First published 2004
Claire Lyons arrives at Octavian Country Day School in Westchester as the new middle-class girl among wealthy seventh graders. Massie Block rules the school's most exclusive clique and wants Claire gone. Massie sees Claire as a threat to her social order and works to keep her isolated from the popular crowd. When Claire finally makes a friend, Massie swoops in and steals that friendship away. Claire realizes she cannot win by playing nice. She decides to fight fire with fire and strikes back against Massie's cruel games. The battle between the rich queen bee and the determined outsider escalates as each girl refuses to back down. Claire must find her own strength to survive the vicious world of private school politics.
Genres: fiction, contemporary, adolescence, young-adult
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, fish-out-of-water
Setting: Octavian Country Day School, Westchester
Period: 21st-century
220 pages · Library Binding · Demco Media