Cliques, Phonies, and Other Baloney

A Book Review

by Julia Ransohoff, high school student writer

This is a guide for preteens who either hate cliques or want to be in one. The author does not judge people, but gives explanations of what a clique is, what a phony is, and how to make friends and keep them. He explains that kids who dislike cliques have "cliques vomititus," and he also says that cliques exist because everybody wants friends. There are cute illustrations on every page that go with the text, and the author says phonies "stick out like blue M&M's on a double cheese pizza."

The most important thing about this book is that it encourages kids to be individuals and value diversity. The author does a good job of differentiating between friends and cliques, and he does so in a way that all preteens will understand. Overall, I would rate this book a 4 out of 4 because it is simple, but still gives kids all the information they need on cliques, phonies and more.