Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins

"It's Cotillion. We wear a white dress we walk down some stairs, we drink some punch and dance with our dads. And then we pretend we did it just to raise money for charity, and that it's not stupid and old-fashioned and totally self-indulgent..."

Harper Price, the main character of Rebel Belle, doesn't utter that quote. Harper is the uber-belle. She organizes Cotillion, serves as Student Body President, has the perfect boyfriend, and Homecoming Queen is in the bag. Everything changes Homecoming night, all because she forgot her lipstick. She visits the ladies room to apply a borrowed tube and encounters a strange and grisly scene.

The janitor runs into the bathroom. He is covered in blood and injured. Harper tries to help him, but the man dies after kissing Harper. Immediately after, the history teacher breaks down the door and attacks Harper with a giant sword. To her surprise, she is able to fight and defeat the teacher.

From the little the janitor told her, Harper figures out that she is now a Paladin, a warrior who is tasked with defending an oracle with their life. The oracle that Harper must defend? None other than David Stark, the grandpa sweater-wearing, trash-talking school reporter. They have been enemies since grade school, and Harper hates him for his editorials that criticize her presidency. Just being around David is enough to make Harper lose her cool. Now, she can't lay a hand on him, and she is compelled to keep anyone else from hurting him.

It turns out that in addition to the Paladin and oracle, there is also a third member: Saylor Stark, David's aunt and director of the Cotillion. She trains Harper to defend David, and makes sure that the two spend lots of time together. Unfortunately, this has a negative effect on Harper's other activities, as well as her relationship. Then there are the looming questions: 1. What will happen in the future when they go off to college, and 2. Is it really fair to ask Harper to sacrifice her life?

This was a really fun series that reminded me a lot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It had really great action, an interesting plot that I haven't read before, and it was incredibly funny. There was a really great plot twist at the end of the book that makes me very excited for the sequel.

I received my copy of Rebel Belle from Edelweiss, courtesy of Putnam Juvenile. It's available for purchase now.