I guess, in a very roundabout sort of way, The Secret Sisterhood of Heartbreakers is supposed to be a story of self-love. At least that's the idea shoved into the last sixty pages, the moral at the end of the Saturday morning cartoon that makes purpose out of the previous fifty-nine minutes of gratuitous violence. Reading pages of dopey descriptions of Lucy's love for her ex-boyfriend, ignoring the painfully obvious signs that her best friend is in love with her, it all leads up to those little lines at the end: it wasn't that she wasn't good enough for her ex, it was that she wasn't good enough for herself. Which is an incredibly important lesson to impart on young girls.

If only it wasn't done on a backdrop of cheating, bitching, and heartbreaking for fun.

I guess that moral in of itself wouldn't have been very much fun if presented on its own, and you could argue that by showing Lucy vomiting her emotions across the page, this book could appeal to girls in similar situations, thus drawing them in and bringing them to this message of hope at the end. And I hope that this book did do that, because other than the fact that it might remind some younger teens out there to love themselves, there's literally no other point in reading this book. The magic lore is glossed over, the other "sisters" can barely be told apart besides some flimsy personality traits (the "motherly" one, the "kind" one, the "bitchy" one), and the way its written isn't even all that exciting, either. Never once did I read a line and think "wow, I wish I could have thought of that" - and I'm pretty easy to impress.

Give this one a skip. ( )

My Thoughts: I have a confession to make. . . I judged a book by its cover and I ended up disappointed. I had such crazy high hopes based just off of this cover and boy oh boy was I wrong. First off, what is with the language Lynn? For such a juvenile story this contains some pretty strong verbage which really indicates to me that the author doesn't quite know how to develop characters. If you want your character to appear tough or heartless yada, yada, yada then be creative! SHOW me through their actions that they are a certain way or that their actions are cruel. I just thought that was really weak writing. (Hey, that gives me hope that maybe I too can someday be published.)

Similar to other reviews I have read, I too found Lucy to be incredibly weak. However, that didn't bother me all that much because I thought it added humour to the story. I highly doubt we were supposed to take the stringing each glass bead in the moonlight while whispering 'I love you' seriously. I really think it was supposed to add an element to laugh at and you know what? It worked. I laughed my butt off at how ridiculous Lucy was. The girl is seriously off her rocker.

The moment that should have made my heart break just didn't. I think it would have worked had Alex been a character the reader could like at least slightly. This kid was a little punk though! How could anyone root for Alex and Lucy to be together when he says such demeaning things to her. Example?

“You’ll need something to do while I’m gone."

I wanted to smack him! As if she wouldn't know what to do with herself. Okay sure, she was obsessed but good heavens give her a little credit that maybe she can have fun on her own!

Overall, I am sorry to say that I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone and I hope it never becomes a movie.

Rating: 1/5 Weak writing, weak characters, good premise and a smidge of humour do not a good book make.

( )

I didn't get this book... I mean I understood the story and all that... But what was the point?? I liked that Lucy found herself and became less whiny/annoying vs the beginning of the book...but at the end I was left missing something... It wasn't written horribly...Just wasn't what I wanted it to be. ( )

Lucy Wrenn has her plan for her boyfriend's return all worked out. He's been away all summer, with very little contact between them and she knows just how she's going to greet him . . . Only it doesn't go at all like she had planned. He breaks up with her.

Lucy has no idea how she's going to make it through sophomore year. Until, that is, Olivia, a senior finds her crying her eyes out in the bathroom and hands her a orange silk scarf to dry her eyes on. So begins Lucy's journey to becoming a Heartbreaker.

All she has to do now is meet a boy, make him fall in love with her, and break his heart. All within seven days.

It all sounds impossibly to Lucy, but Olivia and the two magical girls who are her friends, make it sound possibly possible.

Lucy's definitely in for a crazy, unique adventure she never expected.


The Secret Sisterhood of Heartbreakers makes you feel for the main characters, Lucy, right from the first chapter. Her boyfriend breaking up with her really knocks Lucy down - and it needs to for the story, but it also really leaves readers feeling for Lucy.

One of the female secondary characters I never really got a feel for - I don't know if I just couldn't separate her from the others enough? - but I found the other two unique and thought they had their own personalities and added to Lucy's development.

While there were times that it was hard to understand why Lucy wasn't over Alex yet - especially with all that she was doing - you also have to remember that the novel happens over a really short time period. While I would get frustrated with her at times, I'd have to remember it had only been x number of days, so her feelings, really, made sense.

Lucy's friend Tristan was great fun and a terrific addition to the book. He was one of those kinds of best friend characters that you wish had more of a role to play in the story because they really make all of the scenes they are a part of, that much more fun.

The end of the book was probably my favorite part. I had been worried about how certain things were going to go, but the last third or so of the book draws you in the most.

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: I really struggled to get through this one and in the end it just wasn’t for me.

Opening Sentence: In the beginning, there she was, sweet, little 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.

The Review:

It is the first day of Lucy’s sophomore year in high school and she can’t wait to finally see her boyfriend, Alex. He has been gone all summer and this will be the first time they have seen each other in months. She is expecting quite a reunion but instead Alex ends up breaking up with her. Lucy is completely devastated and her heart literally feels like it is breaking inside her chest. While she is bawling in the bathroom a girl she barely knows offers her a solution to her fix her broken heart. Olivia, Liza, and Gil are all members of the secret sisterhood of heartbreakers and they want Lucy to join them. Not only can they fix Lucy’s heart, they also are offering her a place in their world which is full of hot guys, amazing magic, and the promise of never having your heart broken ever again. The only thing Lucy has to do is make a boy fall in love with her and break his heart within the next seven days. But all Lucy really wants is to get Alex back; maybe if she plays along with the girls they will be able to teach her how. But as things progress and she learns more about the secret society, Lucy’s not so sure it is something she wants any part of.

Lucy was a really hard character to connect with. I thought that she had a really whinny voice most of the time. It seemed that all she cared about was getting her jerk of a boyfriend back and it was really annoying. First of all, the guy was a total loser and for some reason Lucy thought he could do no wrong. Next, she treats the few good people in her life, like her best friend, terrible because she is so set on getting this guy back. For most of the book I felt like she was complaining about everything when in all honesty she had things pretty good. She is a cute girl with great friends and for the most part she is fairly intelligent, except for when it comes to boys. She is socially awkward, but I thought that was cute and went with her quirky personality. Overall, I ended up not really being a big fan of Lucy.

This was a really hard book for me to get through. From the first chapter, I predicted exactly what was going to happen and I was 100% correct on everything I predicted. Going into the book I was expecting a fun cute love story and instead I got a rather boring story that pretty much had no romance in it. This would have been fine if it had a great message or some other significant reason as to why the story was written, but in all honesty, I just thought it was a pointless book. For a large portion of the book you learn all about the society and how they break boy’s hearts. They claim that heartbreak is good for everyone so it is their job to break as many hearts as possible. Then there was a weird twist with magical elements added that didn’t go with the story and for the most part made no sense. I really struggled throughout the whole book with multiple things and in the end this was just not a book for me. I do have a copy of the second book I need to read and review, so hopefully it is better. I think there is potential that it could be a better read then this one, but I’m not holding my breath.

Notable Scene:

“We are not indiscriminate when choosing hearts to break,” Olivia said. “We only break the hearts of those who deserve it, and those who could benefit from it.”

“Benefit?” Lucy said. “How?”

“Pain softens us and opens us up. To have one’s heart broken is to be connected more deeply with the earth, it is to experience life. To be more fully human.”

“Well, if it’s so great, then why would I even want an unbreakable heart?” Lucy’s voice cracked. “Why would anyone?”

FTC Advisory: HarperTeen provided me with a copy of The Secret Sisterhood of Heartbreakers. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. ( )