Common Sense Media Review
By Terreece Clarke
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Standard clique book with same mean-girl behavior.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 11+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
There is a reigning clique in Miss Gamble's Preparatory School for Girls. The Ashleys are perfect at being perfect. The right clothes, hair, friends, the right name: Ashley. When Lauren gets an extreme makeover in time for seventh grade she decides that the Ashleys' reign should come to an end.
Is It Any Good?
While full of name brands and catty behavior, this book isn't as cruel and risqué as other clique books -- and thankfully, this light diversion is also a fast-paced read. Popular author Melissa de la Cruz makes her characters easy to relate to and root for, despite their cattiness. Readers will want Lauren Page to overcome her awkward past, but most likely will cringe when she starts to imitate the bad behavior of the Ashleys, like ditching her old "uncool" friends.
Pretty girls say and do mean things, and parental figures are usually nowhere to be found, so there's plenty to talk about with tweens/teens for parents who allow some guilty-pleasure reading now and then. At least the sexual content is dialed down a few notches here. Now that the Gossip Girl books are also a TV show, you'd almost call this book refreshing. Almost.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about peer pressure, materialism, and self-acceptance. Do you feel pressure to act a certain way around your friends? Why is it more important to be yourself?
Are cliques a big part of your school life?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Contemporary Fiction
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Aladdin
- Publication date : January 8, 2008
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 9 - 13
- Number of pages : 272
- Last updated : January 26, 2025
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate