The Secret Sisterhood of Heartbreakers [Hardcover]

Lucy Wrenn hasn't seen her boyfriend Alex all summer, as he's been in Colorado. She's really excited on the first day school, because she will finally get to see him. When she does, he surprises her by breaking up with her. Her heart broken, she isn't sure how she is going to survive first period, let alone the rest of her life.

Sobbing her heart out in the bathroom, a beautiful senior, Olivia, enters and offers her handkerchief and an invitation to her home if she wants her to help her. Lucy isn't sure what Olivia can do to cure a broken heart but she is intrigued and willing to do anything.

That evening, Lucy meets Olivia at her house, as well as Liza and Gil, the Secret Sisterhood of the Heartbreakers. They tell Lucy that in order for her heart to heal, she needs the tears of another brokenhearted. Only then will she received the magic to cure her heart. Basically, she has to make someone fall in love with her in seven days and then break their heart.

Lucy privately thinks that it's just what she needs - something to get Alex to fall back in love with her. She just won't break his heart. But no matter what she tries, Alex brushes her off. The girls make-over Lucy and she has new confidence, boys are paying attention to her. She begins acting different, shrugging off invites from her best friend and still trying to come up with a way for Alex to remember he loves her. When she passes a test the sisters give her, Lucy decides she wants nothing to do with them and their magic anymore. However, the heart works in mysterious ways and Lucy isn't prepared for what happens next. It sets her whole world atilt.

The Secret Sisterhood of Heartbreakers is a mesmerizing tale of new love, growing up, cliques and a splash of magic. With twists and turns, the story remains fresh and entertaining throughout to the surprising ending. The characters are compelling and modern, with only a spattering of cursing and adult situations, making this enthralling story suitable for older teenagers or adults alike.

Lucy is so excited about her boyfriend's return from his summer trip; she has a surprise for him. Instead, it is she who gets a surprise, when he breaks up with her. Heartbroken and devastated, Lucy finds herself desperate to get him back. When Lucy is approached by three mysterious girls, and recruited to join their group of heartbreakers, she wonders to what lengths will she go in order to get what she wants?

When I first read the book description, I thought the concept sounded a little hokey and immature, particularly since this is a young adult novel. I doubted it would hold my attention, but decided to give it a shot. I was pleasantly surprised. I found the characters and plot both well developed and deftly executed.

This is a story with which so many teens can relate; how many of us suffered a heartbreak in high school? What would we have done if someone promised us we would never feel that kind of pain again? Teenage heartbreak is the worst, and I can certainly see the appeal of this story. I did feel like the book was a bit darker than I thought it would be, and the language was a bit rough, but neither of these things is unusual in mainstream young adult fiction.

I am sure there will be discussion on both sides about how this book is empowering to women and young girls, allowing them to own their sexual power. Similarly, the book can be seen as objectifying men a bit, using them as a means to an end. But I am choosing to not look quite so deeply for a sinister motive, or a voice of the female gender. Instead, I see this as sort of a young adult fairy tale, with a complex ending neither all happy for all sad.

The book will clearly appeal to young adult readers, particularly females, and anyone who remembers their first broken heart.

Itty Bitty Shallow Alert: I totally picked up The Secret Sisterhood of Heartbreakers because I loved the cover (I know, I know... But it's purty). That being said, I didn't have high expectations for The Secret Sisterhood of Heartbreakers. The premise of the book just made it seem very shallow (like the Gossip Girl books) that had the cover not been so mystifying (and sparkly), I would've just kept scrolling down my Amazon Vine Newsletter. But the cover was mystifying and sparkly and therefore, I read The Secret Sistherhood of Heartbreakers and I'm so very glad I did.

In the full interest of disclosure, I'm going to say that the main character, Lucy, is the type of girl I despise. You know, the type who's always hung up on her boyfriend and is clingy, whiny, and a tad bit obsessive (Yeah chicks, deal. It's not cute nor attractive in the least)? Well, that was Lucy. But for some really strange reason, she didn't annoy me the way a character (or real life person) like that usually annoys me. For some reason, I understood where she was coming from and why she was acting the way she was. Not because of her boyfriend (or ex-boyfriend) cause God knows he was no prize and was a total tool, but mostly because she was being clingy due to massive insecurity which, let's face it, we girls are almost always plagued with at one time or another. Now, I'm not saying that Lucy was endearing by any means because she wasn't, but I felt that there was more to her than the typical clingy, whiny girl that can't stop talking about her boyfriend because she loves that attention.

Now, again, the reason The Secret Sisterhood of Heartbreakers was such a massive surprise was because I thought it was going to be all fluffy (and again shallow) and a bit on the juvenile side (moreso than your typical YA novel), but that wasn't the case. Don't get me wrong, the book did have it's fluffy and light-hearted parts, but it was also a bit on the deep side. There was an underlying message that girls should be who they are and be confident about who they are because who they are has the potential to be great. This book is sort of "YAY us girls" and I liked that about it. That's not saying that it's all "Screw guys!" because it's not. I just felt that there was a small sense of empowerment in The Secret Sisterhood of Heartbreakers that you don't tend to see in the fluffy YA novels (but are all the rage in the post-apocalyptic/dystopian YA novels).

The magic in The Secret Sisterhood of Heartbreakers was a bit understated. I mean, it's no Charmed (which is my favorite show ever so everything I ever talk about will eventually come full circle to talking about Charmed again) with magic looming left and right, but again, this is something I liked about it because it still gave the book an air of mystery even when I was reaching the end. I felt that there are still many unanswered questions about the Heartbreakers, but not an annoying "this book seems unfinshed way", but rather in a "I can't WAIT to find out more about them in the next book" kind of way.

Speaking of the Heartbreakers, another thing I loved about this book was that all of the initial Heartbreakers were so different from one another. Eli is the sweet one (which is sort of baffling when you consider she is a heartbreaker), Liza is the one you love to hate, and Olivia is the one you don't know crap about, so that makes her immediately a bit scary cause you don't know what makes her snap. And before you get all "Dude, they're heartbreakers. That's so NOT cool", let me say this: these Heartbreakers only break the hearts of the guys who truly deserve it (i.e. the tools of the world). So, that makes you root for the Heartbreakers even more.

Long story, short: Pick up The Secret Sisterhood of Heartbreakers in 2012. Make it the last book you will ever read if those rumors of the world ending are true. It's dazzling, mystifying, funny, fluffy with shadings of deep attached to it (the book, not the world that may be ending). Plus, it's an incredibly quick read (read it in one sitting) and that makes it THAT much better.