Mean Girls

Gr 9 Up—Cady Heron knows all about aggression, dominance, and survival of the fittest. She spent most of her life on the African savanna, homeschooled by her zoologist parents. But a job offer beckons and it is off to the U.S. for the Heron family. Cady has her first day of public school at age 16. Things are more difficult than she could've imagined. She is open, friendly, naive, and inexperienced. People mistake her overtures of friendship for rudeness. She is quickly taken under the wing of Janis and Damien, two self-proclaimed social outcasts. They help her learn how to navigate the dangers of high school, complete with cafeteria map. They tell her who is safe and whom to avoid. One of the groups at the top of the list is the Plastics. This is a group of girls that is so beautiful that they almost seem unreal, led by Regina George. Their beauty is only surpassed by their cruelty. They rule the school. Through a strange twist of events, Cady is pulled into their exclusive clique. As she dethrones Regina, Cady takes her place, losing sight of the endgame. Will Cady completely succumb to the dark side, or will she come to her senses? The book is full of every stereotype readers might expect to see in a dramedy about the "new girl at school." This book reverses the book-to-movie trend. It is a near perfect copy of the screenplay of the Mean Girls film.