers can write a compelling mean girl, but, with FALL FOR ANYTHING, she shows us that she can write vulnerable and broken with just as much skill.

I quickly realized that Eddie wasn't anything like Summers' previous two main characters, Parker and Regina. Eddie has never dated the most popular guy in school, she doesn't bully, and, most notably, she doesn't  hide her pain and vulnerability behind a mean exterior. She's had one best friend, Milo, for years, and, except for the occasional girlfriend, it's them against the world. That is, until her father commits suicide, Milo refuses to talk about what happened that fateful night, and Eddie meets Culler Evans.

Eddie's quest to find the reason for father's sudden death is painfully sad and incredibly moving. The novel begins "My hands are dying" and this line stayed with me throughout the novel. Since the night her father died, of which she only has a hazy, incomplete memory, Eddie does not feel alive. She constantly analyzes her father's actions, his words, his life, looking for the reason behind his departure. And when Culler Evans, her father's student whom she's never met, reaches out to her, she holds on for dear life because he's the only person who makes her feels alive. For the first time, something and someone has come between Eddie and Milo, despite the fact that Eddie might need Milo now more than ever.


I'll openly admit that I love everything I've read by Summers, so maybe my opinion regarding this novel is biased... or maybe, my love for her previous novels, CRACKED UP TO BE and SOME GIRLS ARE, and newfound adoration for FALL FOR ANYTHING, offers proof of just how wonderful her stories and characters are and will convince you to pick up these titles for your own collection.

Interview & Giveaway with Courtney Summers, author of All the Rage

I'm so happy to welcome Courtney Summers back to The Hiding Spot to chat about her newest novel, All the Rage. I have been a huge fan of Courtney's writing for years and truly love every one of her novels, but it's All the Rage that, for me, has resonated the most. If you've never read a novel from Courtney, now would be a perfect time to start. If you're already a fan, do not miss this new book! Don't forget to check out my other interviews with Courtney, as well as reviews of her books, here.

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In which ways would you say All the Rage is like and unlike your other books?

I think a lot of the hallmarks of my fiction are in there—people tend to expect dark and gritty books from me and everything I learned from my previous novels went into this one, so it’s my darkest and grittiest yet. It’s probably one of the most emotional. My long-time readers might be surprised to see supportive, present parents in All the Rage. Parents don’t often get much page-time in my novels. :)

Did a particular person, event, or place inspire this novel?

No particular person or place or a specific event inspired it, but All the Rage is definitely a response to rape culture and victim-blaming and is a reflection of the world we live in now.

It’s word association time! List 5 words that will give readers a brief impression of All the Rage.

Feminist, Girls, Red, Fury, Consequences.

About the Book:

The sheriff's son, Kellan Turner, is not the golden boy everyone thinks he is, and Romy Grey knows that for a fact. Because no one wants to believe a girl from the wrong side of town, the truth about him has cost her everything-friends, family, and her community. Branded a liar and bullied relentlessly by a group of kids she used to hang out with, Romy's only refuge is the diner where she works outside of town. No one knows her name or her past there; she can finally be anonymous. But when a girl with ties to both Romy and Kellan goes missing after a party, and news of him assaulting another girl in a town close by gets out, Romy must decide whether she wants to fight or carry the burden of knowing more girls could get hurt if she doesn't speak up. Nobody believed her the first time-and they certainly won't now-but the cost of her silence might be more than she can bear.
With a shocking conclusion and writing that will absolutely knock you out, All the Rage examines the shame and silence inflicted upon young women in a culture that refuses to protect them.

 About the Author:

Courtney Summers lives and writes in Canada, where she divides most of her time between a camera, a piano and a word processing program. She is also the author of What Goes Around, This is Not a Test, Fall for Anything, Some Girls Are, Cracked Up to Be, and Please Remain Calm. Learn more about Courtney at her website: http://courtneysummers.ca/

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