Clique Bait

YA fiction 

     "That's why I'm doing this, Mon.  Because Level One ruined your life.  They took you away from me, so I need to take something from them."

     Chloe, protagonist of Ann Valett's Clique Bait, is out for serious revenge.  It's the obsession of her senior year.  The elite crowd in her school, the six mean kids she calls Level One because they're at the top of the social pyramid, ruined her best friend, Monica's life.  So Chloe is out for blood.  It's a dangerous mission.  The clique is determined to stay above their peers, no matter what it takes.  Hapless classmates who somehow offend them are ruthlessly destroyed.  And they have connections galore.

     Chloe infiltrates the group by posing as the new girlfriend of one of its members, Will.  Her method is blackmail.  His father is mayor, a man whose election was largely due to dirty politics.  

     "'My father is CEO of a major news corporation,' I said, meeting his gaze with venom and omitting as many details as possible.  'He stumbled upon some information, and while your family bribed him to keep it safe, you can't bribe me.   Not with money.'"

     Chloe is planning on bringing down Level One, each and every one, by uncovering and exposing their dirtiest secrets.  She isn't prepared for one unexpected complication.  As she and Will fake a relationship she begins to experience very real feelings toward him.  Could they undermine her thirst for vengeance?

     And the relationship between Monica and Level One may not be as clear cut as Chloe would like to believe.  Each chapter begins with a letter from Chloe to her chum.  In each one her certainty crumbles a little more as questions enter the one way discourse.

     Fans of the bring the mean kids down subgenre will find this twisty dark narrative with an unlikely note of romance to be simply irresistible.

On a purrrsonal note, the word that would best describe my weekend is productive.  I made great progress on my homework.  I did laundry and cleaning including cleaning out the refrigerator.  Sunday I visited my mother-in-law.  I was so good I gave myself two reading and eating candy evenings.  (Jules)

I had a productive weekend too taking care of my home and family. (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to Eugene's brother, Tim, who is finally back in the states alive after another tour of duty.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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