Pretenders

Gr 7–10—A motley crew of high-school freshmen have one thing in common-they are all pretending to be people they're not. Sheridan Spencer is a lonely drama queen who boosts her confidence by channeling celebrities. Andrew Duffy's dreams of making the basketball varsity team are shattered when his parents reveal their financial troubles. Lily Bader-Huffman wants to break free of her overbearing parents and get a social life. Vanessa Riley is an extreme overachiever whose parents are on the verge of divorce. And Jagger is the mysterious, emancipated loner with a big secret. As in a Garry Marshall film, their lives intersect. Vanessa crushes on Lily's gay best friend. Lily likes Duffy, but he seems to be getting cozy with Sheridan. Sheridan's best friend is ditching her for Jagger. Their first-person narratives are told through journal entries as credit for an English class. It is hinted at early on that the journals (supposedly under lock and key) will eventually get revealed to the whole school, just not in this first book. The novel ends on a cliff-hanger. Fans of Harrison's "Clique" books (Little, Brown) will love this book with its melodrama and chaste scandal. A fast-paced read with surprisingly compelling characters, Pretenders is a good recommendation for middle schoolers looking to read up, but who are not quite ready for, "Gossip Girl" (Little, Brown).—Kimberly Garnick Giarratano, Rockaway Township Public Library, NJ