The Secret Sisterhood of Heartbreakers by Lynn Weingarten

Title: The Secret Sisterhood of Heartbreakers
Author: Lynn Weingarten
Published: December 2011 by HarperTeen

My Rating: 4.5 stars
Tags: YA | Romance | Girls | Paranormal | Magic
Includes: Sensuality, Profanity

First Lines: In the beginning, there was Lucy Wrenn, standing all alone out in front of her school on the first day of sophomore year, with a seductive little message written on her stomach in Sharpie marker.

After spending an entire summer apart from her boyfriend Alex, Lucy is beyond excited to see him on the first day of school. What she wasn't expecting was that he was going to break up with her instead. Then along comes Olivia, a fierce senior who has a cure for Lucy's broken heart. All she has to do is make a guy fall in love with her within seven days, then break his heart and collect one of his teardrops. With the help of Olivia, her two friends, Gin and Liza, and a little magic, Lucy takes up their offer and embarks on becoming a Heartbreaker.

Lucy was a girl blind with love. Her character was sweet and lovable, but my goodness she was NEEDY. After a few chapters reading about how in love with Alex she was and how impossible it would be to live life without him, I wanted to slap some sense into the young girl. Sure, heartbreak sucks but life goes on! However, if Lucy's character was different and she was actually very independent, then it would change the entire story. So even though at first it was annoying to see how desperate she was to get back with Alex, it really set the stage for the rest of the book. Lucy was relatable, realistic, and one determined girl. And even though the story was told in third person, I really grew to understand Lucy well and was put on a personal level with her.

I adored Weingarten's beautiful writing! She wrote so vividly, including little details that most authors would overlook. Being able to read about the descriptive sights, sounds, smells, and tastes created a lively, clear visual. It really impressed me that she included all of the different senses to make it feel like I was actually in the book, too.

From page 62
Lucy stood near the front of the room looking for Alex. She had been waiting months for this, their first photo class together. She's spent hours and hours watching little movies in her head about it - she and Alex holding hands during lectures, she and Alex kissing secretly under that warm, red darkroom light surrounded by the harsh photo chemicals that would smell delicious to her because she was smelling them with him.

The other characters in the story were also deeply developed and I'm crossing my fingers that there will be many scenes with them in the sequel! Tristan, Lucy's best friend, was one of my favorites and I definitely have a fictional crush on him. The three Heartbreakers themselves - Olivia, Liza, and Gin - were so much fun to read about and each had rich, memorable personas. I grew to have a strong opinion about each and every character in the book...don't even get me started about Alex. This was such a creative tale and I loved the mix of magic and realism. There were some really deep and thought-provoking scenes in the book, along with intriguing quotes (that I shamefully dog-eared) to reread again and again.

Cover Thoughts: Gorgeous! The cover itself is what initially drew me to the book and is so eye-catching. Plus, I love how the picture of the girl blowing glitter completely relates to the story and is not just a pretty photograph.