Best Friends For Never

I love this title. I wish I had come up with it. This series is entertaining. I don't know if I've been jaded by television, but I'm delighted that this book isn't trashy or tacky at all, but it still manages to entertain me.

Summary: Claire still isn't "in" with Massie, but things are getting better. The two start a bet that cuts to the core of their fashion values, throw a boy-girl party, enter a fashion competition (together!) and go after the same boy.

Other: I know my plot summary sucks. A lot happens in this book. It's about relationships, so it's hard to define one action as being the center of the plot.

Favorite Parts:
1. Massie, desperate for new clothes, wears her Halloween costume to school, which causes all sorts of trouble including: All the school girls ripping their clothes, rumors at the boys schools, and a new policy on uniforms!
2. Massie and Claire work together and come up with an awesome uniform that includes.... Keds!
3. All the parts that involve Massie and Claire's fashion bet: Massie can't buy anything new and Claire can't wear anything more than once.

The Clique

Ahhh... The Clique. It's kind of like a younger Gossip Girl, but still pretty unique. It starts out slow. I really didn't like it at first, because the main character, Massie, is SUCH a brat. However, the book got really good, and I went out and bought the second one in the series as soon as I had finished this one.

Summary: Massie Block is the queen B at her school, she has the coolest friends, the richest parents, and the best fashion. Claire Lyons threatens everything that Massie stands for when the Lyons, who are having money trouble, move into her families guest house. She must put Claire, in her old Keds, in her place. But watch out, Claire isn't as much of a pushover as you think!

Other: Like other books in this genre the story is tracked through the passage of time and is told from two different points of view. However, it has several distinguishing characteristics from the other books of this genre. First, there is a main character who is not privileged or under-privileged. She's a real life girl thrown into this world. Second, it's set in the suburbs, which is something I haven't yet found in this genre. Third, because it is for younger girls the content and types of betrayal is much different.

Favorite parts:
1. At the end, Mr. Block and Mr. Lyons, both drunk, sing 100 bottles of beer on the wall at a fund-raising event in front of everyone Massie and Claire know.
2. Claire tricks Massie's friends into thinking she knows about a designer that they don't.