I think I might have enjoyed this one slightly more than the 1st, but only just. These "clique" books hold a sort of car crash fascination for me. Lots of drama and middle school politics. Worries about boys and popularity and fashion. All these things are the focus of most teenage girls' worlds. I can defiantly understand why such a series is appealing. But it does show girls (& boys) in a very bad light. It pretty much portrays girls as shallow backstabbing bitches that should only care about clothes and getting with boys. (& we must remember that these girls are only in 7th grade!)The girls are all to focused on appearances and popularity. Trivial to us, yet important to teens. But the thing is, there's not even a lesson to be learnedly it's all just teen drama with no real value. :/ it's basically feeding young girls the idea that they are only as good as their bodies & clothes. & these girls, even Claire really seem to believe that. :'( not the thing teens should be hearing. No lesson was learned about being true to yourself or not needed to be popular. Nope, Claire still wants to be friends with these mean girls. & the mean girls are still as shallow and materialistic as ever. There has been no real growth of any of the characters. (But I must say, that Massie actually IS the most rounded with her fears of being alone. Probably my favorite cause those instances of fear make her the most human/likable.)Here's a quote from "best friends for never" that is just so over the top crazy that I wanted to slap someone. "She was so desperate to escape she left her cell in the basket, figuring she'd buy a new one after school." Page 126 SERIOUSLY!?!? Its insane how little these girls think about money. Or others. Just cause you have money to burn doesn't mean you should throw away a perfectly good phone because you're to chicken to go get it. Just.... Ugh. No. I can't.. Just can't.Anyway! So. Shallow characters. No real substance to the story. Mad messages to young girls. Was there anything I did like? Well, like I said, there is something appealing about it. I mean, I've read 2 books now, haven't? The writing, aside from stupid sayings from Massie, is ok. The drama and middle school social networks are actually kinda interesting. All this backstabbing & cat fighting... Its actually well done. Enough to where, despite the books obviously shot comings, I kept reading. It's actually a shame that that this skill is going to waste on such a shallow series. Umm... What else? I did kinda like the interactions with the boys. (a little) I guess it's a draw back of all girl/boys schools. You have no fucking clue what to do with the other gender. I'd have liked it more if the girls hadn't been so over the top catty about it & acted like their only goal in life should be to get a boyfriend. & Sexism! Girls are all bitches & only care about boys & clothes. That it's self is stereotyping. But the the way boys are debt with... It's pretty crappy to. 1 of the girls made a joke that a boyfriend purpose is to carry bags around the mall. -_- gag! So remember ladies. dating shouldn't be about companionship and enjoying each other's company. It should only be about how hot the guy is and how many bags he can carry for you. -_- also basically all the boys are displayed as pigs, chasing after the girls like dogs. I realize that they are teens, but still. It's just insane. Like "derrington" he only exists as a sleazy plot Device for kristan and Dylan's petty fights. Just.... Ugh. the portrayals of both genders is really just kinda.... Ew. Todd was the worst of all. The way he talks to Massie. It's disgusting! Maybe it's supposed to be funny and cute, cause he's ten. But it's not. It's wrong. Guys shouldn't talk to girls like that! Or girls to guys. No one should be that damned rude! & it's shown as ok because he's a kid. NOT OK! His parents shouldn't have been laughing. They should have slapped the crap out of him! Sorry if my review has been kinda ranty and/or confusing. It's late and this book/series is pretty conflicting for me. :/ like the shelves say, I shouldn't like it. It's pretty terrible. But part of me still does. Mainly I think it's all the fighting & drama & whatnot. It really is interesting. Like a middle school game of thrones maybe with all these crazy preteen power struggles. & the fashion show was sorta fun, if totally unrealistic. (Fashion classes at a middle school. Wtf?) Overall.... A real guilty pleasure. Best if left for older teens. Preferably 1s with good self esteems. Or maybe even adultS who want to revisit the hell of middle school. Young girls... Not so much. As I said in my review of book 1 this stuff really could be damaging. :( fans of gossip girl or house of night might really like this.(Again, sorry if it's a confusing review. Hopefully the next 1 makes more sense.)
The story starts during Mr. Block's celebratory birthday dinner in which Todd Lyons spills grape juice all over Massie's skirt. Massie accuses Claire of repeating outfits and Claire retorts that this is perfectly normal, and that Massie should be ashamed that she buys new clothes everyday. Massie's mother agrees that she has not come in the door without a shopping bag since she was nine. The girls strike a deal in which Massie is not allowed to buy any clothes for a month and Claire is not allowed to re-wear anything in a month.The loser must wear all of Massie's ski gear including boots and such to school for a whole week. Meanwhile, the Pretty Committee is in danger of losing their spot on the popularity chain! They beat Becca Wilder to having a boy-girl Halloween party. Landon Dorsey, the best Westchester party-planner, has the theme of "When Hell Freezes Over" Much to Massie's chagrin, Claire is her co-host for the party because Massie struck a deal about it with her mother. The PC's costume idea is 'Dirty Devils', while Claire has decided to wear last years powerpuff girl costume. Massie is stuck in a rut of what to wear, so she brings the revealing costumes to school so the entire Pretty Committee can wear them. When a wannabee cuts her stomach trying to imitate the costumes, just as everyone else had, Adele, the nurse, notifies Ms. Burns, the principal. The girls end up wearing horrible outfits for the rest of the day from the lost and found but when they go to Massie's Halloween party romance is everywhere. Claire ends up wearing an old PowerPuff Girls costume but that doesn't stop her from flirting with Cam Fisher, who happens to be Massie's secret crush. Olivia Ryan comes back to Westchester after a nose job and she and Alicia and her become friends and end up flirting with everyone that night. Derrick Harrington is crushing on Massie, and Massie doesn't know about it. Kristen and Dylan fight for Derrick's feelings for a while. Derrick is called Derrington secretly by Massie. The name comes from a mix of his first and last name. The next school day Principal Burns announces that the school is going uniform because of the reavealing Dirty Devil costumes. Massie begs Pia, the design teacher, to let her design the costume. Pia and Principal Burns made it into a contest. Massie and Claire are both competing. Massie's maid, Inez, accidentally throws away Claire's and Massie's practice uniforms. Massie and Claire team up (with the consenus to end the bet) and use Dylan and Kristen to model for them. In the end Alicia's and Olivia's uniform wins but only because they cheated by switching the boxes filled with votes. Massie and the rest of the girls find out but decide to "stay in the weeds." Cam and Claire end up falling for each other, but Massie only knows that Cam likes someone. The book ends with Massie vowing to hunt down the girl, and finishing her.
What do You think about Best Friends For Never (2004)?
I really liked The Clique sequel because it had even more drama than the last book. At the beginning I was kind of bored, but as I read on, the book got more and more hooked on it. I think that what first made it interesting for me was when Claire bets Massie that she can't go a month without shopping and Massie bets Claire that she can't go the same amount of time without repeating clothes. I think that the bet made both girls realize that it's not easy being like the other one and made them get along better. One character that I did not like in this book was Alicia because she started to turn her back on her friends and tries to start a new clique with Olivia. I also didn't like that Alicia cheated to win the uniform design contest. Something that I liked about the book is that it is very easy to relate with because it's about things that happen to real girls. For example, Kristen and Dylan both like the same guy and they get in a huge fight about him and Alicia backstabbing her friends are both things that many people have surely experienced. I think that overall, it is a very good book and I recommend it to anyone.
—Luciannaf
It's almost Halloween and Massie and Claire are still not getting along. Massie and Claire come up with a bet saying that A- Massie can't shop for a whole month, or get someone to buy stuff for her and B- Claire has to wear a completely different outfit every day for a whole month, including Keds. Whoever cracks first has to wear Massie's old snowsuits to school for a week- which includes leggings, goggles, ski boots, and a hat. After overhearing their mothers talk about wanting them to get alon
—Megan
Follow up to the first book in the series about some very rich self-centered high school girls and a new girl who shows up and is not quite so rich. The main part of the book is a Halloween party supposedly organized by the rich "leader" and the not quite so rich wanna-be. Because their moms want them to get along better. Also there is a fashion contest.I just wish the wanna-be was NOT a wanna-be, but I guess that is more realistic. Sigh. However, she keeps doing things that would cause her NOT to be accepted in the group. But then wants to be in the group anyway.On the plus side, the writing is very age appropriate and not all that bad.
—Ilga
