The Clique #6: Dial L for Loser (Clique Series) (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: coma guy, gossip points, Chris Abeley, Range Rover, The Daily Grind (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8–Claire Lyons moves with her parents from Florida to wealthy Westchester County, NY. Until they can get settled, the family stays in the guest house of Mr. Lyons's college buddy, who happens to have a daughter who is also in seventh grade. Expected to welcome her, Massie instead chooses to make Claire's life miserable for no other reason than she's the new girl. Massie enlists her clique of friends at Octavian Country Day School, all part of the beautiful and popular crowd, to help with the harassment, which ranges from catty comments on Claire's clothes to spilling red paint on her white jeans in a conspicuous spot. Tired of it all, Claire tries to fight back, but then the abuse worsens. The book has trendy references kids will love, including Starbucks in the school, designer clothes, and PalmPilots for list making. However, this trendiness doesn't make up for the shallowness of the characters or the one-dimensional plot. Nor is the cruelty of the clique redeemed with any sort of a satisfying ending. The conclusion leaves one with the feeling that a sequel is in the works. Amy Goldman Koss's The Girls (Dial, 2000) shows the same cruelty of girls with a more realistic story and resolution.–Diana Pierce, Running Brushy Middle School, Cedar Park, TX
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From Booklist

Gr. 5-8. Head-to-toe Calvin Klein is in. So is Ralph Lauren. Burberry is so out. And as for Claire's platform navy Keds and two-year-old, white Gap jeans--doesn't she know that clothes are like milk or cheese with a "best-before date" and a limited shelf life? Claire is clueless when she enters seventh grade, a newcomer and total outsider when it comes to [...] Massie's friends at an exclusive private girls' school. Massie leads her clique in humiliating [Claire] (including splashing those jeans with red paint to make it look like Claire has her period), and the instant messaging is very mean. It's also hilarious, especially because the viewpoints switch between the two [girls] and Claire gets her revenge--sort of. There's too much detail about how the superwealthy live, but Harrison, who writes for MTV, knows peer pressure, and her first novel has fun with the tyranny of brand names ("she was wearing . . ." is a constant). Buy this quickly, though, because the very specifics that teens will recognize will be "so out" before the year is over. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Poppy (August 23, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316115045
• ISBN-13: 978-0316115049
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (467 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #13,461 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #43 in	Books > Teens > Social Issues > Dating & Intimacy > Fiction
  #76 in	Books > Teens > Social Issues > Being a Teen

• This is item 6 in The Clique Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For one the Publication date is totally Wrong, August 1, 2006

By	Jake T. "Book King" (Florida, US) - See all my reviews

Heres the info that appears on the back cover:

Dial L for Loser (The Clique Series #6)

FROM THE PUBLISHER
Goodbye Westchester, Hello Hollywood!
Massie Block: The Pretty Committee is this close to begging Principal Burns to readmit them to O.C.D. when movie director Rupert Mann invites the girls to audition for his new teen blockbuster -- Dial L for Loser. Massie packs her straight-leg velvet Sevens, ties her new hair extensions in a high pony, and heads off to L.A. with her friends, on the studio's ah-mazing private jet. But when they arrive on the set, everyone starts treating Claire like she's the star. Dial W for What the....?!

Kristen Gregory: Parents have her grounded in Westchester while her friends are off glamming it up. But so what? She has the Briarwood boys to keep her company, including "certain people's" crushes...

Alicia Rivera: Doing the morning announcements at O.C.D. was great preparation for her latest gig -- being a movie-set correspondent on The Daily Grind.

Dylan Marvil: On a new all-bran diet. Good thing she wasn't invited to L.A. since she needs to spend most of her time running to the bathroom.

Claire Lyons: Snags a starring role. Befriends a hot teen starlet. Is invited into a world of extreme fabulousness -- she goes to glitzy parties, gets her picture in lots of magazines, and receives dozens of free pairs of Keds. She's living the dream! But what happens when Cam catches Claire kissing a Hollywood hottie?

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It's Yummy Like Junk Food., August 5, 2006

A Kid's Review

I know this book has been being bashed by adults, saying that this series is putting girls down, and advising people from buying it for their daughters. But when you look at all of the reviews made from the kids, The Clique is getting great ratings. So maybe the adults shouldn't be so judgemental about a series that kids really enjoy, and remind themselves that it's only fiction. I mean, what right to adults have to criticize, saying that these books put teen girls down? That's just an opinion. All the adults reviewing this don't have the same mind as a teen girl, and the reviews show that they obviously think different thoughts.

I'm turning thirteen in less then a week, and I have read all The Clique books besides Dial L for Loser, and intend to order it ASAP. I think that Lisi Harrison has really tapped into something. She's written these books so well, that they seem to be non fiction, as if there based on real events.

But here's the thing. They're not based on real events. I think that's what's got people confused. A fictitous series shouldn't put teen girls down. So what if you're not as wealthy as Massie? So what if you can't afford to shop at BCBG and Bloomingdale's? I'm a Hollister and Abercrombie junkie, and these books sure didnt make me feel bad when I was shopping for flip flops at Abercrombie!

Some girls are Massies, some are Claires. You could be a Massie. Popular, Rich, Beautiful. That could make any girl jealous. But maybe you're Claire. You don't have as much money, and you start out as the Ugly Duckling, who doesn't really fit in in Massie's world. Even though Massie gave Target and Gap a bad name, it didn't stop Claire from wearing platform Keds, and being a part of Massie's infamous Pretty Committee.

This book doesn't make you spend every cent on designer clothing. You're the consumer, and you have the power. You have the power to put down these books. You have the power to walk out of Bloomingdale's empty handed. Why even read them if all they do is make you feel bad? To all of the negative reviewers: Why wouldn't you stop after reading the first book? If you thought they were destined for the trash, why would you read as far as the sixth installment into the series?

If you think that this series sucks, and that they don't deserve your attention, don't give them your attention. But all your doing is frustrating fans of The Clique.

Do you think any buyers will acknowledge your review? If you want to dust away interested buyers, review the first book! Why would a first-time Clique reader buy the sixth book before reading all the others? If someone's come to this page interested in the book, they've probably read the whole series, and a one-star review won't stop them from ordering it!

Don't wallow if your not rich and popular like Massie is! Be inspired by Claire, because she's sending a message that no matter who you are you can fit in with girls like Massie and Alicia.

To all the negative reviewers: I would back off. People aren't going to come to this page unless there going to write a negative review or order the book and comment with positivity. Like I said, if you really want to direct buyers away from this series, then go comment on the first installment.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Clique" and Clash, May 12, 2004

By	Little Willow (USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The Clique (Paperback)

Lisi Harrison's debut novel introduces us to THE CLIQUE - a quartet of popular girls attending private school in New York. These girls are wise (and rich) beyond their twelve years, valuing their designer clothes, sparkling homes, and precious cell phones above all else. At the top of the clique is Massie, a girl whose room is modeled after an all-white posh hotel suite.

When her father's longtime friend has a stroke of bad luck, Massie's dad lets his friend, his friend's wife and his daughter stay in the guesthouse. This girl may be Massie's peer and new classmate, but, since she is clad in overalls and Keds, Massie is reluctant to make friends.

What follows is a somewhat predictable but squeaky clean story, appropriate for middle grades to read. Think a G-rated version of Gossip Girl: money talks, clothes matter, but friendship and backstabbing are the main issues instead of dating and, ahem, other more adult things. In other words, if you like the movie Mean Girls, you'll like this book.