Title: Revenge of the Wannabes
Author: Lisi Harrison
Publisher: Little Brown
Date: 2005
ISBN: 0-316-70133-5
Length: 296 pages
Quote: “I’m not being a grump. I just don’t like it when things are messy, okay?”
The most encouraging line in this book occurs on the front flyleaf. “All characters are fictional and any resemblance to any real person is coincidental.”
In this installment of the adventures of the world’s least lovable teenaged girls, Alicia gets tired of being second to Massie. She invites two girls who want to be in Massie’s Clique, “the Pretty Committee,” to a Friday night sleepover, thereby creating space that Massie invites the new girl, Claire, to fill. Then Alicia remembers that that Friday’s taken: she won a contest and has to go into New York City to meet with the editor of Teen Vogue to plan a modelling session.
All the Clique girls are cute enough to be teen models. Claire’s the only one who’s been offered a tiny part in a movie, yet, but eventually the editor invites all seven brats to choose their own fashion looks from a selection of trendy NYC boutiques and pose for a photo shoot.
But they’re The Clique, so they repay this career break with a display of irresponsible rich-brat bad manners worthy of David Hogg. Massie, the speaker quoted above, creates a spectacular mess.
When I was in grade seven publishers wouldn’t have touched a series about such Bad Role Models, but the Clique series achieved bestseller status. So, eventually the books have been handed up to me. I can’t find much to like about books or characters, and when these books are funny it’s more slapstick comedy than fine-edged satire. This is one of the volumes that offers slapstick comedy. If you think an answer to the question “How badly is it possible for teenagers to do on their first grown-up job?” can be funny, you’ll laugh.
I really can't stay mean characters. I'm okay with mischievous, rude, even slightly evil if the author has a point. But characters who spend the whole book torturing others just annoy me.
ReplyDeleteYes. It's hard to draw the line with the Clique books because the meanness is so petty, but if you like characters who are nice you won't like The Clique.
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