The Clique is an American young adult novel series written by American author Lisi Harrison and was originally published by Little, Brown and Company, a subsidiary of the Hachette Group, but got reprinted by Poppy books. The series revolves around five girls: Massie Block, Alicia Rivera, Dylan Marvil, Kristen Gregory, and Claire Lyons, who are known as The Pretty Committee. The Pretty Committee is a popular clique at the fictional, all-girls middle school, Octavian Country Day or OCD. Claire and her family moves from Orlando, Florida to Westchester, New York, where they live in the Blocks' guesthouse. Claire is initially considered an outcast due to her financial and fashion status. As the series progresses, Claire slowly develops a friendship with Massie, realizing that she must earn her friendship, and eventually becomes a member of the group.
The first novel, The Clique, was released on May 19, 2004. As of June 2012, 14 novels have been released in the main series. On October 4, 2006, a box set called "The Clique Collection" was released containing the first three novels of the series. A second set was released in November 2006 containing books four through six. From April to August 2008, five novellas named after the five main characters were published in a subseries called "The Clique Summer Collection." The novellas focus on each title characters' activities during the summer between their seventh and eighth grades in school. Harrison composed a guide to the series' "teen speak" terminology and trivia, Cliquetionary, which was released on November 16, 2009. It was announced on Lisi Harrison's website that the fourteenth book (which was released February 15, 2011) would mark the end of the series.
In 2007, Warner Brothers announced that it had partnered with publisher Alloy Entertainment to create a series of direct-to-DVD films based on the books. A film, based on the first novel The Clique, was released on November 18, 2008. The novels are being adapted into a series of graphic novels by Yen Press, with the first volume released July 2010, with art by Yishan Li. The video game The Clique: Diss and Make-Up is based on the book series. The books have a spin-off series, Alphas.
History
The book-packaging subdivision of Alloy Online, which focuses on the teen market, conceived the stories for its novel series, and is responsible for hiring writers and editing the novels they produced. They approached Lisi Harrison, who was working as a writer for MTV, about producing a series of young adult novels. She said of this proposal, "Always being a closeted wannabe author - I jumped at the opportunity. I loved the idea." Lisi actually wrote this book as a "joke," she said, as she even named OCD after a disorder that some people had. She created this series to show everyone that popular people aren't perfect and that everyone has flaws. Alloy's involvement in the process of writing varies from series to series; Harrison said that in her case they functioned as a sounding board, but otherwise, "they left me to my own devices. It's very much my book." The end result was the first novel in the series, The Clique, which was published in May 2004 by Little, Brown and Company.
Characters
Massie Block is the alpha (leader) and founder of her clique, The Pretty Committee. She has glossy brown hair and amber eyes. She is bossy and stuck-up, and her biggest desire is to be better than most people, but there is a sweeter side to her. Her family is rich because her dad is a successful businessman, so Massie gets everything she wants, thought the Block family becomes temporarily bankrupt when her dad loses his job. She loves shopping, and has a ton of designer clothes and credit cards. She has dated Derrick "Derrington" Harrington and Landon Crane. Although she acts like she has no flaws, she has an insecure side that she usually only reveals to her black pug, Bean, and sometimes her friends, mostly Claire.
Alicia Rivera is Massie's "beta" (second in command). She is described as the most beautiful girl at OCD, with dark, glossy hair, big brown eyes, and a huge chest, which she is infamously known for. She loves gossiping, and she eventually becomes the morning announcer at OCD. She also loves to dance, and takes lessons at Body Alive Dance Studio. She loves all things Ralph Lauren. She lives in a fancy mansion with her ex-model mother Nadia, and her famous lawyer dad, Len. Alicia has always wanted to be a leader like Massie, but she can never quite pull it off, which irritates her. She had a major crush on Josh Hotz, a guy who has a Ralph Lauren obsession like she does. They date briefly, but Alicia dumps him when she realizes they wear the same size clothes. Alicia is hinted to be the new alpha in the last book, when Massie moves to England, in "A Tale of Two Pretties."
Dylan Marvil is the Pretty Committee's source to the celebrity world, for her mother is Merri-Lee Marvil, the famous talk show host and television personality for the Daily Grind. Dylan has two sisters, Ryan and Jaime, who aren't really mentioned or seen except for in "Charmed and Dangerous: The Rise of the Pretty Committee" and in "A Tale Of Two Pretties," where they star in their own reality show called "Marvil-ous Marvils" along with Dylan and their mom. Dylan has long, red hair and green eyes, and worries constantly about her weight, even though she is described to have a good body. She wears a size 6.
Kristen Gregory is an all-star soccer player at school. She is a bit of a tomboy but loves designer clothes. Her mother disapproves of the racy clothing that Kristen likes, which is why they don't get along too well. However, despite her mother's objections, Kristen still wears the clothing behind her mother's back. Kristen's dad lost all of his money before the series began, which causes her to become poor, and she doesn't want anyone to know. She tells Claire about the secret on an instant messaging service, thinking she was confessing to Massie. She eventually tells the others in the third book, "Revenge of the Wannabes". Kristen is highly intelligent, attending OCD on a full scholarship, until the book "The Pretty Committee Strikes Back", when she is expelled. She is considered to be pretty with her long blond hair and blue eyes, although in "Invasion of the Boy-Snatchers" a disastrous hair appointment leaves her with a short pixie cut. She enjoys playing word games and is very athletic. In the Summer Books, it is revealed Kristen is the leader of The Witty Committee, an Anti-Pretty Committee group that strives upon intelligence and character. In the group they dress up as intelligent people in history, and Kristen chooses to be Cleopatra. Several other students, including Claire's best friend Layne Abeley, are in the group. When Massie finds out about The Witty Committee, she and Kristen's friendship is temporarily ended, but Kristen regains Massie's approval later on.
Claire Lyons moved from Orlando, Florida to Westchester, New York. Her dad was good friends with Massie's dad in college, and the Lyons are living in Massie's guesthouse. Claire's family is not rich or successful like the other girls' families are, so she has a hard time fitting in at first, but eventually does. She becomes friends with Layne, known to the Pretty Committee as an LBR (Loser Beyond Repair). In the end, Massie leaves telling Claire, "I heart you." Her trademark is her love of Keds, Gummies and Sours and her crush on Cam Fisher, and thanks to the encouragement and acceptance from her former bully, Massie Block, she is not only allowed to be in The Clique, but to also be in a relationship with Cam and be friends with Layne at the same time, so she is reasonably liked and respected by her peers. Claire is described as having blonde hair with short bangs and wide blue eyes. She briefly leaves the Pretty Committee in favor of two freshman Drama-Club Girls, Cara and Syd, and when earning the lead role in a blockbuster movie, "Dial L for Loser". She has trouble fitting in because of her sense of style or her personality. Claire is known to be down-to-earth and loyal. She is best friends with Sarah, Sari and Mandy, who are in Florida, but soon learns in her summer book that Sarah, Sari and Mandy secretly hate her, so she votes Massie to win the beauty pageant instead of them, preferring to be friends with Massie, Alicia, Dylan and Kristen, where she feels accepted and more herself.
Cameron "Cam" Fisher: Described as having messy black hair and mismatched eyes- one blue, one green- Cam originally appeared in the first novel as the boy who danced with Massie, though his name was not credited. He also made appearances in Best Friends for Never as the boy who saved Claire from her humiliation at the party, and then in Revenge of the Wannabes as Massie and Claire's crush. However, by the fourth novel he and Claire are officially dating. They then break up again because Claire is manipulated into thinking he likes Alicia’s slutty cousin, Nina. They get back together after they share a first kiss in The Pretty Committee Strikes Back. He is described as sweet and sensitive. In "Sealed with a Diss," he dumps Claire when she accuses him of being a cheater. He then dates Olivia Ryan, but is annoyed with her as she proves to be incredibly dumb and a bad mother to their Health assignment, a simulated baby named Kate, whom Claire is the stepmother of, and gets back with Claire. They stay together for the rest of the series, even throughout the upgrade, something that Massie came up with where the Pretty Committee should dump their 8th grade boyfriends and "upgrade" by getting 9th grade boyfriends. Throughout the series, Cam is also known for giving bags of gummies to Claire, as sweet surprises.
"Derrick ‘Derrington’ Harrington": With dirty blonde hair and a goofy smile, Derrick is Briarwood’s treasured goalie on the Tomahawks soccer team and is fought over at the beginning of the series by Kristen and Dylan. He's known to be funny and jokey, and constantly likes to pull his shorts down and shake his bare butt around. Only Massie and Dylan see the sweeter side to him. He then dates Massie up until Sealed with a Diss, where he says he thinks she is too immature for him (though Massie thinks the same of him). In "P.S. I Loathe You", he dates Dylan secretly. In "These Boots Were Made for Stalking", she dumps him for Luke, a ninth grade high school freshman.
"Joshua ‘Josh’ Hotz": Appeared in Invasion of the Boy Snatchers as a new transfer student. He and Alicia dated briefly, even throughout the boy fast up until the upgrade. Joshua shares a kiss with Claire Lyons in the end of Invasion of the Boy Snatchers. He and Alicia are finished after she begins to "semi-flirt" with Aidan, because she and Josh wear the same size clothes. He is described as having thick wavy black hair and brown eyes, and wearing a New York Yankees cap most of the time. He also has a Ralph Lauren obsession.
"Kemp Hurley": Dylan’s crush in Sealed with a Diss who double-dumped her, and Kristen’s date to the winter dance. He is described as being a major pervert.
"Chris Plovert": Dylan’s crush for most of the early books, the one who breaks up with her when he finds her too "manly."
"Harris Fisher": Cam’s older brother, who has green eyes. Alicia crushes on him in the third book but he gives her mixed signals. It is not until it is revealed later in the book that he is not interested.
"Landon Crane": Massie’s crush up until the last book. He is described as having sea green eyes and messy brown wavy hair. He is in ninth grade at ADD, the local public school.
"Bean": Massie’s fashion-forward black pug.
"Bark Obama": Landon’s black pug.
"Celia Crane": Landon’s mother, who owns Bark Jacobs. She knows Marc Jacobs and is very close with her only son.
"Kori Gedman": On Kristen’s soccer team. She was the Kristen look-alike who Alicia recruited for her clique in the third book. She is described as having bad posture, blond hair that is always styled in either pigtails or braids, and light blue eyes. She lives in the Brickview Apartments like Kristen and due to many surgeries her mother has had Kori is often teased about it.
"Strawberry McAdams": She has a bad temper and gets her nickname from where she shops, and also for her magenta-dyed hair. She looks a bit like Dylan for being big-boned, and she was her look-alike replacement for Alicia's clique in the third book. Her real name is Coral.
"Olivia Ryan.": Olivia is a dancer who is described as having sky blue eyes and buttery-blond waves. She is credited as a B-lister trapped in an A-lister’s body. She has an older brother Andy with a skating ramp, and an older sister. She briefly dates Cam Fisher. She and Chris Plovert also had a distant fling. Her dad is a surgeon and operates on her nose many times throughout the series. She is also known as Alicia’s ditzy tagalong. During the OCD Uniform Contest, Alicia and her cheat by switching the ballots.
"Skye Hamilton": An eighth-grade alpha who offers the secret room to whoever first finds the special key. In the Kristen novella, she had a crush on Dune Baxter until she fell in a pool of Jell-O and got angry when he laughed at her. She then goes off to Alpha Academy. She loves animals, mini things, glitter pens, dancing and boys. She is described as having white-blonde waves, Tiffany box-blue eyes and B-cups. She is the leader of a group called the DSL Daters (they make super-fast connections with boys) and in the early books, had a crush on Chris Abeley. Her parents own the Body Alive Dance Studio, so she gets free clothes. Her mother is a retired ballet dancer named Natasha Flailenkoff from Russia, while her dad is just an American named Geoffrey. She is famous for the little charms she attaches to arm-sleeves. She is one of the main characters in the spin-off series "Alphas", where she competes to become the number one Alpha.
"William Block": Massie's father, who is old friends with Claire’s father, Jay Lyons. He is described as being serious with a balding head. He is a successful businessman and also a major pushover when it comes to giving Massie what she wants.
"Kendra Block": Massie’s Pilates-toned mother, who is very dramatic, anxious, and strict. She makes many efforts to keep peace in the household.
"Todd Lyons": Claire’s younger brother, who has curly red hair in the beginning of the series, becomes bald in the last two books. He turns bald when Massie persuades him to shave off all of his hair in order to convince Claire's ninth-grade friends that a lice epidemic was going on in "My Little Phony." He is a major eavesdropper, and his excuse is that he has an "eavesdropping problem". Throughout the series he harbors a major crush on Massie, and has his first kiss with her, much to Massie's horror: it was her first kiss as well.
"Tiny Nathan": He is Todd’s best friend, and is described as being small with a squeaky voice. He is also an eavesdropper like Todd.
"Nikki Dalton": The girl Claire thought Cam was cheating on her with in "Sealed with A Diss". However, she liked him when he didn’t like her back. She is described as having black hair and long bangs that cover her eyes.
"Heather": Best friends with Layne Abeley and Meena. She is described as being a major LBR who dresses oddly and likes to protest.
"Layne Abeley": Witty and clever, Layne is Claire’s first true friend at OCD. She has narrow green eyes and frizzy brown hair. She has many food obsessions and briefly dates Eli. Her brother is Chris Abeley.
"Chris Abeley": Layne’s older brother, who is described as cute with blue eyes and blonde hair. Massie liked him in the first book, "The Clique", but she then finds out he had a girlfriend, Fawn, who dumps him later on in the series, because of rumours that Chris was in love with his horse Tricky, and he has a hard time getting over her.
"Fawn": Chris Abeley’s girlfriend up until Sealed with a Diss. She is described as being gorgeous with blonde hair and a tiny waist. She dumps him after hearing a vicious rumor that he is in love with his horse, Tricky.
"Tristan": Eli’s best friend, described as being punk. He dances with Claire at the Halloweenie party, but she leaves him when he starts acting embarrassing.
"Jakkob": Massie’s trusted and fashionable stylist.
Brownie: Massie's beloved white horse.
"Hadley Durk": The celebrity originally cast for Dial L for Loser. She is replaced by Claire after having a fight with Abby Boyd after she steals two of her boyfriends, Gabor and Palmer. She has Pocahontas braids and brown eyes. She and Claire share a love of Keds.
Abby Boyd: The actress who stole both of Hadley's boyfriends. She has a bad girl reputation. Her hair was wavy and dark, but then she cuts it short and dyes it blond for the movie. She pretends to be Claire's best friend for publicity.
"Meena": She loves to dress oddly and protest like Layne and Heather.
"Nina Callas": Alicia’s slutty cousin, who steals all their boyfriends and the Clique’s stuff in the fourth book "Invasion of the Boy Snatchers". In the Alicia novella, she and Alicia have a terrible fight and become closer eventually. She has major D-cups and long, thick dark hair and hazel eyes. She is a reformed dork and only wanted Alicia to like her.
"Celia and Isobel Callas": Nina’s twin sisters. They are, at first, very nice to Alicia in her novella. Then it is revealed they only used her for her clothes. They get a taste of their medicine at the end of the book when they are forced to lick ice cream off a fat man’s belly.
"Nigeal": A British hottie Alicia and Nina meet in Alicia’s novella. It is revealed he is ¡i!, the sexy Spanish pop star, and that he never goes out in public for fear of blowing his cover.
"Eli": Layne’s makeup-wearing boyfriend, who she breaks up with because she doesn’t like "a guy who wears more eyeliner than I do." He prefers wearing women's underwear instead of boxers.
"Dempsey Solomon": The eco-friendly hottie who comes back to Westchester after losing his baby fat building homes in Africa. Massie and Layne like him until it is revealed he has a crush on Kristen Gregory. He plays soccer for a short time until he injures himself when Massie accidentally trips him.
"Dune Baxter": Kristen’s surfer-boy summer crush, who has sandy blonde hair. He briefly likes Skye Hamilton, until he finds her to be a snob, and he starts liking Kristen instead, but they break up in "P.S. I Loathe You" when Kristen starts liking Dempsey.
"Ripple Baxter": Dune’s younger sister, who is nine. Kristen tutors her over the summer but then quits when she finds out Ripple only hired her as a tutor so she could learn how to look and act like Massie. Kristen nominates Ripple for the cheerleading squad in "P.S I Loathe You".
"Nurse Adele": The school nurse that helped Claire when she first came to OCD. She owns a lost and found in the office and often chats with Claire.
"Issac": Massie's chauffeur, who drives Massie and her friends to school as well as other places. Massie thinks of him as a "second dad" since he always tries to give her advice and is very stern when he needs to be.
"Inez": The Block family's live-in housekeeper.
"Conner Foley": A Hollywood hottie who stars in Dial L for Loser alongside Claire. He had spiky black hair and olive-green eyes. He is spotted a lot with unlit cigarettes hanging out of his mouth. In Dial L for Loser, it seems as if he is crushing on every girl in the set, and he is later discovered to be dating Abby Boyd. Conner causes Claire and Cam to fight because they have a major make out session with Claire and the rest of the Clique.
Reception
The Clique was selected as a "Quick Pick For Reluctant Young Adult Readers" by YALSA. Best Friends for Never was nominated for the 2005 Quill Awards in the "Young Adult/Teen" category. Best Friends for Never reached The New York Times bestseller list in early February 2005, four months after it was published, but remained there only one week. It returned in late February for another week, reaching #7. Following the release of the next volume in the series, It entered the bestseller list again in late March, where it stayed another week, then in late April, where it remained for three weeks. In late March it also made an appearance on the Publishers Weekly bestseller list, coming in at #9. Copies of the novel have continued to sell in large numbers: nearly 150,000 in 2005, over 200,000 in 2006, and over 150,000 in 2007.
Three of the novels from the "Summer Collection", Alicia, Dylan, and Massie, made the New York Time's Children's Books best seller list. On June 22, 2008, Alicia debuted on the list in first place, with Dylan and Massie placing second and sixth, respectively.
Critical reviews
In reviewing the first novel, The Clique, reviewers remarked on the behavior of the characters, with Publishers Weekly noting that it "takes cliquish, snobbish behavior to Hollywood extremes" and School Library Journal saying that "the cruelty of the clique [is not] redeemed with any sort of a satisfying ending." There were also comments about the novel's use of brand names: School Library Journal said that it "has trendy references kids will love"; Booklist expounded more on the subject, saying that the novel goes into "too much detail about how the super wealthy live" but added that it "has fun with the tyranny of brand names" - although they also cautioned that "the very specifics that teens will recognize will be 'so out' before the year is over." Additionally, Booklist described the instant messaging segments as "hilarious", while School Library Journal criticised "the shallowness of the characters" and "the one-dimensional plot". Spero News says "At first, it's easy to hate this book and the shallow materialism that these characters embody. On the other hand, they're so impossible to take seriously that you have to laugh at them. These girls are so 13-going-on-30."
Reviewers' general descriptions of Best Friends for Never focused on its lightweight nature and entertainment value: Book Loons called it "good soap operatic fun", The Virginian Pilot said it was "a fairly quick and easy read", Teen Reads found it to be "another quick, fun, enjoyable read", while Romantic Times thought that it was "sinful, nasty fun" and gave it three stars. More negative comments that were made included The Virginian Pilot's assertion that it "lacks the sophistication and style of deeper novels". On the behavior of the characters—something the first volume was criticised for—Romantic Times said, "Good news for fans—the girls are just as catty now as they were before." Book Loons added that it "does capture both the occasionally unpleasant verbal interactions and emotional vulnerability of pre-teen girls." The book's cliffhanger ending was described as "perfect" by Teen Reads and according to The Virginian Pilot is, along with the "mild twists", what made the novel an "interesting read."
