Upper Class
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Welcome to Wellington Boarding school for society's elite, overachievers, and rich screwups. No matter who you are, Wellington can be the deepest and most beautiful time of your life, or the loneliest and most difficult. And two new girls are about to find out which it will be for them . . . Laine Hunt is a Wellington girl by blood: She lives the country club life in Greenwich, Connecticut, she's a field hockey star, and her turquoise eyes and blond hair turn heads wherever she goes. But Laine has a mortal fear of failure that wakes her in the middle of the night with a fever, and she'll do anything to avoid it. She also wants to avoid her roommate, fellow new girl Nikki Olivetti. Nikki is not Wellington material—she comes from a new-money Long Island family who have sent her away to save her from the bad influence of her friends back home. Nikki's a tease, a loudmouth, and an absolute sweetheart—and she just doesn't belong. The girls couldn't have less in common. Except, of course, they both have to learn to survive in their new world—a world with no parents, no safety net, and no limit to how much trouble they can get into. No one ever thinks they'll crash and burn, but someone always does. Will the new girls make it to the upper class? Publishers WeeklyAssigned as roommates at the prestigious Wellington boarding school, brash Long Island native Nikki and Connecticut-bred Laine are as different as can be. Each girl is uniquely troubled: Nikki's mother is dead, and at Wellington, her sexy clothes and big mouth mark her as a misfit; Laine's parents are divorced, and while her highbrow background helps her fit in, she's unable to stand up to anyone, including her dorm's alpha girl, who frequently targets Nikki. The trio of authors, former boarding school chums themselves, has created a readily believable environment and characters (and of course, there is no shortage of bad behavior at Wellington.) Popular girls bet on "which new girl will leave first"-Nikki is a prime candidate-and circle other girls' body flaws with markers, adding derogatory words. Nikki must meet with the dean after she's caught with a boy out in the woods. Teens will not be surprised when Nikki and Laine eventually learn to like-and lean on-each other, though their bonding over Thanksgiving break does not feel entirely convincing. Still, the authors' often lyrical language ("Tree branches clatter in the cool autumn night. Clouds move fast over the moon, changing the shadows, and light pools on the roofs.... It's moments like these when she belongs to no one, not even herself") breathes life into this take on a classic culture clash story. Ages 14-up. (May) Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information
