Parents' Guide to

The Clique Summer Collection: Massie

By Carrie R. Wheadon, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Rich-girl series is so materialistic it hurts.

Book Lisi Harrison Contemporary Fiction 2008
The Clique Summer Collection: Massie Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

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age 13+

Based on 7 parent reviews

Sunshine896
Sunshine896 Adult
May 19, 2023
age 14+

Materialistic book, reminds me of the Mean Girls culture.......

This particular book might be fun for kids that are more mature. Younger children might take the wrong message from this book and try and imitate Massie. That is not what you want your child to do. Sure, the book is funny in some ways for adults, but the main message here is to act snobby, obsess over materialistic items, and over all act cruel. In the first chapter, (not intended to be a spoiler) Massie coats a fellow rider's saddle (who's on the same team, but apparently is an LBR) with adhesive glue, and forces her to go on it. Massie is extremely disrespectful to her parents and constantly stresses them out. I would not recommend this book. (Also just a side note, LBR stands for "Loser Beyond Repair")

This title has:

Too much consumerism
Peyton L.
Peyton L. Adult
May 19, 2018
age 11+

Good Book If You Enjoyed Books/Shows Like Gossip Girl

The Clique series by Lisi Harrison is a great book series for tween/teen girls. I've read SO many reviews, good and bad, and I myself have my own opinions. I personally love the series, the movie too. I learned about it from my older sister, who also use to read the books. The Clique Summer Collection: Massie, basically takes place in the Hamptons, where Massie Block is bound to spend her summer. She got kicked out of horse camp, all of her friends are on vacation, and her parents want her to get herself a summer job. She finds herself in a situation where she is working to become the top seller for a cosmetics brand labeled, Be Pretty. Instead of doing what the brand insist upon, which is helping clients bring out their natural beauty, she tells them the honest to God truth and what they can do to fix it. The book is very well written, and if you enjoy realistic books as such, I promise you will enjoy this one. It's quite short in my opinion, but there are multiple on-going books in the collection. Since it's short, it may be better for tween girls who don't enjoy reading super long novels. The book, of course, is very materialistic. But what were you expecting? The main plot throughout the series takes place in Westchester NY, in an all-girls private school. filled to the top with snotty, designer wearing girls, who all have lives and normal problems hidden behind their Marc Jacobs and Prada masked selves. A ton of parents claim that after reading the plot, they will never let their child read the books, or that they regret it. But isn't that basically judging a book by its cover? If you really want to know what the book is actually like, read one for yourself (they're really not that long). And this is coming from a current 14-year-old herself. I'm not trying to "defend" the book, if you don't want your child reading it, okay, that's your choice. But I will tell you now that it's a VERY enjoyable book if you have a young daughter (or son!) who you believe will be able to relate to such characters, and enjoys a good, humorous novel.

This title has:

Educational value
Great messages
Too much consumerism
See all 7 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Massie Block starts the summer before eighth grade at riding camp, only to be kicked out when she gets caught pulling a stunt to try to win a competition. When her parents tell her she has to pay them back for the money they lost on the camp, she takes a job as a makeup rep for a new cosmetics company with a "beauty's on the inside" philosophy. Ignoring her training DVDs, Massie finds she's a lot more successful when she tells girls they're ugly and need to fix themselves. Suddenly business is booming. It's all going well until the company's president drops in to see Massie's selling techniques first-hand.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (7):
Kids say (24):

This book is $6.99 -- real girls should save their hard-earned babysitting money for a better beachy read.

This series releases one book a month during the summer of 2008; the first one -- MASSIE -- hit the top of the bestseller list right away. Kids who love reality shows and news about celebs like Paris Hilton will dive right in. The author tries to add humor in the fact that girls like Massie will never change, but it's not clever enough or scathing enough to be truly funny. And wouldn't it be nicer if she really learned from her mistakes? Then you could actually root for Massie in the end instead of wishing she'd suffer some crueler fate.

The worst part of the book is the way it's written. If you stripped out all mentions of designer brands, the book would be half the length (and that's barely an exaggeration). What's left is a bunch of text-messaging slang, catty comments stepped up with pop culture references, and a description of a very improbable summer job for an eighth grader. Oh, and she earns enough to pay back her parents for a summer of riding camp in just one week. Right.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about whether they think characters like Massie are fun to read about or not. What other shows have you seen or books have you read that showcase lifestyles like Massie's? Would you rather be friends with someone like Massie or one of the girls she makes over? Would you like all her clothes and credit cards? Moms may also want to talk about all the makeup the middle school girls buy. What are your family's rules about makeup, credit cards, and shopping?

Book Details

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