Wish You Were Dead by Todd Strasser

Str-S-d:
I’ll begin with Lucy. She is definitely first on the list. You can’t believe how it feels to be in the cafeteria and turn around and there she is staring at me like I’m some disgusting bug or vermin. Does she really think I WANT to be this way? I hate you, Lucy. I really hate you. You are my #1 pick. I wish you were dead.

The day after anonymous blogger Str-S-d wishes the popular girl would die, Lucy vanishes. The students of Soundview High are scared and worried. Especially frightened and wracked with guilt is Madison Archer, Lucy’s friend and the last person to see her the night she disappeared.

As days pass with no sign of the missing girl, even the attention of Tyler, an attractive new student, is not enough to distract Madison from her growing sense of foreboding. When two more popular students disappear after their names are mentioned on Str-S-d’s blog, the residents of Soundview panic.

Meanwhile, Madison receives anonymous notes warning that she could be next. Desperate to solve the mystery before anyone else disappears, Madison turns to Tyler, but can she trust him when it becomes clear that he knows more than he’s sharing?

The clock is ticking. Madison must uncover the truth behind the mysterious disappearances . . . before her name appears in Str-S-d’s blog.

-Amazon product description

Without giving anything away-- I loved this book. It was fast paced and at some points I was genuinely scared for the characters. Wish You Were Dead is like the perfect blend of Law & Order: SVU meets Silence of the Lambs meets I Know What You Did Last Summer (a comparison made on the book jacket I definitely agree with). Supposedly this is the first installment of a "thrill-ology" by Todd Strasser, but I'm not sure as to whether the next couple books will be a continuation of this one, or two separate storylines. Either way, this book has a great storyline and is a pretty good mystery novel.

-Sam

Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers

Regina Afton seemingly has it all. Her best friend is Anna, the head of the most popular clique in school; The Fearsome Fivesome, she has a steady boyfriend named Josh, and gets invited to the best parties. However, toward the end of her senior year, Regina attends a party that changes everything.

After entrusting her secret to someone she should not have, Regina's friends begin to give her the "freeze-out". This freeze-out isn't just a simple 'we're not friends anymore' type... this kind does damage. Constantly bullied and ridiculed, Regina longs for any type of friendship just so she doesn't have to feel so alone.

Enter Michael Hayden. Having lost his mother in a terrible freak accident the year before, and having been the subject of countless cruel rumors and pranks by Regina and her friends, he is reluctant to even speak to Regina. Like everyone else, he absolutely hates her. Can Regina find a way to win over Michael's friendship? Or is she just destined to spend the rest of senior year in pain... or possibly just end it all?

Some Girls Are is a novel that basically takes the premise of Mean Girls and kicks it into overdrive. It is very intense, sad, and sickening. The worst part, however, is that no matter how the scenarios are exaggerated, it is still rings true. Every school has that one clique that no one likes, but everyone has to pretend to worship for fear of retaliation. A fantastic book that will leave the reader with a sense of "Do Something". To anyone reading this review, if you or someone you know is being bullied, please please please seek help. No one has the right to treat anyone like garbage or make them feel useless.

-Sam