Written by Hillary Tagliafierro
Do you like deeper meanings and dark themes in your YA contemporaries? Have you never heard of Courtney Summers? Or you have only read her latest book, Sadie? Then this article is for you!
Courtney Summers is a Canadian young adult author, and she’s extremely talented. You just can’t put down her books and they are incredibly real, brutal, and raw that sometimes it’s impossible to not shiver over her beautiful writing and dark stories. Finishing her books always leaves you with a heart-wrenching pain, so you have been warned!
I love hearing reactions to my books, how I’ve destroyed their lives. There’s something gratifying about that. I feel very lucky to be able to experience that. – Courtney Summers to Publishers Weekly
Her characters are equally rounded and complex, but it’s her female main characters that always steal the scene. Her girls are strong-willed and defy society rules in their own way. They know they don’t have to be nice to survive this world, and they show it in every powerful and meaningful action.
It was great seeing everyone raving about Sadie in 2018, but Courtney is also truly underrated and deserves more readers. Read on to find out which of her books grabs your attention first, so you can start reading it right away. But don’t blame us for your new bookish addiction! Or on the other hand, if you already love all Courtney Summer’s books, read on for bonus book recommendations!
Cracked Up To Be
Parker was a perfect student and cheerleader captain before something terrible happened and she started drinking, failing her classes and considering suicide. Nobody knows what happened and she’s not talking.
“The sooner you make a mistake and learn to live with it, the better. You’re not responsible for everything. You can’t control the way things end up.”
Some Girls Are
Regina was part of the most popular group of friends in high school, till rumours about her and her best friend’s boyfriend spread out. Now she’s cast out from her popular clique and her ex-best friends seek revenge.
“I wonder if, even after all of this, he understands how fragile good things are in my hands and how many times they’ve been taken away from me.”
Fall For Anything
Eddie’s life was good till her photographer father mysteriously committed suicide. Now she wants to find out why as she looks for clues with her father’s only student and her best friend.
“You know,” she says. “You’re still alive. I don’t know how many different ways I can try to tell you before it finally sinks in.”
This Is Not A Test (and Please Remain Calm)
Sloane has survived the zombie apocalypse and is now barricaded in the local high school with five classmates who, contrary to her, actually want to live.
“I woke up and the last piece of my heart disappeared. I opened my eyes and I felt it go.”
All The Rage
Romy accused Kellan, the sheriff’s son, of raping her but nobody in town believed her. Since the entire town is shaming her, she keeps to herself till a girl with ties to Kellan goes missing. Now she has to decide if she wants to stand up to her even if everyone thinks she’s a liar.
“There’s a girl out there everyone thinks is dead and maybe she is because you know all the ways there are to kill a girl? I do.”
Sadie
Sadie embarked on a journey to avenge the death of her little sister. She never came back home, so many months later, West McCray tries to find her with the help of a true crime podcast.
Everyone is perfect in that indistinct way most characters are and every perfectly constructed scene in their fictional lives is somehow more real than anything you’ve known or lived. Love stories, romances, leave a person secure in the knowledge they’ll end Happily Ever After and who wouldn’t want a story like that? I wish this was a love story because I know how it goes in one like mine, where the only moments of reprieve are the spaces between its lines.
BONUS RECOMMENDATIONS
If you love Courtney Summers and you’ve already read all her books, check out Amber Smith’s books! She delves into similar themes, has a flowy writing style, and perfectly describes difficult traumas her characters are going through.
The Way I Used To Be
Eden had just started high school when her brother’s best friend assaulted her during the night in her own bed. She now struggles throughout her high school firsts while trying to move on with her own strength.
Maybe he’ll get what he deserves. Maybe not. Maybe I’ll never find it in my heart to forgive him. And maybe there’s nothing wrong with that, either. All those maybes swimming around my head make me think that “maybe” could just be another word for hope.
The Last To Let Go
Brooke has finally managed to transfer school when her mother is suddenly arrested for killing her abusive father. Brooke and her siblings are now left to fend on their own.
I think about this time next week, this time next month, this time next year, five years, ten years from now, measuring out the distance to a time when things will be normal, when things will make sense, when things will be right again.
