Queen B [Mass Market Paperback]

Laura Peyton Roberts (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 10, 2007

To B or to Bee?
Cassie has been second best all her life, but as Snow Queen runner-up—with a cute new boyfriend, to boot—she’s determined to reach new social heights this semester. The time has come to move from Queen B to Queen Bee.

But how is she supposed to fly when life keeps pinching her wings? Her lovesick brother is determined to mortify her in public. She’s in charge of her school’s talentless talent show, where at any moment someone could pull back the curtain and expose her (many) insecurities. The people she cares most about are mad at her. (Again.) And her nemesis, Sterling, has an evil new clone, one who’s making a hobby of humiliating Cassie—and making a beeline for Kevin.

Does being popular mean you have to sting like a bee? Or can a girl become queen without losing her honey? Let the buzz begin!


From the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up–After sophomore Cassie Howard is named Snow Queen runner-up at her winter formal, she sets her sights on becoming the top of the social order at her school. She has a new, good-looking boyfriend, another asset in reaching her goal. Her true motive is not so much popularity as it is to be loved by him and her friends. Unfortunately, there are many obstacles in her way, including snobby Sterling Carter and her faithful followers. Cassie's home life has complications, too. The teen tells her story during a two-month period when she inadvertently becomes the director of the school's first talent show, a fund-raiser for cancer research. The faculty adviser's husband has cancer, which only Cassie knows. When Mrs. Conway takes a leave of absence to care for him, a panicked Cassie is left in charge. The relationships of friends, boyfriends, and rivals are explored in familiar scenarios. Cassie's revelations about herself and those around her are spelled out in the final chapters. Fans of the companion book, The Queen of Second Place (Delacorte, 2005), may be enticed to read this, as well as teens seeking light fare.–Linda L. Plevak, formerly at Saint Mary's Hall, San Antonio, TX
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 8-11. Fifteen-year-old Cassie Howard has always been second best, but she hopes that being runner-up for the Snow Queen and having a truly popular new boyfriend have finally put her in the elite social circle. However, the school's true queen bee and her cast of adoring followers seem determined to keep Cassie out. Her brother, who embarrasses her at parties, is also a problem, and Cassie's own anxieties don't help, as she stumbles into one social pratfall after another. Short chapters with cute titles help move the story along, as does the determinedly lighthearted teen-movie feel (imagine a novelized blend of Pretty in Pink and Mean Girls). Great literature it's not, but teen girls looking for a light, predictable read will enjoy this frothy (if lengthy) stand-alone companion to The Queen of Second Place (2005). Debbie Carton
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Laurel Leaf (July 10, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440238722
• ISBN-13: 978-0440238720
• Product Dimensions: 4.1 x 1 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,307,513 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Laura Peyton Roberts is the author of numerous books for teens and tweens, including the Clearwater Crossing series, Ghost of a Chance, The Queen of Second Place, Queen B, and Green. Laura has degrees in both geology and English, and worked as a geologist before becoming a full-time writer. She and her husband live in San Diego, California.

www.LauraPeytonRoberts.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Laura-Peyton-Roberts/150644311617501

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, January 30, 2007

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Queen B (Hardcover)

QUEEN B is the companion novel to Ms. Roberts's The Queen of Second Place. I haven't read the first book, which made me a little nervous when I started to read QUEEN B. Well, I had no need to be nervous because this stands up very well on its own.

The heroine, Cassie Howard, is a flawed but normal teenager who believes that her talent is coming in second place. She spends the whole novel making very big mistakes because she does things without thinking. She has a remarkably patient "hot" boyfriend who she just wants to hear say that he loves her. Her best friend is Hayley, who is also very patient with Cassie, but never lets Cassie get off the hook for stupid things that she has done.

My favorite characters are the gang of popular girls, Sterling Carter, Tiffi,and Ros. Ros is Sterling's best friend, but since she is dating a boy in Cassie's crowd she travels between the two groups, which lets the reader--and Cassie--get insight into the character of Sterling.

Cassie also has problems at home when her dad decides to quit his job because there are no vacations and he becomes a house-husband. Her mother hits the roof and there is tension in the home. Cassie inadvertently lets her grandmother, who doesn't get along with her mother, know what is happening and Grandma comes out to "save" the family. I really believe that grandma is the most intelligent character in the story and I enjoyed her manipulation of her daughter and son-in-law. Her little brother, Trevor, an eighth grader, is having love problems and doesn't want people to know that he can also cook and sew.

I really liked going into Cassie's world. She was making all kinds of mistakes but also learning from them. Most of the characters in QUEEN B aren't flat but have many layers. I especially love the haiku written by Cassie that ends many of the chapters. I also loved the chapter names such as Cupidity, Kiss Off, and Weirdly Normal. Most of them were plays on ideas and words, which I especially enjoy! There also were brilliant lessons to be learned by Cassie and which I believe that we all need to remember.

So buzz by your library, book store, or wherever you get your books and pick up a copy of QUEEN B.

Reviewed by: Marta Morrison