Book:  The Aristobrats
Author:  Jennifer Solow
Published:  September 1, 2010 from Sourcebools
My edition/number of pages:  PB/224

Age group:  Middle grade
Source:  Publisher
Series?:  Possibly.

It’s all about the Attitude

Parker Bell knows the secret to beauty is pretty simple–wearing the right clothes isn’t as important as how you feel in them. Popularity is like that too. It’s all about attitude. You have to picture who you want to be and then just imagine that’s who you already are.

This year Parker and her three best friends have made their way to the top of the populadder at Wallingford Academy. And they’re ready to use their Aristobrat status to help spread positive vibes throughout the school. But when the girls are assigned to produce the seriously lame school webcast, their popularity plummets! Will this tragedy destroy the girls’ status? Or their friendship? Or both?

The Aristobrats has an interesting premise but couldn’t seem to hold my attention.  It was hard to get into from the beginning and I didn’t feel like it was something I could relate to.  This is definitely a book aimed for younger readers.

Parker Bell’s eighth grade year is supposed to be the best ever.  She will get with the guy of her dreams, climb to the top of the populadder, and basically rule Wallingford Academy.  From the very start of the year there are two problems:  she and her friends have to produce the lame school webcast and Parker may not be able to afford tuition much longer.  This year is not turning out the way she thought it would.  Can the Lylas make it past this roadblock or will it be too much for their friendship?

Parker and her friends were immature.  That was my main complaint with the book.  They were in eighth grade but I’m pretty sure I don’t know any eighth graders that act like them.  They were obsessed with their popularity and how they looked.  I felt like it took them a long time to grow up.  Parker seemed to have changed the most at the end.  I would have liked to see more change from the others though.

The plot was pretty good.  It made up a bit for the characters that I didn’t enjoy.  Wallingford Academy was a way high tech school and their technology and ideas were fun.  The idea for a school webcast didn’t seem lame to me and it definitely didn’t seem that way when the girls took control.

Overall, The Aristobrats just wasn’t for me.  I think I am a little too old to get into books like this one.  It’s definitely aimed for younger teens and if you are interested, definitely check it out.

First line:  “Exsqueeze-ay moi?  Some people are getting dressed in here…”

Writing:  5

Characters:  3

Plot:  4

Ending:  4

Originality:  4

Overall:  20=B-

Cover:  4=B-