The Clique (series)


The Clique is a young adult novel series written by Canadian author Lisi Harrison and originally published by Little, Brown and Company, a subsidiary of the Hachette Group. The series was 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. Claire and her family move 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 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 11, 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 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 series after becoming interested in developing an in-house franchise. They approached Lisi Harrison, who was working as a writer for MTV, about producing a series of youth novels. She said of this proposal, "Always being a closeted wannabe author - I jumped at the opportunity. I loved the idea." Harrison 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

The Summer Books

Other Clique Books

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 Times' 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 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 criticized "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 criticized 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."