clique Books

Jenny McAfee and her new friends have survived the first few weeks of middle school. It is time to choose their extracurricular activities, which means showing up in the cafeteria after school to sign up for the after-school clubs. There is always a mad rush to get signed up before the `Club Filled' sign goes up on each table. Jenny has no idea which club would be the right one for her until Rachel and Felicia encourage her to join the student government group.

Student government? There's a method behind their madness. Rachel and Felicia have heard that Addie, of the hated Pops, is running for class president, and they are sure that Jenny could give her some needed competition. It's the best possible plan - one of the regular people beating out one of the popular people. Just think what could be accomplished with a class president who cared about everyone, not just the Pops.

Once Jenny adjusts to the idea, things really start to roll. Her friends pitch in and create posters, bake cookies, and even make a video for her own personal website. Everyone helps scheme and plan ways to beat Addie. Unfortunately, Jenny begins to think some of the plans might be a bit over-the-top, and there's also the complication of a possible spy among the volunteers.

In book number two of the HOW I SURVIVED MIDDLE SCHOOL series, following Can You Get An F In Lunch? (How I Survived Middle School), Nancy Krulik continues the middle school adventures of Jenny and her friends. Just like the first book, MADAME PRESIDENT is fast-paced and easy reading. Ms. Krulik continues to include the fun quizzes that encourage readers to play along.

This is definitely a must-have series for middle grade girls.

Reviewed by: Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky"

Jenny McAfee is back in the halls of Joyce Middle School. Her plan to join an after school club is turned sideways when her friends suggest that she run for president of the sixth grade. Guess who the opposing candidate is? You got it! Jenny's oh so very cool and popular friend, Addie!

I love the drama and politics of student elections and this book takes you from the speeches to the results.

Nancy Krulik is a wonderful author and tells this story in an entertaining and contemporary manner. I wish I could have read this series when I was in Middle School.

My only negative comment is that the website that she refers to so often in the book does not seem to exist.

For my book review, I read How I Survived Middle School: Madame President by Nancy Krulik. My book is a realistic fiction book. It maybe short, but I loved it. I know you would, too, if you read it.
In the beginning, the not-so-popular girl named Jenny wants to be sixth grade president. She finds out that she's running up against the most popular girl in school, Addie. Addie then uses bribery to get votes. For example, she said she would let everyone who voted for her go swimming in her pool. Addie and Jenny used to be best friends, but when Addie had the chance to become popular, she took it. Therefore, Addie has embarrassing pictures and secrets of Jenny. She uses the pictures and hangs them up all over school so everyone can see ho big of a "loser" Jenny is. Jenny and her friends spy on the pops( the popular girl) and listen to their gossip and uses it to make them turn against each other. When one of them becomes president, the other becomes the vice president. You'll have to read the book to find out more.
I loved... no wait... I LOVED this book. It teaches girls about respect and kindness so they won't hurt each other's feelings, or in this case, make the opponent lose. This book is suited for all ages, but you won't see most people over 15 reading it. Thank you for reading my review.

Love,
The author

This was a great gift for my daughter. I was looking at High School Musical books for her and she saw this one on the screen and asked me to think about getting it for her too. She has really enjoyed it.

This is the best book i have ever read in my whole life! And probably it will still be my favorite book in the future!



(P.s) I LOVE DYLAN SPROUSE!!!! (ZACK MARTIN)

this show is great ! please make this a book serise ! and make it to where people can buy it !

I've never read this book, but I've seen the episode and this book is sure to be a great one. I'll try to go and buy this book sometime.

I have not received this product yet. I bought it on 12/18/06 and
have not received any correspondence.

Liza takes a summer job at the Tides Inn to make some money, get a tan on the hotel's private beach, and find true love.

When she arrives at the Inn to report for duty things, as expected, do not go as planned.

Instead of working as a front desk clerk she ends up on the housecleaning crew. The dorm that the employees stay in is not nearly as nice as she had hoped. And her former friend that she knew from vacationing in the area with her family acts like Liza is a dead bug on the bottom of her shoe.

SO INN LOVE is a cute summer read, although at times predictable and it seems to have an abrupt ending. It's a great book to read while lying in the sun, though!

Reviewed by: Taylor Rector

I had waited for the library to get it in since it came out..I finally got it yesterday and started reading it at 10PM and kept reading until I finished it at around 2AM..It was such a good book.

So Inn Love is another teen romance, just like many of Catherine Clark's other books. If you're looking for something fun to read with a twist of summer love and romance that's a breeze to get through you, you've found the right book. It's the perfect beach read too! You wont be disappointed.

Also recommended:
* The Boyfriend League by Rachel Hawthorne
* The Boys Next Door by Jennifer Echols
* Summer in the City by Elizabeth Chandler
* Tropical Kiss by Jan Coffey

The Truth: I'm a Girl, I'm Smart and I Know EverythingAs a positive psychologist I am always looking for ways and methods to help mothers and fathers understand their kids and vica versa.

Understanding is the first step toward better relationships and a greater capacity to accept differences among loved ones. From a parent's point of view it is hard to have this lovable child that is so precious suddenly become a monster. From the teen's perspective it is impossible to understand how someone who is trying to ruin my life can really love me or care. So what is to be done? Vanessa, actually still a teen herself when she wrote this book, seems to know much of what needs to happen.

For one thing, we need to understand each other's thinking and feeling capacities. Without that knowledge we expect the impossible. Parents need to know that kids think differently from us, and with less logical functioning. Kids need to know that they may not be interpreting accurately the facial expressions and remarks of their parents. And so Vanessa sets out to help both generations. She has provided great research on cognitive development. She also has provided tons of data on what kids really think. And she has given both generations ways of finding solutions around so many of the growing up issues that seem to send sparks flying in the household.

I think this is the best book I have seen for parents, teachers and teens. Everyone can read and benefit from the material and the suggestions. I can only imagine what Vanessa Van Petten will offer society over the next 50 years. People talk about concert virtuoso's who are 16, 18 or 24. Well, Vanessa is a social psychologist of the finest caliber whether she has the advanced degree yet or not. At 22 she is someone to admire, listen to and make sure to stay posted about. Can't wait for the next book.

At first, I was really skeptical about this. My mother made me read it and I felt for a bit that it was a punishment. After I got into it though I was very pleasantly surprised.

I thought it provided a lot of good insight, and I'm definitely glad my parents read it too, because now I think they understand where I'm coming from a lot better and we can work through our issues and get what we both want out of things.

Coming from a teenager that doesn't really like reading and was particularly reluctant about approaching this topic, I thought this book was a great, easy, entertaining, and yes, very helpful, read. I highly recommend it.

Jonathan

This book was a fantastic eye-opening experience into the lives of teenagers from the perspective of a teenager. Ms. Van Patten really is able to show us how the world has changed for our youth today and how we better can understand what they are facing. I enjoyed the book tremendously and have been able to employ some of the ideas to strenghten the mother/daughter relationship with my daughter. I have bought copies of the books for many of my mom friends as I know they too will get a lot out this book. Thank you!

Catherine Nofri, Los Angeles, CA

Family members are facing some distinct but not uncommon challenges with their teenage kids. I am gifting this book to them, in hopes that some resolution is on the horizon, due to Van Petten's practical approach and accessible "teen speak."

A Wiseman
Santa Fe NM

I bought this book for myself, but plan to give it to my daughter who is growing up too quickly. This book is great because it tells the story from both sides of the coin, in a way that can be easily understood by all parties involved.

I loved Sisters of Misery. It's technically a teen novel, but I think it has great appeal for adults as well. When Maddie's coisin Cordelia moves to town, she's immediately pegged as an outsider. Her suffering at the hands of Maddie's popular friends may have gone a bit too far, however, when Cordelia goes missing on Halloween.

This is a very difficult book to read, the convoluted plot stars two cousins, Maddie and Cordelia and there is a lot of suffering. They live in the small town of Hawthorne, and like so many small towns, it presents a facade of normality, which hides brutal evil and deception. Cordelia is a wild and beautiful girl and she and her mother Rebecca recently moved back from California. There is a wealthy upper crust in the town and a secret clique among the high school girls known as the Sisters of Misery, led by the spoiled and vicious Kate Endicott. Kate is the dictionary definition of the evil teenager, she is brutal to everyone, demanding obedience to her schemes and playing on the fears and insecurities of every member of the group.
The boys in the school are also toys in the events, they are often involved in Kate's schemes, when the girls in the group are coerced into sex by the schemes the boys are there to take advantage. Drugs and alcohol are also part of many of their events, and there is some parental involvement in the activities. There are also repeated hints of active witchcraft and the occult, spooky events take place that are unexplained and there is talk that the Sisters of Misery is a centuries old group.
When the Sisters of Misery carry out a brutal initiation of Cordelia, Maddie is involved but is apparently drugged and becomes disoriented. Her last memory is of Cordelia tied to a tree on an isolated island and being subjected to a brutal hazing. Although Maddie is hit over the head and rendered unconscious, she somehow manages to find her way back home. However, Cordelia is never seen after the hazing and there are no clues to her whereabouts.
This begins a sequence of events that keep you guessing as to what has happened and what will happen. The author resolves most of the uncertainties, yet leaves a few dangling problems for the sequel, which is due out in August of 2009. I was surprised with the resolutions as they were totally unanticipated.

believe every young girl dreams of being a member of the 'in-club' in school. You know the one that all the pretty girls belong to, the girls who have the best clothes, the most popular friends. But for fifteen-year-old Maddie it never felt right, even though she had 'hung' with this group all of her life. After all, her mother worked hard to make sure Maddie belonged, pushing her daughter to fit in, but something inside of her just didn't click. Something was always wrong.

When her beautiful cousin ,Cordelia, and her mother came to live with the family things started to get really strange. Maddie knew the group would never accept her cousin, after all, she was different and Maddie knew they would be jealous of her beauty and her free spirit. She was right. After the girls spent Halloween night on Misery Island, Cordelia disappeared. The town pretended that Cordelia merely ran away from a place she considered boring, but Maddie knew better. She knew something evil was behind her cousin's disappearance, but she didn't know what. Was she dead or alive, and if she were alive where was she?

This book is quite a read. It is full of mystery, and magic, secrets and unanswered questions that only loom larger as you continue on with the story. Who is the enemy, or is there even one?
What are the many secrets that are barely being unfolded in Maddie's family and where does she and her cousin fit in? If Cordelia is alive and well why has she decided to hide herself, and is Maddie the one who is really in danger? So many questions and so few answers.

"Sisters of Misery," definitely stirs your soul and keeps you reading hoping to find some conclusion to so many mysteries. However, many questions are left unanswered and the mysteries are piled one on top of another waiting for yet another time to be revealed. Interesting! Sisters of Misery is a story that will grab you and not let go. You will be anxiously awaiting the next book in hopes that many of your questions will be answered. We will have to see. Good job.

SISTERS OF MISERY looks innocuous, with a colorful cover and FRENEMIES-esque tagline: Best friends - or worst enemies? Don't ignore the title. This is a dark tale, the familiar story of the dark depths in a seemingly charming small town. SISTERS OF MISERY incorporates some supernatural elements, and I expect that that aspect of the story will be expanded in THE LOST SISTER.

Maddie Crane's social climbing mother couldn't be more thrilled that her daughter belongs to the Sisters of Misery, a secret society at the local Hawthorne Academy. Kate Endicott, the leader, is a vindictive girl, spoiled by her family's money and influence over the small Massachusetts town of Hawthorne. Maddie obeys her despite her cruelty until Maddie's aunt and cousin come to live with the family. They're beautiful, bohemian, and outsiders.

Cordelia LeClaire disdains Kate and her crowd, including Tyler - Kate's boyfriend who has a habit of flirting with her. She makes no effort to fit in, and Maddie is swayed by her self-confidence and the fact she's a decent human being. Then something goes terribly wrong. Cordelia disappears and Maddie can only remember half of the night. As Maddie seeks the truth and discovers how far Hawthorne's corruption runs, she finds allies in her cousin's few friends.

SISTERS OF MERCY reaches a satisfying conclusion that resolves many of the smaller mysteries, and one of the larger ones, while still leaving much to the next book. Megan Kelley Hall excels at creating the perfect atmosphere for the story - it's dark and threatening, with a palpable sense of dread. Even before Cordelia goes missing the reader can sense how much Maddie doesn't see about her life.

However, the characters are somewhat shallow. Kate Endicott is Evil. Hannah, Bridget, and Darcy are mostly weak sheep, although Bridget has one very interesting moment. Mr. Reed and Finnegan O'Malley both seem interesting and are likeable enough, but we don't seem enough of either. Actually, most of the characters are interesting. It's just that we only get to know one side of them, which is strange in a book about secrets and deceit.

Some of the plot seems a little bit like a soap opera, but it works. SISTERS OF MISERY feels more like a horror story than anything else, even without the supernatural elements. I do hope they are expanded upon, as I do intend to read the next book, as they feel somewhat superfluous in this one. They add to the atmosphere, but don't factor much into the plot. (They seem to while you're reading, but afterwards you realize very little magic actually occured.)

From In Bed With Books

Maddie Crane doesn't always feel like she fits in with the wealthy girls she hangs out with, but they've always been her best friends. And until her cousin Cordelia shows up in town, she doesn't give it much thought. Cordelia is different - magical, ethereal and unimpressed with the other girls - and she creates instant enemies. But Maddie is drawn to her, and starts to wonder what she sees in her supposed friends.

The Sisters of Misery, as they call themselves, won't put up with Cordelia's attitude, and they decide to teach her a lesson on Halloween. When their plans go awry, Maddie is determined to find out what really happened on that fateful evening.

As she digs deeper into the mystery of Cordelia's fate, she's drawn into the web of small-town deceptions. But the biggest shock comes when she finds out even her own family is living a lie.

Spell-binding, suspenseful, and shocking, Sisters of Misery will hook you right from the opening scene, and pull you into the drama as Maddie tries to find the answers to her burning questions. And when it seems that Maddie has found out all she needs to know, the last answer will chill you to the bone. Now, finally free of Cordelia and her home-town, Maddie learns that Cordelia isn't through with her, leaving a whole new set of questions that must be answered in the sequel.

Though at times I found it disturbing in its sheer brutality, Sisters of Misery is an enjoyable and gripping read that will keep you glued to the page. I highly recommend it.

Reviewer: Alice Berger, Bergers Book Reviews

This book is fantastic for those of us who have begun to forget what it is like to navigate the children's social world.

As a fellow social scientist, I want to understand preadolescent culture and identity and use that knowledge to think about how to improve education. This book has helped me towards that goal.

I note an ignorant review or two here making false claims about the research participants in this revolutionary study, as well as false claims about their own "knowledge" on the matter. If I were the authors, I'd sue these people for slander! The research participants are wonderful, successful, happy people with no problems that a reviewer or two here imply or overtly (falsely) claim. Such is the risk of freedom of speech, I suppose.

Read the book: you'll love it!

As a therapist who thinks a lot about group dynamics, I found this book's map of peer status catagories and group structure very deep and practical. The map of four layers of groups, Popular/wannabes/middle group and isolates rich and multi dimentional. It was also painful to hear about the raw quest for power lived out in popular group dynamics. In contrast to one reviewer's disturbing experience, my disturbing expereince in reading this book was the appearance of non-involvement from the researchers who were witnessing children going through enormous social stress. Very enlightening. I use their work a lot in how I think and work with groups and with clients.

These "researchers" used the most unethical and unscientific methods to obtain their results. I was a student in their daughter's class and they essentially encouraged her and her friends to torment other students. Apparently in high school, they published minors' accounts without their consent! The conclusions they came to were far from my observations. They should be ashamed of themselves for making money off of using their own children as guinea pigs. Don't give them a cent of encouragement by buying this book. They put a bad name on psychology.

Shameful. I grew up near the Adler family in Boulder, CO and witnessed the emotional damage inflicted on children by the authors of this book. By choosing the role of observers rather than parents, the Adler's coddled and encouraged socially destructive behavior in their daughter and her friends. Instead of intervening when children did the nasty things that children often do (as any responsible parent would), they took notes while allowing cruel behavior to escalate. Thus, the behavior they observed was distorted, if not fabricated, by their parental absenteeism. More disturbing, they subjected unknowing children to unnecessary manipulation and trauma.

With Homecoming just around the corner, Marnie and Nola have to get their problems solved in order to have a decent night.

After a whirlwind of events, the ex-best friends' roles are totally reversed.

Once Marnie was confronted by Lizette at the secret password party about her "relationship" with Sawyer, the majors dropped her in a heartbeat. Not only the majors but also Dane, who, although he says he doesn't believe what Lizette said, finds that it is better to keep his reputation intact then to stay with Marnie. Things get even worse when Marnie's perfect sister, Erin, comes home and finds the Fitzpatrick name is ruined -- all because of her little sister. Even Erin can't find it in herself to defend Marnie.

For Nola, on the other hand, things are looking a lot brighter. Matt is starting to open up with her about his mom and they seem to be getting a lot closer, especially since Riley isn't near them to get in Nola's way. Not only that, but Dane is still setting his eyes on Nola, which only makes the other cute guys at school want Nola, too. This could just possibly mean that Nola is in, except she might not want to be.

With Homecoming closing in on the girls, the crown is up for grabs, secret relationships will be revealed, and the chase is on for the perfect date, since you need someone to watch your back when everyone is aiming at you.

With what seems to be the last novel in the IN OR OUT series, Claudia Gabel wraps it up nicely, tying up all of the loose ends and helping us see what true friends are all about. Just remember, being out is always better then being in.

Well, unless you're on Project Runway.

Reviewed by: Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen

In or Out is the Best series ever!! In or Out, Loves Me, Loves Me Not, and Sweet and Vicous were so amazing. I didn't think the series could get any better...until now! The In or Out series is a book series that I am sure that alot of people can relate to. I know I can, which is what makes these books so fantasically fun to read. Friends Close, Enemies Closer was just what all the fans were waiting for...full of romance, cat-fights, apologies, damaged friendships, ended friendships, and repaired friendships, too!

Synopsis:

"It's Official, Marnie is definetly OUT and a bevy of boy admirers had Nola feeling pretty IN. But both girls have to watch their backs because you never know who your friends or enemies are."

Friends:

Shy girls

Homecoming Dates

Cute Boys

Marnie and Nola?






Enemies:

Queen Bees

Homecoming Haters

Total Players

Marnie and Nola?