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So I read Rebel Belle last month and I was so ready to love this book. With all the hype I thought the book would be better. Don't get me wrong I really liked this book but I thought it would be better. Anyone else feel this way?

I've not heard of this book. What is it about?

This book is about this high school girl who gets into the mess of having super powers, kind of. With the new 'super powers' she has she has to defend a certain person that she does not expect. The book has a lot of action in it which I liked but the main character was not relatable for me.

4 stars

Lately, it feels as if, more often than not, I'm let down by the books I read. I was in a real slump, continuously reading novels that didn’t hold my interest enough to turn the pages quickly. So imagine my absolute delight to come upon Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins and find myself, well, having fun. It’s so rare to come upon a book that just makes me smile when I read it. Now, I’m not saying that there weren’t serious moments, because there were, but it was mostly light-hearted, entertaining, and a pure pleasure to read. And from there, I’m trying to come up with the best way to describe this book.

This was my first experience with reading Hawkins but I dare say that it won’t be the last. There was no complex world, no complex plot, and there wasn’t anything else that might be complex in your typical YA book. Yet, it so completely captured me that I am entirely eager for the sequel. So what do I think made this book as wonderful as it was? The genius behind the characters. And when I say genius, what I really mean is realistic, in a Southern sort of way, that is. Hawkins crafted a cast of characters that made me believe in them and, even more important, made me want to hang out with them.

Harper Price was a perfect mixture of typical teenage girl, Southern Belle, and priority driven adult in the making. She had her entire life mapped out, every minute consumed by some extracurricular activity that would get her into the best college possible. That all changes when she merely forgets her Coral Shimmer lip gloss the night she’s set to receive the tiara for Homecoming Queen and is forced to use her best friend’s shade of Salmon Fantasy, which requires her to go into the restroom (the site of her life changing event) to ensure the color doesn't clash with her dress. “Seriously, lip gloss?” you say with loads of sarcastic disbelief. I know, it seems silly, right? But it completely works because, aside from its amazing character building, this book is built around its sense of humor. And, if this book did nothing else, it certainly made me laugh.

"I felt like I had stepped into a nightmare. Five minutes ago my main concern had been whether Salmon Fantasy would clash with my pink dress. Now I was cradling a dying man on the bathroom floor while some crazy person pounded on the door."

But back to the characters. Right down to the miniscule secondary characters that don’t appear often, they are well-rounded and I felt like I could picture every single one of them with perfect clarity. Take Mary Beth for example. While she does have quite a bit of significance in the book, and I’m fairly certain she’s someone I should hate, her few appearances made me feel like I knew her, and also made me like her. I always remembered that she was the girl who was wobbly in heels and despised (under her breath, of course) the whole Cotillion event that this novel focuses on. Little details are exposed here and there that made Mary Beth feel real, made her feel present, and made her important.

One thing that normally turns me off in a YA novel is the love triangle. They’re overdone. They’re cliché. And I’m tired of these girls who are pulled back and forth in an annoying sort of way that makes me want to scream at their idiocy. But it’s different here. Part of that is because both Ryan and David are good guys that you’ll adore, but, if you’re like me, you’ll find yourself pulling for one to end up with Harper, and the other to end up with another of the characters because it’s what feels right. This triangle is also done up with an unexpected twist at the end, which was another thing that I enjoyed about this novel. The ending did not go as I’d thought it would. Most of the time, endings are fairly predictable so I really love when one surprises me.

As I mentioned above, this is a difficult book to describe, which makes it a difficult book to review. If you’re looking for a book that doesn’t make you think too hard but does keep you thoroughly entertained as you turn the pages, then this is the book for you.