The Clique

Title: The Clique
Author: Lisi Harrison
Publishing Date: 2004

"The Clique... the only thing harder than getting in is staying in." Massie Block, leader of The Clique at Westchester’s revered Octavian Day, rules the school along with Dylan, Alicia and Kristen at her (Jimmy Choo) heels. Massie’s as spoiled and stuck up as they come, eternally outfitted in designer wear and owner of a little pug that’s just as fashion conscious as she. Massie runs a tight crew, acquiring all the juicy gossip before it hits the scene. Exercising their fluency in text messaging, the four girls continually exchange cutting remarks about their fellow 7th graders, "H8 the whole haircut!" When newcomer Claire Lyons shows up wanting in on their lives, Massie pulls out all the stops to ensure this wannabe never becomes a threat to her or her elite clique.

While her family is in the process of finding a new home, Claire is forced to live in Massie’s guesthouse and attend Octavian Day. Hailing from Orlando, plain-jane Claire is a fish out of water in this posh new world. Considered "fashion essentials" back home, her trusty Gap overalls and platform Keds are an unthinkable sin here in Westchester. Claire quickly discovers that Octavian Day is home to a particularly refined breed of middle schoolers. There’s not a single JanSport in sight, Louis Vuitton and Prada messenger bags are deemed standard "school supplies". An on-campus spa and Starbucks is readily available to students who desire a quick mini facial or a piping hot chai latte in between classes.

Despite her fashion faux pas, Claire’s subtle, but striking attractiveness poses a notable threat to Massie. Determined to fit in, Claire seizes every opportunity to befriend Massie but is continually given the cold shoulder. Claire finally trades in her Gap jeans for Sevens and changes up her game plan. She decides to give Massie a run for her money and the battle is on. But Ms. Block isn’t a force to be reckoned with; she’s fully armed with an arsenal of backstabbing antics and will ruin your reputation before you even have one. Will Claire forever occupy Massie’s infamous Out List or will the new girl surprise us all?

This series is intended for a much younger audience (Grades 5-8) than Gossip Girl and contains more appropriate material for pre-teens. The book isn’t littered with unnecessary profanity and trashy references to drugs and prolific sex. Nonetheless, it encompasses the same spirit of teen drama as Gossip Girl; lots of conniving, gossipy, stuck up spoiled rich kids with nothing better to do than waste away their parents money. The interrelationships within the clique are reminiscent of Mean Girls, the popular girls vying to protect their hierarchical positions while the new girl desperately fights to fit in.

The style came across as too straight-forward and therefore monotonous because of the excessive use of self-explanatory details. On the author’s part, I assume this was intentional. Stating the obvious would allow a 5th grader to follow along with ease. The duality of Massie and Claire’s character is a nice touch; it sets the stage for some interesting occurrences in the future.

Recommendation:
Not quite as risqué as Gossip Girl, but definitely entertaining in its own right. A cute, read-in-one-sitting book filled to the brim with drama.

Average Rating: 6/10

Rating System:
Plot Development: 7/10
Character Development: 7/10
Originality: 7/10
Format: 5/10
Complexity: 4/10
Humor: 6/10