Back in January of 2010, I was lucky enough to be part of the judging panel for the Cybils award in YA fiction (which if you are a blogger and want to take part, there are still a few days left to apply). This was my first time ever being on a book-related panel like this, and it was really neat to be a part of a process of working with a handful of other well-read bloggers discussing, debating, and ultimately choosing one book from among seven to be “the best” in terms of literary quality and teen reader appeal as the Cybils winner.

The winner we picked that year was:

Almost immediately upon finishing it, I ordered Some Girls Are. I then sat on the Cybils reading panel the following year (in the fall of 2010) and after reading a lot of books, Some Girls Are ended up on our short list of titles, too.

I’ve since been a huge fan of everything Courtney’s written because her characters are honest. They’re not made to be pretty or to be friendly and appealing to anyone in the story nor to readers. They’re sometimes harsh, sometimes brutal, and always complex. The stories are sharp and unrelenting, with writing that complements them — that’s one big reason that Cracked Up to Be was a Cybils winner.

If you haven’t read her books, perhaps you remember Courtney from one of her guest posts here at STACKED, either as part of our So You Want to Read YA? series, our Horror series, or as our very first Twitterview victim way back in 2010.

St. Martin’s Press is publishing a bind-up of Courtney’s first two gritty books, Cracked Up to Be and Some Girls Are titled What Goes Around next Tuesday, September 3. This is the perfect opportunity for those who haven’t checked out her books yet to get a taste of two of her books in one place.

Readers who love Ellen Hopkins’s books for their gritty, edgy topics or who love Laurie Halse Anderson for her ability to write raw realistic fiction will find much to appreciate in the two books in What Goes Around.

So what are they about?

Cracked Up to Be is about perfect Parker Fadley falling from the top of the social hierarchy, head cheerleader, do-gooder to being the girl who wants nothing more than to fade out and keep what happened to cause this sudden change in her attitude hidden as much as possible. She feels tremendous guilt and angst over an event she witnessed, but she lets it out in snark and bitterness. Inside, though, she’s being eaten alive.

Some Girls Are follows Regina Afton as she, too, falls from being at the top of the social hierarchy, but what causes her downfall isn’t what’s eating her up inside. It’s what she reveals to her best friend that causes her to become cast out and attacked — but Regina, unlike Parker who retreats inward, takes her pain and hurt externally. It’s Mean Girls with actual mean girls.

You can read a 70 page excerpt from What Goes Around right here, which includes a sample of both books.

I think any reader who will find these two stories together for the first time will see a lot of interesting parallels between them, though they are far from the same story. Parker and Regina are very different girls, but the way they each process pain is fascinating to watch (even — especially — if it’s completely unpleasant).

In honor of the release of What Goes Around, I’ve got a giveaway. St. Martin’s Press has generously offered up two copies of the bind-up for me to pass along to interested readers. It’s limited to US and Canadian residents only.

Because I’d love to see more people reading these books and talking about them, I’m also going to give away a set of all of Courtney’s books to one reader. The caveat is this: I want this set of four books, which includes Cracked Up to Be, Some Girls Are, Fall for Anything, and This is Not a Test to go to a teacher or a librarian who will get these books into the hands of their teen readers. This can mean putting them in a library or classroom collection OR giving them away as a prize to a teen. All I ask is you use your work email address and click the little box in the form telling me you’re a teacher or librarian and are interested in being entered into the giveaway for this set of books.

Ciara, who runs the blog Lost at Midnight, is hosting a read along for new readers and those who have read but want to reread or share a blog post in response to any of these books (I’m cooking up a guest post myself!). You can sign up to take part and read or blog about one of Courtney’s books each month this fall. Check it out. You can also find Courtney on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr.

Recapping: 2 copies of What Goes Around are up for grabs to anyone in the US or Canada, and one set of all of Courtney’s books are up for either a teacher or librarian. Two chances to win for anyone and three chances for those who may be a teacher or librarian. I’ll pull winners on or around the second week of September.