First published 2010
Christmas approaches in Westchester, and Massie Block has one fear: kissing her ninth-grade crush Landon. She channels her anxiety into plotting revenge against Claire Lyons, who abandoned the Pretty Committee for new drama club friends. Massie unleashes a fake lice scare to destroy Claire's social connections, but her scheme backfires spectacularly. Meanwhile, the Pretty Committee crumbles from within. Alicia Rivera breaks her no-shopping promise to parents, risking her Spanish Riviera trip over designer sunglasses. Dylan Marvil drowns in debt after a mall spending spree. Kristen Gregory struggles as the group's only poor member, though she may soon have company in financial misery. Claire refuses to tolerate Massie's bullying any longer and launches her own counterattack. As the alpha's control slips and her social reign faces threats from all sides, Massie discovers that staying on top proves harder than climbing there. The holiday season becomes a battlefield where friendships shatter and power shifts in unexpected ways.
Genres: friendship, contemporary, adolescence, young-adult, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Westchester
Period: Christmas
198 pages · Paperback · Poppy