Unpacking the Clique Franchise

[@dominiqueknight6707]

Every time you mentioned a book I thought “oh, THATS the one where I stopped reading” and to my horror I slowly realized that I, too, actually read the entire clique saga

[@SeptemberWits]

I’m forever haunted by the fact that my little 12 year old self convinced my parents to name my little brother Landon after reading all the books

[@bratzbb2k1]

the power u hold is indescribable

[@berrybaby1570]

Incredible

[@grey.poupon]

Omg kinda similar but 10 yr old me convinced my parents to name my brother lucas because of the actor lucas grabeel from hsm

[@noelanilewis5104]

Girlboss

[@Catladycatherine]

@@grey.poupon Lol I also convinced my parents to name my sister after a Disney star (Brenda Song) when I was 10.

[@kit5165]

i, too, tried to stand up to my 5th grade bullies by going “did i invite you to my bbq? then why are you up in my grill?” 🤪 it made the bullying worse!

[@Psalm2Charity]

I hope you're still slaying

[@swain-Ix1tv]

they were haters who couldn’t understand your vision

[@ayala0023]

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[@spicedch4i]

It's kind of wild to look back on books like these from my childhood as a queer girl. Like they're so aggressively straight on the surface but the boys themselves don't even matter, its ALL about the girls and their relationships

[@meghansullivan6812]

oooooooooohhh

[@laceOlivia]

This blew my mind.

[@caitlingill]

Similar to Mean Girls I guess?

[@fluffmcpuffles2686]

ooooh that makes sense.

[@avr7120]

thats me with all the barbie movies lmao. though a few did have solid male characters, mostly it was all about the girls "friendships"

[@shawnaejames7817]

Me thinking there were like seven books… “THERE WERE TWENTY?!? DOES IT FOLLOW THEM THROUGH RETIREMENT?!?”

[@leahdavis9434]

Funny enough no they don't even graduate middle school

[@Goldflower220]

@@leahdavis9434 yep. it ends during the winter of their 8th grade yer

[@luckystarberry]

BRO THEY GOT AS FAR AS HAVING MASSIE DATE A 14 YEAR OLD AND THAT WAS IT. SO MUCH DRAMA FOR LITERALLY 2 YEARS OF THEIR LIFE (7th-8th grade) 😂😂😂

[@Bettylouhoneydew]

lol I follow the author on Instagram and she hinted at making more books ❤️

[@felix_a_fiend]

Wait until you hear about Warrior cats-

[@annasmith6090]

The fact that middle school boy books were fantasies about the hero within yiu but middle school girl books were realities about the villain within you...

[@morbidsearch]

Diary of a Wimpy Kid tho

[@bbogwater7570]

​@@morbidsearch greg heffleys frightening villainy and psychotic behaviour is an outlier and should not be counted

[@alisiajimenez7787]

@@morbidsearchpop

[@anne5182]

Not me refusing to wear gold and silver jewellery together my entire middle school existence because of this series

[@teapartypenguin1353]

I still refuse to combine gold and silver for the same reason.

[@bluesforeveryone]

I do too 🤦🏼

[@mollyrainjay]

Oh my...I forgot where I got that irrational fear from. It was these books.

[@CamelDerpina]

omg I didn’t realize this series is where I got this from 💀

[@anne5182]

Also did anyone else get the random hate on for Keds from this series 😂😂😂 I had no opinion on them before but

[@SarahZ]

Hahahahaha holy shit I had forgotten what a sociopath Claire was. This is amazing

[@spicedch4i]

hi sarah!! love your videos so much!

[@Angela.Perkins]

Claire reminds me a little of Greg Heffley from the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. At least in her attitude and some of her behavior. lol

[@caitlingill]

@@Angela.Perkins or Cady from Mean Girls or Jenny from Gossip Girl

[@FIRING_BLIND]

Sarah!!! Hi :)

[@sunrope77]

@@caitlingilltai from clueless

[@sarahh4927]

As an Autistic person, I remember reading these books back in middle school and viewing them almost as anthropological studies that I thought could help me understand how to navigate middle school social hierarchies. They ultimately didn’t end up teaching me much about how to be “popular” (thankfully I could tell that most of things these characters do are not something you’d want to emulate lol), but they were actually kind of a useful guide of what things were considered particularly socially awkward or weird or uncool. And they helped me understand the politics of cliques and all the complex rules to social interactions beyond the basic “be yourself and be kind” rule that I’d previously believed was the only rule I needed to know. I mean I was still bullied terribly all throughout middle school lol, but at least these books made me a little less confused about why that was happening.

[@shootingstarbit]

hot damn me too!! undiagnosed at the time, but looking back I was totally convinced this book was gonna help me

[@alexaf4186]

dude same!! as the other commenter said, i was also undiagnosed at the time, so books like this and any "how to be a person" books were my BIBLES

[@birdword111]

I feel like this would be true for me, too (if I read the books), and I'm autistic as well. And I think I secretly wanted to read the books but I had a "not like other girls" image to maintain.

[@lolalover24212]

Also autistic, also studied these books LOL 😂

[@molly863]

Yesssss

[@SarahZ]

OH MY GOD I'VE BEEN MAD OVER THAT SLEEPOVER LINE CHANGE FOR YEARSSSSS

[@giannabruce7174]

I've never read these books, but I knew that line sounded familiar haha-- I think you mention it in a video

[@caaronjolras]

my friends and i had a "nice clique" that we called "PSA: pretty, smart angels" in middle school because of these literary masterpieces. we also had a "blah-g" wherein we would detail the crushes we had with their clever nicknames we gave them 😭 some of my favorite memories

[@minivan1680]

That's so cute 💕

[@massieblock9770]

“ehmagawd” the way i modeled my entire life after these books back then is embarrassing 🤣 becoming brand aware and wanting to be “alpha” of my own clique did not do me or my personality any favors

[@mia4630]

UR NAME HELP

[@lockheart619]

I have been saying "Ehmagawd" for the longest time and forgot where I had got it from. 😩

[@whatadinosaur]

stop because i did the same thing…

[@luckystarberry]

Girl I was 12 years old born into poverty tryin to be Massie Block of all people 💀 the cope I had tryin to get through middle school by pretending to be a fictional spoiled character 😭

[@paperoses1]

Massie had 13yr old me fighting with my mom to wear high heels to middle school 😭 the unrealistic chokehold The Clique had on us…..

[@lona9461]

I was trying dressing like them I used to try an emulate their vibe at church or when I went to town with my mom, church for goodness sake😅

[@burgermeowster]

I always wore heels in middle school or at least ballerina flats and I hated taking them off for gym

[@gray2578]

As someone who had literally never seen these before in my life, I cannot explain to you how lost in the plot sauce I became at Bark Obama

[@mikoletea]

as someone who read all the books, I don’t understand why they decided to name him Bark Obama..

[@Unpoeticirony]

You forgot the completely plot necessary bet that Claire and Massie had where Claire couldn’t outfit repeat and Massie just… couldn’t buy new clothes for a month? What a world we grew up in…

[@kenna163]

And then at the end they became friends. I loved that book

[@MariaLCirillo]

Tell me how I am 26 years old and I can still tell you exactly how I pictured Massie’s pure white bedroom and how I thought it must’ve been so classy

[@Ariannagxo]

And pop of purple cmon

[@kateregier7713]

With the green apples 😅😅

[@Mej111]

I wanted a MacBook because of her 😂

[@SavvyMuhon]

@@Mej111 I wanted a Palm Pilot because of her hahaha

[@heyitsheidijay]

The absolute CHOKEHOLD these books had on me and my personality from ages like 11-14.... Oh *man*. I had a weird preteen/early teenagehood so I still look back on them so fondly despite some of their more... Problematic aspects 😂 And can we just take a moment for the cover designs??? Lives in my head rent free. Those summer novellas tho... Absolutely and truly iconic in every way. 👏🏻

[@martyparty0494]

I remember when I was reading "Bratfest at Tiffany's," my friends grandparents saw me and chimed, "Oh I love Breakfast at Tiffany's!" And already feeling shame for my literary choices, I did not correct them, but agreed, I too loved that book I have never read.

[@CosmicGaijin]

Hopefully you eventually learned that it’s a movie. Lol

[@lvitacahill2383]

@@CosmicGaijinit was a novella too

[@neb.9489]

I 100% lived vicariously through Massie. I wanted to be her. I was bullied so badly and dreamt of being popular and running the school as a middle schooler.

[@BrianaMichelleMeyer]

I read these books religiously in middle school. The era of The Clique, Gossip Girl, The A List, Pretty Little Liars, The Luxe, and Private remains unmatched.

[@caitlingill]

Have you read POSEUR? They have a similar vibe to all those books

[@AutoNoOne11]

The girl who plays Claire said that the reason the other movies they signed for didn’t get to be made was because of the 2008 recession.

[@Jen-uk6ly]

Kind of unfortunate like I lowkey wanted to see how they used the books

[@TheSlipperyNUwUdle]

The characters feel so much older when you’re also twelve when you’re reading them. Lmaooo You could have held me at gunpoint and I probably couldn’t tell you these kids were supposed to be 12 years old.

[@writteninthestars02]

especially if you also read something like The Babysitters Club and you're like, 'wait, these girls are the same age?'

[@Jen-uk6ly]

@@writteninthestars02 esspicially them ! Like I could’ve swore they were at least freshmen in high school😭

[@detectiverose]

As a grown adult, I have played The Clique: Diss and Make Up and I can confirm that it is 3 hours of petty glory

[@raredoll]

i have too! i still have mine and my pink Nintendo DS and I’ll play it every now and again for the nostalgia, the fun , and petty drama filled storylines ✨

[@strongermuslimah]

I bought the movie on iTunes and watched it on my little iPod Nano EVERY night before bed, IN FULL, for probably the entirety of 5th grade. This chokehold was simply unmatched

[@basicgorl]

i love this video sm thank u for ur service

[@ashleynorton]

Thank you!! And love your vids 🥺

[@Kas_Styles]

Same

[@trabadass]

WOW THAT PURPLE STREAK WAS A MEMORY UNLOCKED wow did I really read all of these books too. I was obsessed with the Clique so much I blacked out a lot of this. Thank you for this.

[@rachelz57]

I read these back in 2005-2006 and the only line I remember is "there's a letter in your mailbox", said by massie to alicia's cousin for the heinous crime of wearing a thong 💅

[@Lyrawolfbane]

😂

[@suagrbunn11]

i dont think that publishing company understands how much they impacted zoomers or millennial cuffs. its absolutely crazy and i would love to find out why we have so much mean girl content? it was a big shift from the "nice goofy girl" was it the rise of documented bullying going on in schools? ex: the clique vs dear dumb diary (to me which is the original finsta) vs the clique the pendulum be pendalin'

[@ashleynorton]

I think it all came from the book mean girls was based on - because it was basically a scare piece for parents to worry about clique culture and then mean girls, bratz, gossip girls were all written by the adults who read that book. That’s my guess anyways

[@SocialExperiment232]

There definitely was a rise in bullying awareness. Kids before we’re told they were weak if they got picked on. At least by this point they were calling out the bullies. A lot of us really struggled with mean girls so I was glad about this.

[@JordanS-ww4eu]

@@ashleynortonyou’re very pretty with glasses

[@MoriMementa]

I once ended up with a paper grocery bag full of these novels that had been donated to the church library. They wanted me to read them and make sure they were appropriate. Needless to say, they weren't, but it was fun to laugh at them. Massie and her cohorts seem more like a cautionary tale than a fun series for kids. "Remember children, wealth makes you stupid."

[@karmalotus22]

I grew up around upper middle class people who were just... way too well adjusted for any of this shit. The parents, teachers, students, the whole damn community would never allow any of the evil shit that goes on in this book. None of the beauty standards, pop culture references, lack of diversity, obscene wealth, etc represent my teensge years at all. I feel bad for people who actually grow up with adult supervision like the community in this book. Not a single character would be considered normal to anyone I know in real life.

[@luckystarberry]

The Clique was just my gateway drug into the Gossip Girl books. As insane the clique was for only featuring 2 years of insane shit for 5 girls its nothing compared to the plot lines in the GG novels 😭

[@priyathebrantley4048]

Gossip Girl books are truly unmatched. Love them so much!

[@tinyrat275]

The line “one does not simply skim the Bible” finally got me to sub omg what a zinger

[@che3rub]

this book series turned me into a teen drama addict in middle school, which in turn introduced to the gossip girl books. very cursed time indeed.

[@dizzydee6362]

If you're interested there's a podcast called "Girl Like Us" that breaks down the plots of each book as well as other tween books like Monster High that came out in the day. Unfortunately the quality fluctuates in terms of meandering conversations and kind of cringe opinions on the characters and Lisi Harrison herself, but since it's literally one of the only other places that deepdive into my favorite nostalgia book series I'll take what I can get :')

[@dizzydee6362]

@@yukijames1321 Yes! They'd talk about such out of pocket things like their high school orgy parties??? And what kinds of s*xual things they thought the (12YR OLD) characters might do.. They even go as far as to call Lisi Harrison a bitch and a garbage human being in multiple episodes. I was so surprised when they had her on as a guest! The first few episodes were excellent esp because it was the first fresh clique content I'd seen in years. But it so quickly derailed into tangents and skipping entire sections of the book because it was 'boring' and then getting mad because the plots seemed nonsensical and confusing! The only episodes I liked were the ones where they brought on a guest star cause the guest usually kept them on track of discussing fun plot points and actually getting through the whole book. Idk why I'm so heated about a literal children's book but oh well :'D

[@cheyennemarie7075]

This series was the og influencer for me. I wanted the Marc Jacobs Daisy perfume for YEARS!

[@lyssadee3832]

Mentioning Bean the black pug unlocked a core memory for me... I would love to see your analysis of the A-List books! Other than Gossip Girl I feel like they are the natural sequels to the Clique novels.

[@maddieb.4282]

Omg I read so much of the A list as a young teen!!

[@SJisReading]

Was it the mannequin she had for the dog that she put the dog's outfits for her walks on?

[@lydiawalker0714]

This series got me into reading. I read it from 12-16, slowly collecting the books as I saw them at the thrift store. I never tried to emulate the characters' bad actions and I understood when they were being insecure or stupid. I mostly admired Massie's combacks and all the parties the characters threw. I still have all my copies plus the movie tie-in and manga editions of the first book.

[@gracethompson7153]

Just thought of a great comeback: “Claire are you a bad driver?” “Because you can’t seem to stay in your lane!”

[@minivan1680]

Omg this is great! 🤣🤣🤣

[@TheSlipperyNUwUdle]

My biggest takeaway from these books is how much I wanted a lipgloss of the month. Lol I don’t (and didn’t at the time) even wear lipgloss.

[@LuvFearlessly]

Glossip Girl

[@themonalisha6337]

yesss, Alicia was my favorite bc i'm Black, and she was described as having olive skin, so she was the closest character I could attempt to identify with😂(I also technically have the same name, so that helped)

[@UNCCCollegeGirl]

LITERALLY the same😂😂😂😂😂 come on POC !

[@ellax325]

@sewer~rat Was she latina? Or was she Spanish?

[@cashmoneychanel1209]

Lmaooo me too but she was white bc her mom was Spanish aka white 😂

[@AreweAble]

​@@cashmoneychanel1209 nooo literally in my brown bb mind she was latin like me 😭

[@caitlingill]

@@cashmoneychanel1209 The actress in the film is half Latina though. Half Ecuadorian & Half Italian

[@CiaoBellaBee]

So I’ve never read the books (I read the Ashley’s instead) but I was obsessed with the film and I never picked up that Dylan was supposed to be “fat”?!? I just thought her mum was toxic af and forcing her ED habits on her child!

[@ashleynorton]

They (very understandably) toned it down for the movie. But still wild

[@ClaireGravenhorst]

To be fair I'm pretty sure that was the point. Like the kids don't know but you're supposed to. There's also an ED plot line with Massey during the camp book.

[@tamurmur]

The Ashleys was such a wild series

[@dizzydee6362]

Omg I remember the Ashleys. Wasn't the alpha girl terrified of losing her status over a peanut allergy?? Absolutely wild.

[@artsygal112]

Here's the thing...I lived in Westchester at one point in my life. In two places actually. In one town, yea it was more diverse and representative. In another town though? It was a pretty affluent town. And I was one of the maybe 4 black families in the entire place. My family and I felt like circus animals when we moved there cause we were watched so much and seen as different. So the representation in this book?....not that far off

[@artsygal112]

I always was able to picture these books in my head cause I kind of knew where they came from

[@Lyrawolfbane]

I’ve been to westchester before. So the books were definitely accurate. Lol 😂

[@spaceface320]

I remember first reading the books in 7th grade, the same grade all the girls are in. It never clicked that they were all my age, 12-13, they just seemed so much older and cooler, like wearing heels to school. But darn it, if I didn’t model my own sense of style after what the books described

[@raredoll]

i’m such an LBR for finding this video 2 years later , but this was perfection 👌🏼

[@basil6060]

i always identified with dylan bc i was the “fat girl” in a diet culture world.. if only if i could go back and tell my younger self i didn’t need weight watchers and i was literally a healthy normal weight☹️

[@Katduerr]

these books literally shaped my entire YA life, i remember printing out a wikihow on "how to be like massie block" while reading the books and saving up to buy the newest one from target

[@jtrose7540]

One thing that I remember vividly from these books that made me really uncomfortable was when Layne dressed up as a Native American as a form of protest. I think it was the book with the overflow trailers

[@breakfastatdds670]

I think that was bratfest at Tiffany’s

[@FushichouRyuu]

Dial L for Loser! I actually have that one on Kindle from forever ago

[@godpristine]

this series had suchhhh a hold on me in my preteen years 😂😂 like this video unlocked so many memories i forgot i had. seriously it’s so hilarious to me that i actually read everyone one of these books like these plots are so insane 💀

[@Kas_Styles]

1:46 - 20 books (15 main, 5 novels) - 1 extra book (Cliquetionary aka dictionary) - Manga Spin off - 1 Movie - 1 Nintendo DS game - Spin off series (The Alphas)

[@mia4630]

I still own the entire series, it’s just too iconic to get rid of

[@GlitzxxGlam]

My older brother would always blame my bitchy antics on The Clique Series. Said he was going to sue Lisi for doing this to girls. 🤣🤣🤣

[@lupakajsalisa3652]

Your older brother got involved with and read up on your favourite book series for that burn? Joke's on him, he was actually being thoughtful

[@SarahZ]

I was WAITING for a video like this

[@ashleynorton]

dude i'm so honored. My parasocial heart can't handle this

[@jumies4056]

@@ashleynorton HAHAHA I FELT THIS COMMENT

[@mrselfdestruct7605]

Literally i was considering starting a youtube channel to talk about this series 😂 you beat me to it haha EDIT: Id also like to add that Lisi is also is the author of the Monster High books

[@ositaiza888]

omg i loved the monster high books it makes so much sense that she wrote those too

[@gummidusa1076]

The monster high books are lowkey great

[@strangeduckling]

You should still do it! I'd be super interesting to hear different experiences, opinions, and analyses about this series. Plus, it would be neat to compare and contrast your and Ashley's thoughts. There's not really many videos about this topic, so the market is far from saturated, and you might offer something that hasn't been voiced anywhere else. Good luck if you end up creating a channel :)

[@charlottemay7256]

that's insane because when she was describing the school uniform contest i was like "this literally happened in the monster high books".... i loved those things. truly the greatest of all the monster high media.

[@neb.9489]

The monster high books are so good. I still wish they would make a version of MH that matches the book. I know it probably wouldn’t appeal to kids or match with the new gen of Monster High but they could make it for adult fans

[@tiffany1705]

The 13 y/o really jumped out with the "well actuallys" on so many minor details you mentioned, that's humiliating for me. jsyk the Hart-netts is a play on Josh Hartnett who was a teen dream actor at the time, not calling themselves harlots

[@fantasyfiction101]

I remember liking the prequel and owning it, Dylan should have blamed Massie for her ED because she didn’t have one before she met her.

[@mekko902]

I still pat my face with my towel after I shower because of these books. Sooo glad this series is being addressed. I aged out only 5-6 in, but...damn, they've really stuck in my brain.

[@mirandafreakinghunter7452]

I wrote a spec script for a pilot for a Clique series just like for fun once. I was going through all the books and highlighting them. They’re so friggin funny

[@Jen-uk6ly]

That seems sm fun - I’m going to try it 😭 did you use like the first book or stretch it out in several books ?

[@dollbowz]

this came up in my recommended as i've been watching your content a lot and omg it unlocked SO many memories. i grew up with these books as well and i was neurodivergent, homeschooled, and growing up in a Christian cult so i was so vastly interested in what i thought were such "glamorous" lives of people with friends who were like allowed to socialize n go to parties n kiss boys (u know like. normal teenager things) bc i wasn't. but i totally agree with your ending point, it did kinda show me that the lives i so desperately craved and the people i wanted to be so badly had insecurities and problems too. i very much DISAGREE with that article abt it being like woman-hating bc even tho some of it aged poorly n there's misogynistic tropes that i wish weren't there, it rlly did help me get a bit out of my NLOG mentality a bit at the time and see the "other girls" as just people with different interestes than me, not better and not worse. side note: my main critique is if it was satire ... why go SO hard on the fatphobia n classism bc u can portray that it's a real issue that young girls deal with without those insane jokes abt Dylan. i used to think Tumblr was the start of my ED but...this was the real origin story I'm realizing, yikes!

[@Izzy-cp8yt]

I swear this comment could have been me 😅 homeschooled, christian cult, definitely not average up in my head (but no diagnosis yet). These books were such an escape for me, even though on some level I knew they were toxic as heck.

[@Mskittenlover12]

The Clique was the first series I had to go to the YA section of the library for and I was terrified of the YA section as a middle schooler. 🙃

[@taylork3]

Me too! funny how I felt like I needed to sneak around as if I'd get in trouble for being there

[@kaseypearson3130]

I also have all of these books taking up space in my brain from middle school so thank you for making this 👍

[@erienoja525]

Wow your commentary on Alicia being your favorite makes so much sense to me now lmao she was also my favorite, and I am in fact queer

[@maoise5387]

i went to a private, catholic, all-girls school in westchester for middle school & high school. the school demographics definitely didn't reflect the actual diversity of the county, especially since a lot of the girls there actually lived in new jersey/connecticut/the bronx. a teacher made us all watch the clique movie in 7th grade and i was at first like "this is so true...... i hate popular girls...... fuck rich people" while also disliking the franchise. i enjoyed this video, thanks for making it!!!

[@JuliannaDimino]

So glad someone finally cracked the code of what the Heart-Nets was supposed to be referencing. This has perplexed me for over a decade. Thank you for your service.

[@LaurinwithHoney]

I think it might actually be a play on Hartnett like the actor Josh Hartnett 🤔

[@daniellestallworth3226]

@@LaurinwithHoney You're right, Josh Hartnett the actor was really hot at the time (I think) and I remember him mentioned in previous books in the series

[@jessicamattes4208]

I've watched this video so many times and I just now noticed that the book Ashley uses throughout the video is "The Scarlet Letter." This truly displays how "The Clique" franchise should be viewed: as an iconic piece of classic American literature

[@jaz_luo_studio]

Hi, Ashley. Your video inspired me to finally rent The Clique movie. I watched it with 2 friends who graciously agreed to experience it with me. Massie's pronunciation of "CUH-LAAIRE!" - iconic. Thanks for this video.

[@danielacordero3376]

WHAT this video unlocked a previously buried and inaccessible part of my brain.... I can't believe I forgot about this series! You do God's work Ashley

[@FlyMore100]

I really like your analysis of this series that I loved when I was growing up. I think you illustrated its strong points really well. My main issue with it, once I grew up, was that to me at least, I felt like yeah obviously girls like Massie aren't often kind girls. They're bullies. BUT they are still popular, still fashionable, still have friends and people who are interested in them and their lives. And that made me want to be like Massie, and I definitely put too much focus on trying to be fashionable and popular, shirking some of my true nerdier interests in the process. I don't think I had enough critical thinking skills to engage with these books properly lol. And I was such a Claire honestly lmao, a poor wannabe with strict parents and no true fashion sense. But, we live and we learn.

[@kasiafields6377]

You know what’s better than this series tho? Private. 15 books. They’re in high school, it’s a private boarding school, there’s sex, there’s murder, and at one point witches?? The Clique was for middle school and Private was for high school me

[@OMGheyitsalexis]

How did I not realize how problematic Kuh-Laire was

[@neb.9489]

I hated Kuh-Laire as a kid and now I knew why 😭 I never cared for her in the back of my brain. Honesty she’s “not like other girls” main character like Gabriella or any 2010s movie main female character

[@adrivoid5376]

God I read all these books as a kid- and now being a lesbian, realize I felt the Massie/Claire drama. I also really liked Kristian and wished she’d leave the group and have real friends, and Dylan stop worrying for her weight. Funny what did go over my head as a ten year old in terms of content in the book- and also me being a complete ‘lbr’ I found it funny and mean girls are just iconic I cant help it

[@13Ram107]

I wanted to have this on in the background while at work but I've now realized that it needs to be listened to in the comfort of my room with a big glass of wine and possibly the movie playing in the background. Can't wait!

[@LauraCrone]

Wow thank you for this public service. I have an absolutely formative memory of learning both the Claire and Massie monologues for a competition that sold itself as an American Idol-type audition for the first movie but was actually just a sweepstakes to get to visit the set for a day or something, but boy did I seriously believe that was gonna be my Big Break for at least a day. I still remember the Claire one started "Uh oh, I taste pennies. That means I'm gonna throw up." I don't remember the Massie one as much but I think she was talking to Bean. Anyway I absolutely read these books in secret because I was "too old" for them (13 when the first one came out, a full adult!!) but my younger sister wasn't, and I thought I had only read the first 3 or so but I am SHOCKED to discover I still remember Skye's riddle from book 7. Thank you for this nightmare 5K down memory lane, sealed with a taco-flavored Glossip Girl kiss.

[@graceanderson7933]

I now understand why my mom wouldn't let me read these books when I was a kid...

[@lockheart619]

"I didn't trust the movie to do the book justice so I refused to watch it" GIRL SAMEEE

[@teapartypenguin1353]

I remember this series for being entertaining for the drama, but also very weird given the characters' ages. I was old enough when I read it to realize how ridiculous the plots and characters were. And there were odd moments of sexualization for characters who were 15 at the oldest, most frequent example is a girl describing hers or another girl's breasts (happened too many times). I vividly remember Maisie (14) being jealous of a 10 year old with B cups bc she was still an A. She gave Alicia a lot of crap for being a C cup too. I still don't know if it was trying to be satirical or serious.

[@luckystarberry]

Lmao Massie is the prime example of toxic friendship. I remember points where she would defend Alicia if she got sexually harassed but then insult her in the same breath cause Alicia did one thing that Massie HATED 😭

[@teapartypenguin1353]

@@luckystarberry I remember it was because Alicia had the potential to be rival queen B to Massie or even more popular. Alicia was most likely to go against her too. So keeping her as 2nd in command was better for Massie, and constantly putting her down was part of it. Massie was a little demon.

[@jalapeno1119]

That seems pretty normal pubescent behavior.

[@deaddoveinside]

I definitely didn’t realize there was so much animosity towards Claire until now. As someone who did not have any true friends at that age and desperately wanted acceptance and attention for a lot of my childhood, she was the only person I could relate to in those books 😅 yikes

[@SocialExperiment232]

I didn’t not like her I just always struggled with what her intentions actually were. Sometimes it seemed like it wasn’t actually true friends she wanted. But I also didn’t realize people hated her this much. She was 12 and trying to survive, she had flaws but nothing that bad. I didn’t realize people nitpicked her personality sooo much.

[@rubysongster2409]

I'm stuck at home with COVID and I cannot express to you how grateful I am to have stumbled upon your channel this is the one thread of sanity I'm clinging to

[@bbbeansss4757]

as someone who grew up in Westchester let me tell you the demographics of all the characters being white is not surprising. i won't deny the entire county is pretty affluent, but the upper part is where all the celebrities and rich people live in their mansions with their fancy prep schools and the main demographic there is definitely white. i didn't grow up with a ton of minorities either, but the towns around me had more because they were more urban centers close to the bronx

[@isabellakavanaugh6341]

me and my friends in middle school almost got suspended because we were a bunch of nerds who got obsessed with the books and would call each other the insults. it did not end well.

[@bre-cav]

I owned every single one of these books as a teen 😅 These made me love soccer (in theory- never played or watched cause sports bore me) and are the sole reason I still cannot bring myself to buy Keds 10+ years later. I think I really related to Claire as a fellow poor kid, but Massie was definitely the most interesting/funnest part of these books, for me.

[@isabel7124]

me, who has never heard of this franchise about 12 year old rich girls ever in my entire life, sitting alone in my room and intently listening to this while solving sudoku puzzles: wow, very interesting

[@lindseymarie3532]

I was OBSESSED with the Clique DS game when I was about 9. I played it all the way through about five times. You have to get in with multiple cliques in order to get into the Pretty Committee. The first group that accepts you is the eccentrics (scene/emo kids), then the art clique, the music clique, the athlete clique, and then the Pretty Committee (i may or may not be forgetting some cliques, its been about 12 years since I played). For the "jobbies", I remember there being at least one being a food mini-game and one being a fashion mini-game. You would unlock different clothes to buy when you gain access to each clique. You could customize the appearance of your character a bit in order to make them look like you. I never read the books, but the Clique game was legitimately my favorite DS game of all time.

[@caitlingill]

Is it bad how Id rather be with one of the artsy groups (emo/art/music/scene etc) than the popular preppy Clique? 😂

[@whatevadad1312]

omg you are my new favourite youtuber - I cracked up so many times in this video but I also really loved your retrospective at the end, especially the bit about boys being allowed no-thoughts-head -empty media but girls not being allowed it. thanks so much for making amazing videos!!!

[@kieraj.1808]

thank you algorithm for giving me this gift of a video🙏🙏 the clique stan to english major pipeline is real lmao! subscribed - so excited to support your channel!

[@caitlingill]

Me but I'm a Journalism major and Advertising minor

[@paitynstew]

literally so glad the algorithm brought me to you

[@lindseygarciafreiberg]

THE FACT THAT THIS VIDEO EXISTS CLEANSES AND HEALS MY ENTIRE HARVEST

[@UNCCCollegeGirl]

Gosh I used to be OBSESSED with these books but once I got to high school I stopped ready at book 5. This was very nostalgic for nervous me who was going to an all-black poor middle school which was EXTREMELY different than the books I read😅 thank you for the trip down memory lane👏🏾

[@Mej111]

The fact that I used to write “state of the union” entries in my diary like Massie when i was 12 😭

[@happy_girl_1]

This series was such a significant part of my middle school experience. Macey taught me what was “cool”😂

[@minivan1680]

Mahhh-seeee

[@lhn9015]

I liked your closing remarks a lot! I read most of the clique books and also some of the alphas books in middle school and I really enjoyed them. Even as a nerdy little middle schooler I initially was skeptical of the books at first glance, like why would I want to read about a bunch of mean popular girls? But once I gave it a shot I had much of the same thoughts as you did, like the books provided an interesting insight on the “other side” of popularity as well as a deconstruction of the social order in schools like theirs and mine. Obviously it has its problems (thankfully, I personally was not influenced by Dylan’s ED behavior) but I don’t think it’s right for people to judge these books on a surface level without actually knowing what they’re about

[@hideflen]

I learn something new every time I come to your channel! Thanks for making videos about stuff you like, because you help make the world a more interesting place.

[@jadedavis1190]

I don't know why, but this has made me want to write tween book series about a group of girls, similar to clique, but without problematic shit like ED.

[@minivan1680]

Same! 💕

[@isabellechong7841]

no bc my cousin owned ALL the clique books, which i never read, but i got EXTREMELY into the "Alphas" spin off where a bunch of girls went to like, a sci fi island survivor hunger games-esque competition to become the ultimate "Alpha"? I'm pretty sure Skye (the 8th grade alpha) was one of the main characters. Like does anyone else remember those or am i insane

[@andreabuchanan7697]

Omg yessss and then at the end it turns out they were being filmed for a reality show the whole time

[@isabellechong7841]

@@andreabuchanan7697 OMG YEAH and the island was shaped like an "@" sign that whole series was an absolute fever dream

[@jalapeno1119]

And they had to wear gladiator sandals as part of their uniforms

[@videodiaryofvanna]

I was helping my parents clean out my old room now that I have my own home and uncovered these books I LIVED FOR. I used ‘given’ on the regular. Love this vid!

[@Kyle_Spivis]

The Jenny reference made my day, as 25 year old guy you two KZbinrs are my window into all the teen girl drama and entertainment that I sadly missed because I was into dumb boy stuff.

[@HazyPinkSky]

Congrats on surpassing 1k!! Your channel is gonna blow up soon, it’s crazy how quality your content is! I’ve never read the clique but I get excited every time you upload because you do such a good job of presenting information

[@roamingangel3202]

These books had seventh grade me in a chokehold. I remember wanting to be Massie so bad, and now I really want to reread the series.

[@tradingfriends]

I didn't know your dog's name was goose so when you were so calm about "goose hair" in your drink i was shaken

[@Aster_Risk]

I'm 8 years older than you are, so this book series was out when I was past reading YA novels. I saw the movie though, and liked it. So, I was interested in hearing someone talk about the books. This was a lot of fun!

[@pennyraehawkins9788]

The article is only accessible via The Wayback Machine now, but I actually did an interview with Lisi Harrison around 2020 and she was the absolute sweetest. She also stated her intent was pretty close to the conclusion you drew in this video, so you hit the nail right on the head!

[@caitlingill]

if you have the wayback link please send it!

[@taylorhuber7370]

I’ve never read or heard of this series but I was so entertained by and invested in this video omg I found your channel the other day and I binged all your vids immediately, love your stuff and congrats on 1K ❤️

[@juliekennedy9891]

Same!!!!!!