The Clique

This is the first book of The Clique series. Basically, this is about Claire who is new to Westchester. Her family arrives from Orlando, Florida to Westchester and we learn that Claire and Massie's fathers are old friends from college. Massie and her friends abuse Claire in this book and treat her horribly. We also learn that Massie is the Queen Bee of their school Octavian Country Day (OCD) where Claire is a new student. Massie and her friends, The Pretty Committee, do not make Claire feel welcome and do things such as get red paint on the back of her white pants and dump food on her. Plus, when Massie is not around they are nice to Claire but mean when Massie is around. Claire also behaves badly as she pretends to be Massie on IM and this leads to The PC getting mad at Massie. Here are examples in the book which are abusive. I am well aware that Massie and her friends are insecure. However, this is not the way to handle these problems. We are an insecure society so these girls being insecure is not uncommon. What people are not realizing is that it is behavior such as this that breeds insecurity in tween girls.

Once Claire arrives in Westchester, Massie lets her know that she needs to find her own friends and forget about knowing hers.

This right here is an introduction of Massie being a bully. She clearly lacks empathy for Claire and her situation being in a new place. Also, this is the first person Claire meets from Westchester. What a way to welcome someone!

On the way to school on the first day, Massie directs Claire to the back seat of the car while she and her friends sit up front. After picking up Dylan, Alicia and Kristen, we see Kristen ask who that is in the back and if they like her. Massie replies that they do not like her.

Okay, is it me or is Massie doing all of the thinking for this crew of girls? Why do they not like her? She does not dress like they do? Act as they do? They do not even know this girl yet have formed an opinion. Sure, we can say that is normal for tween girls. You know why it is so called normal? Because as a society we allow this behavior to continue! Adults, teach these kids to think for themselves and teach them to respect others! Talk to them about how in this nation we have the freedom of opinion. All they are doing is giving Massie power and that is power she does not need. This is the stuff that builds spoiled brats and monsters in people. Also, it is important to understand that people are different. Bullies want everyone to conform and be like them. Talk to your children about being themselves! They will be much happier if they do.

At school, the girls walk ahead of Claire and show contempt towards her. Claire tries to come up to them and walk with them but they are having none of this. Massie turns to Claire and asks her if she has invited her to a BBQ. Claire says no and Massie asks her why she is all up in her grill. This gives off a round of high fives and Claire says to Massie that she is acting like a bitch.

First off, Massie is acting like a bitch! Claire has done nothing to these girls except try and be nice. However, because Massie does not like her then they don't like her so they have to let Massie think for them. I do not think the word bitch is apropos but at least she stood up to her. Claire should have gotten away from these girls from the minute she met them. Also, at this point, before things escalate, an adult should start to intervene. Bullied kids are terrified of adults or anyone finding out what is going on. At the same time, this is not stuff that kids need to be handling on their own. It leads to much bigger problems down the line. Please, talk to your children about reporting this behavior. Its abusive and wrong and in the end, you are doing both the kids and adults a favor.

As Claire called her a bitch, she is now in trouble with Massie and The PC. So, Massie texts and gets Alicia and Kristen to do her dirty work for her since Queen Bees never get their own hands dirty. When Claire goes to her first class which is an art class, she is found to be sitting beside Alicia. Alicia tries to be nice which Claire, in a vulnerable position being new takes as friendship. However, Alicia sets up red paint where it spills on the back of Claire's new white pants. If that is not bad enough, they get Claire lost on purpose to the nurses office.

First off, Claire has no idea what is going on. Why can't Massie handle her own problems instead of dragging her friends into them and do her dirty work? This is how Queen Bees operate! They get their little workers to do everything for them.

Massie's mother insists that she invite Claire to the weekly Friday sleepover that The PC has. At the sleepover, the girls set up sleeping bags leaving Claire out on purpose. They insult her on purpose and ask her if she would rather be a friendless loser or a loser who has friends that secretly hate her. Claire chooses the former and the girls say she has her wish. It gets to be too much for Claire and she just leaves.

This behavior is starting to get to Claire and it shows. Massies mother needs to get more involved with her daughter and get her in therapy. Yes, I am serious. Anyone who has this sort of power and uses it to abuse others is in need of some psychological help. She is 12-years-old so there is still time to get hold of these problems so they do not develop into personality disorders by adulthood. Also, Claire needs to be alerting her mother to this. Parents, if your child is behaving like this then punish them and make it stick. These girls should have been sent home and not allowed to continue with their sleepover.

Massie has a crush on Chris Abeley who is the brother of Layne Abeley. Layne is the first friend Claire has made. Massie uses Layne to get close to Chris.

I am glad Claire has found a friend. However, Massie has to come between that and use Layne to get to Chris. Like a typical bully she is using others to get what she wants.

Massie's friends are at the pool at the Block estate waiting for Massie to come home so they can work on the Glamazon project for Kristen's class. As the three girls and Claire are there, they all start listening to music and playing in the water. They are actually having a great time together. Then Massie shows up and criticizes the music, reminds them they hate Claire and the girls go back to being nasty to her. Then they take food that has been set out and dump it on Claire.

Again, Massie is in full control and the girls are giving it to her. These girls are learning to feed monsters and as adults, will probably start their own reality show called The Housewives of Westchester. Instead of feeding Massie, they need to tell her what they really think. Parents, talk to you children about the dangers in feeding these Queen Bees. Please be aware of your children and who their friends are. If your child is a Queen Bee, please get her in therapy. Yes, Massie is insecure but this is not the way to handle insecurities. It is important to teach children to work out their own problems. However, this is something that needs adult intervention. Listen, Queen Bees eventually fall. They loose their power in new places all the time. This can be detrimental to a Queen and she is not learning the reality of life. She is destructive and destroys those around her. Claire does not deserve any of this.

Claire has had enough. Massie takes her dog for walks each night at a specific time. Claire learns this and starts sneaking into Massie's room at that time each night and talks to her three friends on IM using Massie's moniker. Pretending to be Massie she tells them offensive things and this winds up getting these friends angry with Massie. One thing she learned is that Kristen is not really rich but is at the school on scholarship. Bullies are horrible to their friends but even they know how far they can manipulate and go with them. So Claire is now in and Massie is out. Eventually, they learn that Claire was on the IM instead of Massie and The PC once again turns on Claire.

This is classic in those who are being abused by their peers. They try and find a way to make it stop so they take action. What Claire did was just as bad and she should have been punished. Do you see how far this problem has gone? Now there are five girls who have been hurt. They are not learning to trust one another but to secretly harbor some resentment towards one another. The words are out there. They cannot be taken back. Yes, Claire finally told her mother what was going on but begged her not to tell any other parents. Again, bad move. Plus, this is adding more reasons to be insecure.

The school is on a field trip and The PC, who hurdle insults at everyone else and bask in being "adored" decides to use this opportunity to sell Kristen's lip gloss for the Glamazon Project. When everyone purchases the gloss, their lips swell. Claire's friend Layne has a thermos of oatmeal and it is used on every ones lips. They save the day and The PC look like idiots and this angers them. Kristen thanked Claire for keeping her secret about being a scholarship student and was glad it was not Massie that she told after all.

Finally, we learn that Kristen does have an opinion about something! By telling Claire that, we sense that she was terrified of Massie knowing her secret. Parents, this is what you need to be telling your children to do. Talk to them about the danger of giving a bully power and how together, they can break the bully. Kristen of course could not tell Claire this in front of Massie but at least she learned Claire could be trusted.

A charity party for scholarship students is being held at Massie's home. At the party, she and Claire wind up talking and being civil to one another.

At least they have buried the hatchett for now.

After all of this, Claire still wants to be friends with these girls.

Folks, these girls are not special so stop behaving as if they are! Parents, talk to your kids about not giving a bully power. Please, talk to them about how Queen Bees can eventually fall and that by catering to them, they are only creating a monster. Parental involvement was desperately needed here. Also, if your child is a leader like Massie is, please talk to them about being a good leader and using this to do good and not misuse any power people are giving them. As for giving anyone power, stop doing it. Our society has a serious mental health problem here and instead of burying our heads in the sand, we need to step up. Bullies do not outgrow this and this is why we have prisons that are overflowing and added stress from work and other places.

Disclaimer: I do not own these books or any rights to them. They belong to Lisi Harrison and the people at Poppy Books. I am just using this as an educational tool on Peer Abuse. Thank you!

Photo of The Pretty Committee

Time to meet the Pretty Committee!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with The Clique series. This belongs to Lisi Harrison and her peeps over at The Clique . Also, these books and movie are a part of the Poppy Series books. I am just using this information as an educational tool only.

Yes, its time to meet The Clique girls who have also deemed themselves "The Pretty Committee." These are five of the best and brightest at Octavian Day Country School and they know it.

Massie Block: She is without a doubt the ruler of The Clique and pretty much the rest of the social scene at OCD. With her brown bob and perfect white teeth she commands respect and an audience and sadly, she gets it from her peers. She is aware of all of this and knows everyone else would give their eye teeth to be her. Also, a self obsessed, spoiled girl who does not have low self esteem (IMO) but very much loves herself as everyone loves her.

Alicia Rivera: A beautiful yet sneaky child. Adults ah-dore her and usually flies under the radar when it comes to any problems because she knows how to charm any adult. She is an only child of a former Spanish model and father out of Brooklyn (or according to her Barcelona). She is proud of her Spanish heritage. She cannot stand to be called "Fannish" which is fake Spanish.

Dylan Marvill: Child of Marilee Marvill who hosts a national talk show straight out of New York City. She is a child that needs to watch her weight and diets regularly. Or, as the book says she spends her time sucking up to Massie and sucking down diet shakes.

Kristen Gregory: A smart, athletic and hardworking girl who can insult someone and quickly. She pretends to live at an exclusive apartment building in Westchester but actually lives in another building as her parents are poor. Her father was once a wealthy artist and lost all of his money. Kristen is also a scholarship student but nobody except her friends know that.

Claire Lyons: She just moved to Westchester from Orlando, Florida. Her father and Massies are old college friends. She, her little brother Todd and parents live in the guesthouse on the Block grounds until finding their own home. She arrives in Keds shoes and Gap overalls which are not "clique material." At first the group abuses her but she eventually gets accepted by the group.

The Clique....the only thing harder than getting in is staying in.

The Clique

Hi, I am Elizabeth Bennett, an expert in the field of Bullying. However, I tend to use the term Peer Abuse because I want to keep it real. Bullying is a form of abuse IMO and I wish people would start seeing it that way. So, as I have introduced myself, I want to move forward here....the reason for being here and starting this blog.

I am sure by now everyone has heard of The Clique. This is a series of books written by Lisi Harrison. These books are hot right now amongst the tween and teen girls in America today. A movie has also been made based upon these books. The series revolves around five wealthy 12-year-old girls in Westchester, New York. They are pretty, socially sophisticated and obsessed with clothes, weight, technology and are the mean girls of their school Octavian Country Day. We will meet (or in some cases get reacquainted) with these young ladies soon. For now, I want to explain the reason for this blog and why I am doing it.

First off, this is no slam on Lisi Harrison. Lets get that established immediately. I do not know this woman, have never met her but only seen photos of her with her books. If I do not know someone then I have no reason to form an opinion of them. I do know Lisi is a good writer and has managed to reach a lot of young girls with her books. She uses a lot of quirky language and I sense she has a sarcastic side. She has stated that she uses these books to show others how ridiculous this behavior in girls is. Maybe read and allow the reader to fantasize about having the "whole package" and an ah-mazing life. There is nothing wrong with fantasy, we all have done it in our lives. Her reasons behind the series are innocent enough and her intentions I believe are good. I do not think she is trying to turn Americas tween girls into groups trying to go for world domination in their own friendships. I believe she is trying to get the reader to see at the end of the day how these things are not important and to help the reader move away from this behavior if they deal with it in their own lives. So Lisi, do know that this blog is in no way to trash you or your work. I am always glad people are out there trying to reach others in one way or another. So, with that, I want to explain the reason for this blog.

As an expert in the field of Bullying, I travel across America to speak to kids about this and the dangers of it. I get emails from parents that their teen girl is suffering from being abused by her friends or being excluded from a group of girls. On Twitter and Facebook, I talk to folks daily. Technorati and Blogger News are a couple of my stomping grounds online along with my blog on this site. This problem is a huge one in our society and one that needs addressing more than it is. After the death of Phoebe Prince back in January, I thought long and hard about finding a way to reach girls online and point out examples of what Bullying is. As I have read some of these books, I have found the problem of Relational Aggression amongst this group of young characters. Phoebe experienced a great deal of this at her school and it led her to take her own life through bullycide. The characters in the book do not go this far, however, they experience a lot of humiliation and torment just as Phoebe did. Again, I know Lisi's intention in writing these books is not to add to the bullying problem we have. I think she is trying to show the reader that because this behavior is ridiculous then its not cool or acceptable. I agree; this behavior is not cool and should never be acceptable. Yet, we continue to enable it in our culture. So, this summer, I have decided to read all of the books in The Clique series and blog about the parts of the book where Relational Aggression occurs. Maybe I can help the reader see where these behaviors occur in the book so the next time they read them, they will understand that this "mean girls" stuff is full on abuse and not a way to be rewarded. Many times girls will try to be accepted by these mean girls and without trying to, they give them a lot of useless power. Its based on fear more than anything. However, they do not need to be afraid. Being accepted by mean girls makes these problems worse and not better. Its important to understand that.

Again, its nice to meet you. I hope you will join me in this journey and most importantly I hope you as the reader will gain some knowledge on this serious issue. Thank you for reading.....