Bratfest at Tiffany's

Bratfest at Tiffany’s by Lisi Harrison is the ninth book of The Clique series. After the five girls are dumped by their crushes after being caught spying on them, Massie proposes a boyfast. This wreaks havoc across the rest of the girls except Dylan, who was previously crushless anyway, is more than happy to accept the challenge. Each girl is given a charm bracelet and are to recite the “pledge-poem [Massie] had spent all of geography and half of Spanish memorizing”:

From this moment on

I pledge the following to you.

To rid my thoughts of boys

Done and done, they are through.

I’ll focus on fashion

Study new trends in beauty

Strengthen my friendships

And tighten my booty.

You won’t find me flirting

Or talking to guys

No texting, IMing

No batting my eyes.

I’m above that now

Been there done that

Time for the LBRs

To have their turn at bat

Let them wear tight clothes

And watch boring soccer (no offense, Kristen!)

Let them laugh at fart jokes

Let them be the stalkers!

It’s BFF time

No boys, not ever.

Because BFF has a new meaning

And that’s Boyfast Forever!

Just before the summer began, Briarwood Academy flooded due to a “faulty” wave pool. Upon entering the new school year, the middle school boys relocated to Octavian Country Day. This posed a major threat to the clique because Massie worried that the boys would become the new alphas and she and her friends would lose their place in the school’s hierarchy. Little did they know that they themselves would be relocated into beat-up overflow trailers behind the school. Alicia, the school’s news anchor, had been seeing her crush Josh Hotz behind the Pretty Committee’s back. She was the only one who wasn’t dumped at Skye Hamilton’s end-of-the-year party and was taking advantage of the Ralph Lauren-wearing opportunity despite the breaking the rules of the boyfast. She and Josh snuck a peek at the next-day’s announcements and learned that lunch tables one through ten would be “transferred to an overflow facility until BO can find a way to make more space.” Everyone knew that the Pretty Committee always sat at table eighteen, but Alicia and Josh concocted a plan to ensure they would be forced into the overflow trailers.

Alicia was torn between her friends and her true love--both of which she did not want to disappoint. This conflict shed light on Alicia’s true motives and the identity behind her place in the Pretty Committee. Massie had always been the alpha at everything, despite Alicia’s own skills and talents. After deciding to stay in the main building with Josh, Alicia felt a pang of guilt watching her friends leave. The next day, OCD’s overflow situation was filmed to be broadcasted on the local news. That night at Massie’s screening party, Alicia was kicked out of the Pretty Committee as it became evident what she had done to stay with Josh:

“‘I had a feeling you Alicia-ed your way into the main building to be with Josh. But I didn't want to believe it.’ Massie’s voice was calm again, almost soothing.

‘Wait! You don’t understand!’ Alicia ran her silver-ringed hand through her hair, the charms on her NPC bracelet bashing together.

‘Actually, I do understand.’ Massie stepped closer until they were practically nose-to nose behind the couch. She held out her palm.

‘You don’t!’ Alicia’s voice shook. ‘All my life, boys always liked me. They thought I was super-pretty or that my body was hawt ot that I had good style. But for the first time ever, Josh likes me for me. And I like him. I’ve never liked a guy back, and now that I finally do, you make up this boyfast thing and --’

Massie opened her palm and wiggled her fingers.”

Both girls were wrong in their actions. Alicia should not have gotten her friends put in the overflow trailers and Massie should not control every aspect of the girls’ lives. I think that Alicia took this as an opportunity to passive-aggressively rebel against her alpha and be her own person for once.

The Clique

In the novel The Clique by Lisi Harrison, Massie Block and her three best friends Alicia, Dylan, and Kristen (dubbed the Pretty Committee) struggle to hold their place at Octavian Country Day School when their reputation is threatened by Claire Lyons, the daughter of Massie’s father’s old friend. Claire and her family recently moved into the Block’s guesthouse, and Massie had been the opposite of welcoming. Because of her untimely arrival, Massie had missed out on the Pretty Committee’s Labor Day shopping trip, and that was so not acceptable. Instead, she was cooped up in her sprawling estate with the Lyons family.

Much like Emma Jean Lazarus Fell in Love, this novel is written in the third-person, alternating between Massie’s and Claire’s point-of-view. The author takes note of how each character would perceive each situation, which are often on opposite ends of the spectrum. Massie was raised in Westchester County, New York, one of the wealthiest counties in America. Claire is from Kissimmee, Florida, a quaint town just west of Orlando. Despite it being a perfectly suitable residential area, Massie Block does not approve.

As Claire becomes more acquainted with the Pretty Committee, she learns that beauty is hardly skin-deep. Despite their flawless complexions, their hearts were anything but. Harrison develops each girl’s relationship with one another through both traditional dialogue and instant messaging. In a revenge plot against Massie, Claire sneaks into her bedroom several nights in a row and poses as her on via instant messaging:

“They made it up the stairs and into Massie’s room without a problem. Todd guarded the door while Claire went straight to the computer. She lowered the volume and composed her first IM. This one was to BigRedHead. It had to be Dylan.

Massiekur: What’s up?

BigRedHead: Biology homework ☹

Massiekur: What are you wearing to your party?

BigRedHead: Maybe a suede mini from Barney’s catalog, pg 23

Massiekur: Think your legs will look good in a mini??

Claire couldn't believe she had stooped so low. In a billion years she never thought she’d be the kind of person who would go out of their way to make someone feel bad about their weight. But then again, she’d never imagined she’d be in any of the situations she’d been in as of lately” (Harrison, 153).

It was only a matter of days before the Pretty Committee discovered the true perpetrator behind the insulting instant messages.  This news, however, impressed them more than angered them:

“‘I can’t believe she had you guys going for so long on IM,’ Massie said.

‘I can’t believe she snuck into your room every night without you catching her,’  Kristen said.

‘I know, it’s pretty impressive.’ Massie gave a distant smile. She looked up and saw her friends looking at her like she was crazy. ‘I mean, I’m just surprised she even came up with the idea. You know, because she seems like such a goody-goody. It seems like something we would do.’” (Harrison, 177).

Massie did have a point, Harrison developed Claire’s character brilliantly. Before being admitted into the Pretty Committee, she befriended Layne. Despite being related to Chris Abeley, Massie’s ninth grade crush, Layne Abeley was not respected by the Pretty Committee. However, upon offering Claire a seat on her first day at Octavian Country Day, they became friends immediately. But when Claire is invited to one of Massie’s exclusive Friday night sleepovers, she cancels her plans with Layne to be included. It is at this point in the story when the reader understands how important it is to Claire to be accepted by this clique, and the measures she will take to achieve her goal.

Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell in Love

In the novel Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell in Love by Lauren Tarshis, Emma-Jean struggles to find her place as her 7th-grade peers at William Gladstone Middle School prepare for the upcoming Spring Fling. She considers asking Will Keeler, whom she considers to be an honorable person, but later realizes that they are not suitable for each other. Meanwhile, her friend Colleen feels insecure because she believes that no one would want to attend with her. In an attempt to cheer her up, Colleen’s close friend Kaitlin leaves an anonymous letter in her locker:

Colleen-

I think you’re the best girl in the whole grade. I hope you want to go to the Spring Fling.

Love,

Someone who thinks you’re so great.

Colleen’s reaction to this note is described brilliantly by Tarshis:

“Out of all the girls in the seventh grade, a boy liked Colleen.

Colleen, who wasn’t the prettiest girl in the seventh grade, or the smartest, or the funniest; Colleen, who wasn’t first violin or in high math or in travel soccer. A boy liked Colleen, because she was Colleen, because that was enough” (Tarshis, 32).

This novel is written in third-person, but takes on two different perspective. Each chapter alternates between Emma-Jean’s and Colleen’s point-of-view. This adds much more depth to the story because these characters could not be more different. Emma-Jean always has a logical approach to situations, even when logic may not apply. As Colleen described her, “she knew almost nothing about boys or clothes or makeup, but everything about birds and flowers” (Tarshis, 13). Colleen, on the other hand, loves trying on makeup and using fruity perfumes, both of which Emma-Jean believe irritate the skin and cause asthma. It is very bold of Tarshis to tweak her writing style as she goes back and forth from each of the two characters.

Tarshis does a wonderful job of creating characters that stay with you  long after the book is finished. I especially appreciated how well she fleshed out Colleen’s character and built her into something more than just words on a page:

“All eyes turned to Colleen, who was indeed the most fragile of the girls, easily upset by even the most benign conflicts. A recent debate about soda flavors had caused Colleen to put her hands over her ears and implore, ‘Can’t we all just agree?’” (Tarshis, 70).

I thought that this particular quote captured Colleen’s personality quite well. She clearly cares a great deal for her friends but  hates for there to be conflict. However, because of her sensitivity, she is often anxious. The reason why this stood out most to me is because I worry over the same things as Colleen would, and I think that the author took the appropriate and believable angle when expressing this characteristic.

The author uses both similes and metaphors to express the relationship Emma-Jean has with her peers. My favorite is when Emma-Jean’s friends are compared  to the moons of Jupiter:

“Like the moons of Jupiter, Colleen Pomerantz, Kaitlin Vogel, Valerie Rosen, and Michele Peters moved together in harmony through the chaotic universe of William Gladstone Middle School. And if Emma-Jean did not share their exact orbit, she was very pleased nonetheless to sit with them at their table” (Tarshis, 6).

I admire Lauren Tarshis’s writing style and the story reminded me of how complicated the seventh grade was.

A Mission for Closure

Asperger’s syndrome is characterized by an inability to pick up social cues, heightened sensitivity, and an apparent lack of empathy. Despite these barriers, those who Work At It* are often successful.

Caitlin Smith, Kathryn Erskine’s lovable character in Mockingbird, struggles to find closure when her brother is killed in a school shooting. This novel is written in the first person and takes the perspective of Caitlin, who is living with Asperger’s syndrome. Erskine does not flesh out Caitlin by simply describing her,  but by literally going inside of her head. Although difficult to follow at first,  the reader explores how Caitlin sees and interprets the world around her; watching as she grows from the tragedy that struck her community:

“I put my head under the sofa cushion and stare at the chest so I can think of an answer but instead I think of Devon and I wish he were here so he could tell me the answer and I think about how he could never tell me anything or do anything again--not ride his bike or play baseball or watch To Kill a Mockingbird* or be an Eagle Scout.

I hear the crying and then I see Dad’s hand reaching under the sofa cushion and pushing the wet hair out of my eyes. But I can’t stop crying. For Devon. Because of what happened to Devon. Because he got his life taken away and he can’t do anything and he can’t be happy or proud or live or love” (Erskine, 218).

CLOsure*, as she put it, “is the state of experiencing an emotional conclusion to a difficult life event” (Erskine, 67). It was a word she’d heard on the news soon after her brother passed and that because his killer was now locked up, the community should feel more at ease. But the image of the shooter on her television screen did not put her at ease. It would take something more powerful. Devon was an Eagle Scout, and still had an unfinished project underneath a sheet a in the Smith’s living room. It was a mission chest, one that was big enough for Caitlin to fit inside. Caitlin’s father had put a sheet over the chest when Devon died, and kept his eyes averted from the corner it was in. An air vent beneath the sheet gave an illusion of a bird “floating and falling and floating and falling” Erskine, 3). The repetition literally quickens my breaths, they go up and down and up and down, like the way someone would feel if they floated then fell then floated again. I think that it is important for a sentence to be dynamic and take the reader with it. Although Caitlin was only referring to the sheet as looking like a bird, I think that it was also alluding to how unstable she felt. Her mind does not work the same way ours does. Not only does Caitlin grow throughout the story, but we do, too.

*Caitlin would always capitalize words that were important to her, regardless of its placement in the sentence. She would not just capitalize the first letter of that word, but the letters within that word in which she found meaning. When Caitlin was asked to do a project on the Heart, she capitalized it each time she used it in her paper. When her teacher commented on this, Caitlin didn't understand why something so important should not be given its proper recognition.

*To Kill a Mockingbird is a recurring theme in this book. This was Devon's favorite movie; his nickname for Caitlin was Scout.