Best Friends for Never

by Lisi Harrison

  Which character is most like you?

  I kind of have all the characters in me to some extent. I'm like Massie because I love fashion, clever comebacks, and my puppy Bee Bee. But I am not a bully and would never want to make anyone cry, especially my friends.

  I'm like Claire because I try to accept myself for who I am.

  I'm like Dylan because I think burps are funny and I love to eat.

  I'm like Layne because I think unique is chic. And I go through food obsession phases. This week I can't get enough of those little egg rolls filled with pizza.

  The characters I am not like at all are Kristen because I stink at sports and Alicia because I have small boobs and I would never follow anyone.

  How are you able to write for seventh graders when you are clearly no longer in the seventh grade?

  Simple. I WAS in the seventh grade at one point in my life and I remember what it feels like to wake up in the morning and wonder if my friends will still like me, even though I did nothing wrong. I also remember what it feels like to gang up on someone else because, well, better them than me, right? We've all been Massies and we've all been Claires at one point or another, and those feelings of abusing and being abused never go away.

  How did you come up with the idea to write about cliques?

  I worked at MTV for ten years, and it reminded me a lot of middle school. People were always trying to fit in with the “cool” crowd, and it brought back a lot of memories. I'd hear things like, Who are you hanging out with this weekend? Did you get invited to any cool parties? Where did you buy that outfit? Who did you eat lunch with today?

  Sound familiar? It wasn't long before I realized that cliques and the desire to be accepted don't go away when you get older. They just get easier to laugh at. And that's why I wrote THE CLIQUE as a comedy and not a heart-wrenching drama. Sometimes the way we act is so pathetic it's funny.

  Any advice for wannabe writers?

  1. Write every day. It doesn't have to be good or interesting or grammatically correct. Just write anyway. It will keep your juices flowing, and I guarantee that by the end of each session you will have at least one good sentence that you can use in the future.

  2. Read a lot. And read the stuff you like, not the stuff you think you should like. Because chances are you will write in the genre you like to read. So it's important to know how other people are doing it.

  3. Carry a little notebook everywhere you go. If you see something funny, write it down. If you meet someone with a cool name, write it down. If you think of an interesting story idea while you're on the bus, write it down. Get it? So the next time you're racking your brain for details or ideas they will be right there in your ah-dorable little notebook.

  4. If someone tells you you'll never be a writer, put on your pointiest boots, take a deep breath, and kick them in the shin.

  Write about that!

  How many CLIQUE books will there be?

  Right now there will be eight. But if you want more, I'll write more.

  Are you going to write other stuff?

  Totally! I am always thinking of new and different ideas. My next novel is about fifteen-year-olds at summer camp.

  Any advice for people that go to clique-y schools?

  For starters, you have to understand why mean girls are mean.

  They are insecure.

  I know that's hard to believe because they're probably pretty, popular, stylish, and outgoing. But trust me, it's true. Girls who put other girls down do it to feel better about themselves. So keep that in mind next time a pack of wild meanie weenies treats you like a loser. Know that they are the pathetic ones and simply walk away. And stop, stop, stop trying to be accepted by them. Do you seriously think you'd be happier if you were friends with them? Puh-lease!

  Go find someone who shares your real interests and hang with her or him. It's better to have one real friend than a hundred fake ones. Given!

  Where can I get the Glossip Girl lip gloss you write about in Invasion of the Boy Snatchers?

  Sorry, sisters. I made the whole thing up. I only wish there were a Lip-Gloss-of-the-Day Club that delivered a new flavor of gloss to my front door every morning. But until then, just imagine you're getting it. And while you're at it, can you think of some cool new flavors? I'm running out of ideas.

  Done. Done. And Done.

  Essay My Life Story

  By Lisi Harrison

  Any time someone starts a story with, “I was born in…,” my eyes glaze over and I try not to yawn in their face. So I'll do my best to find a more interesting way of letting you know I was born and raised in Toronto, Canada.

  There, how was that? :)

  I did not go to a private school like OCD and I was not in a rich evil clique of “Massies.” I went to Hebrew school until ninth grade and then switched to Forest Hill Collegiate, a public high school. A lot of the kids in my grade came from families with tons of money and wore Polo everything (it was really IN back then, okay?). I, on the other hand, was forbidden to wear anything made by anyone other than Kmart or Hanes. I probably would have been allowed to wear The GAP but it wasn't on every block in Canada yet. My parents were on a mission to keep me as grounded and un-spoiled as they possibly could. And now, as much as I ah-dore fashion, I never buy designer clothes or bags. I tend to go for the more original styles. Granted, sometimes I look like a total goof bag but at least I'm the only goof bag at the party.

  When I was eighteen I moved to Montreal to become a film major at McGill University. Canadians like to think of it as the Harvard of Canada, but Americans always laugh and call me an “intellectual wannabe” when I say that. Nice, eh?

  Anyway, I left McGill after two years because I knew deep down inside I wanted to be a writer, not a filmmaker, and McGill had a lame creative writing program. So I transferred to Emerson College in Boston, where I graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in creative writing. YAY!

  So there I was with a BFA, ten dollars in my LeSportsac, and no plan. Luckily, my friend Lawrence (I call him Larry even though he hates it) was working at MTV in New York and felt sorry for me. He offered me a casting job on a game show called Lip Service. All I had to do was move to Manhattan—the next day.

  Um, okay.

  I ended up staying at MTV for twelve great years. I had every brutal job there was and eventually worked my way up to head writer and then senior director of development. That's when things got really cool. It was my job to create and develop new shows for the network, including One Bad Trip and Room Raiders. And believe it or not, it was MTV, not middle school that inspired me to write THE CLIQUE. There were so many employees at MTV who would do and wear anything just to be accepted by the so-called “cool people.” It reminded me so much of life in the seventh grade I had to write about it. And the rest is history.

  I wrote The Clique and Best Friends for Never while I was still at MTV, just in case my life as an author didn't work out. And in June 2004 I decided to take the plunge, quit my job, and write full-time.

  Now I spend about nine hours a day writing in my New York City apartment, where I am currently working away on book number eight in the series (August '07). I am also trying to get my long-haired Chihuahua Bee Bee to stop licking my computer screen. I should probably take her out for a pee.

  Bye!

  THE CLIQUE

  The only thing harder than getting in is staying in.

  Want to know the latest CLIQUE gossip?

  For quizzes, contests and more, Join THE CLIQUE at:

  WWW.JOINTHECLIQUE.COM

  Popularity is just a CLIQUE away!

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  Available wherever books are sold.

  www.lb-teens.com

  Hachette Book Group USA

  Read all the novels in the #1 New York Times bestselling series

  THE CLIQUE

  THE CLIQUE

  Massie Block is happily ruling her fabulous clique at her exclusive Westchester middle school when LBR (Loser Beyond Repair) Claire Lyons moves into the Blocks' guest-house and turns Massie's perfect world upside down.

  BEST FRIENDS FOR NEVER

  A bet between ringleader Massie and wannabe Claire tests both their willpowers-and transforms the Octavian Country Day student body. Or at least the most important part: their wardrobes.

  REVENGE OF THE WANNABES

  When Alicia tries to start a clique of her own, allegiances are tested and Massie launches an all-out war-during their Teen Vogue photo shoot! The Pretty Committee definitely isn't ready for its close-up. …

  INVASION OF THE BOY SNATCHERS

  While the guesthouse is being renovated, Claire moves into Massie's room. But Claire isn't the only person moving into Massie's territory—Alicia's hot cousin Nina arrives from Spain and starts cozying up to all the Briarwood boys, including Massie's crush!

  THE PRETTY COMMITTEE STRIKES BACK

  The girls of OCD are off to Lake Placid for Presidents' Day, and with the Briarwood boys staying just a few cabins away, the girls in Massie's Underground Clinic for Kissing (MUCK) might have to put their money where their well-glossed mouths are.

  DIAL L FOR LOSER

  The Clique is this close to begging Principal Burns to readmit them to OCD when movie director Rupert Mann invites the girls to audition for his new teen blockbuster, Dial L for Loser. Massie thinks she's got the lead in the bag, but what happens when Claire snags the starring role?

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  The Clique is back at Octavian Country Day and they've got a new goal: finding the key that unlocks the school's legendary secret room. Alpha eighth grader Skye Hamilton has stashed the key in the bedroom of a mystery Briarwood boy-but which one? Looks like the Clique will have to search them all!

  And keep your eye out for the eighth novel, SEALED WITH A DISS, coming August 2007.

  Read all the novels in the New York Times bestselling series

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  And keep your eye out for the eighth novel, HEART OF GLASS, coming April 2007.

  Read all the novels in the New York Times bestselling series

  gossip girl

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  After getting mysteriously kicked out of boarding school, Serena van der Woodsen is back where she belongs—Manhattan's Upper East Side, where the posh townhouses, designer clothes, and exclusive parties are almost as fabulous as she is. All eyes are on Serena, but will her former best friend Blair Waldorf be willing to share the spotlight?

  you know you love me

  It's Blair's seventeenth birthday, and she knows exactly what she wants—her boyfriend Nate Archibald all to herself. Too bad Blair's been too busy filling out Ivy League college applications to notice that Nate may not be a one-girl guy. …

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  Blair and Serena are back to being BFFs and they're off to St. Bart's for some Christmastime fun in the sun. With a romantic rock star and a cute stepbrother in tow, it's going to be one sizzling week—on and off the beach!

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  nothing can keep us together

  When Blair and Serena go head-to-head for the starring role in a major Hollywood movie, there's sure to be some drama worthy of the silver screen!

  only in your dreams

  It's the last summer before college, and love is in the air. Blair's off to London with her new British boyfriend—who's an awful lot like Nate. Nate's smooching beach babe Tawny—who's basically the anti-Blair. And Seren
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  would I lie to you

  Serena and Blair head to the Hamptons to be resident co-muses to the super-famous designer Bailey Winter, who just happens to live next door to Nate's beachside estate. So just how neighborly will these new neighbors get?

  And keep your eye out for the eleventh novel, don't you forget about me, coming May 2007.

  Read all the novels in the New York Times bestselling series

  the it girl

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  notorious

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  And keep your eye out for the fourth novel, unforgettable, coming June 2007.

  Blair Waldorf and Serena van der Woodsen were the reigning princesses of the Upper East Side.

  Until now.

  Something wild and wicked is in the air. The Carlyle triplets are about to take Manhattan by storm.

  Lucky for you, Gossip Girl will be there to whisper all their juicy secrets.…