by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian
Hardcover, 368 pages
Published September 18th 2012 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
ISBN 1442440759 (ISBN13: 9781442440753)


Blurb

BIG GIRLS DON’T CRY…
THEY GET EVEN.

Lillia has never had any problems dealing with boys who like her. Not until this summer, when one went too far. No way will she let the same thing happen to her little sister.

Kat is tired of the rumours, the insults, the cruel jokes. It all goes back to one person– her ex-best friend– and she’s ready to make her pay.

Four years ago, Mary left Jar Island because of a boy. But she’s not the same girl anymore. And she’s ready to prove it to him.

Three very different girls who want the same thing: sweet, sweet revenge. And they won’t stop until they each had a taste.

The Good

  1. The character development.  The narrators of the story felt very real. I think part of the reason for this is because they are, on the surface, traditional stereotypes. Lillian: the rich, pretty, popular, but still nice one. Kat: the smoker rebel with a kind of rough home life, unwilling to let anything get in the way of her overcoming the odds and getting a one way ticket out of her hometown and into a better life. Mary: the quiet, kind of strange loner who seems harmless enough. But this book takes you past those stereotypes in a way that was surprisingly not super cheesy.

  2. The pace.  The book felt like it drug a little in the beginning, but it did help to set the tone and give a good understanding of the characters, making the rest of the book better because of it. Once the revenge starts, the book was very fast-paced without feeling rushed.

  3. Mary.  I really liked all the narrators, but my favorite character was Mary. Her back story was the best and most fleshed out, and her unexplained powers (or paranoia?) made her more intriguing to me than the other two girls.

  4. The ending.  As I got closer to the end of the book I kept thinking, “There is no way they are going to be able to wrap this thing up in that many pages.” And guess what? They don’t. It is the biggest cliff-hanger I have read in a while. And it gave me goosebumps.


The Bad

  1. The revenge plans.  While the act of the characters going through the planning and executing of the revenge plans was interesting, the plans themselves were mediocre. I was expecting something more epic or evil, I guess.


Overall Rating

I really doubted I would like this book but I picked it up because the reviews for it seemed promising. I was pleasantly surprised, and I will definitely be picking up the next book in the series as soon as it comes out. I can’t wait!