Book Review: The Clique, Best Friends For Never

Book review of the second novel in the The Clique series; Best Friends For Never.

The second in an prolific series of young adult novels by Lisi Harrison consisting of fourteen books, I found the installment “Best Friends for Never” to be compelling and entertaining.  

The Clique series revolves around an elite group of gorgeous, rich seventh graders; Massie, Dylan, Kristen and Alicia called “The Pretty Committee” and the main character, Claire Lyons.  Claire is an outcast at her new school, Octavian County Day School, where girls wear Prada and carry cell phones.  The Clique rules the school, setting trends wherever they go.  Claire is constantly attempting to become a member of the exclusive clique or to foil the plans of Massie, her favourite frenemy, who lives on the same property as her.

In this volume of the series, the principal forces everyone at Octavian to wear uniforms because of The Pretty Committee’s inappropriate Halloween costumes.  Claire bets Massie that she can’t refrain from shopping for a month while Massie bets Claire that she can’t wear a different outfit every day.  The loser has to wear Massie’s old winter clothing for a month.  Everyone is preparing for the co-ed Halloween party and Alicia makes a new friend named Olivia.

I found that Best Friends for Never was undoubtedly a page-turner with many interesting plot twists.  Throughout the two books in this series, Harrison makes grade seven feel like grade eleven with the maturity of each character and the language used.

Also, I think Harrison has created a perfectly evil character with Massie; a tireless monster with just a hint of unexpected sweetness.  Massie is probably the most interesting character in this series.  However, I felt myself rooting for Claire throughout the book, especially as Massie and Claire competed for Cam Fisher’s attention.

As I reached the end of the book, it seemed as if the author had cut out the last chapter of the book, forcing her readers to buy the next book to find out what happens next.  As a result, the book did not feel finished.  I wish the author had provided a more substantial ending.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this and it did not take very long to finish.  These novels are great for a quick and entertaining read.  I would recommend this to preteen and teenage girls as well as nostalgic young women such as myself.

Rating: 4.3/5