The Clique (The Clique #1)

I don't give away spoilers in my reviews.
Sometimes I still like to read YA. It's a nice break from mysteries and it's kind of fun to read about life as a teenager now that I'm in my 50's.
Claire moves to a wealthy town and has to live with her parents and little brother in the guesthouse of her dad's friend. That friend has a same age daughter named Massie who Claire has nothing in common with, but really wants to be like.
I thought this story was a good example of true vs fake friendship. I also thought the teen drama was well written.

The Clique is a drama-filled, fashion-heavy story about popularity, status, and what it’s like trying to fit in at a new school (similar to the Mean Girls movie).

It follows Claire, who moves to a super wealthy area and ends up attending an elite private school where social rules matter just as much as academics. Things get even more awkward because her family is staying on the property of Massie, the most popular girl at school, who is not happy about it at all. From the start, there’s competition, and a lot of petty drama as Claire tries to figure out where she fits while dealing with a group that clearly doesn’t want her there.

My book group actually recommended this to me because I loved Mean Girls, and I can definitely see the similarities. It has that same focus on cliques, unspoken rules, and the pressure to look and act a certain way to be accepted. What I liked is that it doesn’t pretend the characters are perfect. Massie is controlling and harsh, Claire can be awkward and unsure, and the rest of the group has their own issues. It makes the story feel more real, even when the situations are a little over the top. I also liked how much attention is given to fashion and social status, because it really shows how intense that world can feel, especially at that age.

At the same time, some of the characters can be frustrating, especially with how mean they are to each other over small things. There were moments where I just wanted Claire to stand up for herself more instead of trying so hard to fit in. Still, that’s kind of the point of the story, showing how hard it can be to stay true to yourself when you just want to belong. My favorite parts were the moments where the drama builds up between Claire and Massie, because that tension really carries the book and keeps it interesting. Overall, it’s a fun, dramatic read if you like stories about popularity, friendship struggles, and a bit of chaos.

This is the most realistic book about girls in middle school I have ever read.
it gets how girls go after each other,popularity,boys,puberty,and the lower,middle,and high class people.
Lisi Harrison gets how girls go after each other, and of course, the clothing brands and how it interprets with a girls popularity!

I read this way back when, in middle school probably, at the pressure of my friends. I finally gave in and borrowed the book from one of them. I don't know if it was the mean, horrible girls or that I wanted to be in Dylan's position, but I read through this story every second I could get at lightning speed. I like this book, and the other books in this series are just as great. I think I stopped reading after book 5, but I'm sure they are just as good!

Reader reviewed by Elizabeth

This book is a great story about a "clique" or a group of friends. Massie, the leader of the clique's, dad invites friends of his come to stay in their guest house until they can purchase a house of their own. They come along with their daughter Claire. She tries to become friends with Massie, but Massie judges her right away and decides that they can never be friends. However, Claire still hangs out with Massie and her friends Kristen, Alicia, and Dylan who all act as if they hate Claire just to please Massie. Claire realizes this and decides to simply move on. But its not easy to ignore Massie Block...

This is a great story and I give it 4 out of 5 stars. It is a book for girls in 5th-8th grade who love books that contain drama, back stabbing, or anything else that happens in the world of teenage girls. It was a story that I highly enjoyed because it seemed so real and I was able to imagine every event as if it was happening right before my eyes.

Reader reviewed by Elizabeth

This book is a great story about a "clique" or a group of friends. Massie, the leader of the clique's, dad invites friends of his come to stay in their guest house until they can purchase a house of their own. They come along with their daughter Claire. She tries to become friends with Massie, but Massie judges her right away and decides that they can never be friends. However, Claire still hangs out with Massie and her friends Kristen, Alicia, and Dylan who all act as if they hate Claire just to please Massie. Claire realizes this and decides to simply move on. But its not easy to ignore Massie Block...

This is a great story and I give it 4 out of 5 stars. It is a book for girls in 5th-8th grade who love books that contain drama, back stabbing, or anything else that happens in the world of teenage girls. It was a story that I highly enjoyed because it seemed so real and I was able to imagine every event as if it was happening right before my eyes. Taht is why I loved the clique.

Reader reviewed by Elizabeth

This book is a great story about a "clique" or a group of friends. Massie, the leader of the clique's, dad invites friends of his come to stay in their guest house until they can purchase a house of their own. They come along with their daughter Claire. She tries to become friends with Massie, but Massie judges her right away and decides that they can never be friends. However, Claire still hangs out with Massie and her friends Kristen, Alicia, and Dylan who all act as if they hate Claire just to please Massie. Claire realizes this and decides to simply move on. But its not easy to ignore Massie Block...

This is a great story and I give it 4 out of 5 stars. It is a book for girls in 5th-8th grade who love books that contain drama, back stabbing, or anything else that happens in the world of teenage girls. It was a story that I highly enjoyed because it seemed so real and I was able to imagine every event as if it was happening right before my eyes. That is why I loved the clique.

Reader reviewed by Denise

Popular and rich Massie is devastated when she learns that not only is
her father's significantly less wealthy friend planning on staying in
their guest house, but he also has a daughter Massie's age whom Massie
is expected to befriend. When Claire appears wearing Keds and
non-designer clothes, Massie is determined to shun Claire at every
opportunity. Enlisting the help of her clique, Massie proceeds to
mercilessly mock and torture Claire. Claire might be a nice girl, but
she isn't about to go down without a fight. Mean girl cattiness ensues.



Targeted toward the middle school age bracket (though fine for high
schoolers as well), The Clique is closer to the movie Mean Girls than
the other "Lifestyles of the Rich and Cruel" type book series. Unlike
books like Gossip Girl, The Clique characters don't engage in any risqué
behaviors with sex, drugs, or alcohol. Instead, the focus of the book
revolves almost exclusively around the interpersonal dramas of female
friendships. Loyalty, taunting, embarrassment, secrets, backstabbing,
friendship, and insecurity are all featured. The inner thoughts and
feelings of the characters are not really explored, so there isn't any
moral or psychological message about the motivations of the characters.



The book is straightforward and serviceable, but neither the plot
nor the characters stand out in any way. The characters are all
two-dimensional and resemble caricatures more than fully-formed
characters. Still, they are familiar caricatures who most girls probably
have some experience knowing or being, so it is easy to relate to the
actions and feelings the characters experience. Though The Clique is now
a lengthy series, the first book can easily be read as a stand-alone.
Not bad, but not memorable.

Reprinted with author's (my) permission.

Reader reviewed by f00lishchick

i think this book was really nice because it gave me the experience of what a REAL girly clique is like. i thnk it was funny because of how girly the book was and i am totally not a girly girl. i think that even though some schools are filled with those snobby, rich cliques but it's kinda funny because of how they are. if i had a clique like that at school, i would think they were interesting because i dont know any real cliques like that.

Reader reviewed by Jordana

OK first I would like to address some grammatical errors, such as forgetting periods at the end of a sentence and using the wrong verb tenses in one or two cases.

Second,  I just want to slap Massie's little face off.  She is such a snobby, stuck-up b*tch!  And all the other girls (who would have been alright) just follow Massie around like little DOGS just doing whatever she says.....if Massie says it's cool, it's cool, and if Massie says it's not cool, it's soooooooo out.  Like Claire, who's out faster than you can say "Not a G.L.U."

Claire was the best character, but I think she should have gotten back at Massie via public humiliation.  Not JUST the sly, sneaky stuff, but maybe pour red paint on HER white jeans.
And being nice to Massie in the end?  Bull c r a p.