The Secret Sisterhood of Heartbreakers (review)

When Lucy is dumped out of the blue by her boyfriend, her post-breakup grief attracts the attention of three mysterious senior girls, who tell her of a secret sisterhood who break hearts both as a source of magical power and as a service to others, since people emerge from the experience with more empathy. After a few demonstrations, Lucy is convinced of their strange claim and agrees to their terms, secretly planning to use their magic to get her boyfriend back. The week that follows puts Lucy through her paces; the girls take her to clubs and parties and try their best to teach her to flirt, that is, to go as far as she can with her natural charm, unaugmented by magic. The snarky sister provides a much-needed in-text voice for what will likely be the reader's impatience with Lucy's social gawkiness, and another rounds out the response with kindness and magical help when needed to shore up the fantasy that even the most awkward of girls can make good given the right support. This collection of character types, though a tad formulaic, offers a kind of necessary balance, and there is a surprisingly strong and unexpected message about ethics in the midst of playing the dating game. Mixed in with the magical element, there is a lot of quite sound advice about how and why attraction works, making this a useful self-help guide for the flirt-challenged in the woefully unmagical world of teen dating.