Del Rio Bay Clique Bk. 1:
So Not the Drama
by Paula Chase
So Not the Drama
by Paula Chase
SO NOT THE DRAMA by Paula Chase
Category: Contemporary
Age Recommendation: Grades 9+
Release Date: 2/27/07
Publisher: Dafina
Reviewed by: Jocelyn Pearce
Rating: 5 Stars
Mina and her friends, JZ, Lizzie, and Michael, also known as "The Clique," are about to leave behind their familiar middle
school where they are comfortable and popular, and enter the big, unfamiliar Del Rio Bay High School. They've heard
stories, and they think they know what to expect, but when the friends get to high school, they realize they're not nearly as
informed as they thought they were! No matter how much you think you know, high school is a lot to handle.
Mina's got big plans for her time at Del Rio Bay High. She was popular in middle school, and she definitely wants to
become one of the elite in high school, too. However, her schemes (predictably) do not go quite as planned!
While this book has been categorized as African-American fiction, and Mina is black, I don't think that only
African-American teens will enjoy the book. Prejudice is an issue that is dealt with skillfully, and that's important, but there is
so much more to this book!
There has to be, really; it's nearly four-hundred pages long. It dragged a little at times, but, for the most part, it was an
enjoyable book, and quite readable! I made the mistake of judging SO NOT THE DRAMA by its cover and expecting yet
another fluffy, forgettable novel, but this book definitely surpassed my expectations. While the dialogue didn't always strike
me as completely realistic (although, admittedly, I am a middle-class white girl and don't really have the same background as
many of the characters), the story as a whole was surprisingly real and deep. SO NOT THE DRAMA is well worth reading.
Category: Contemporary
Age Recommendation: Grades 9+
Release Date: 2/27/07
Publisher: Dafina
Reviewed by: Jocelyn Pearce
Rating: 5 Stars
Mina and her friends, JZ, Lizzie, and Michael, also known as "The Clique," are about to leave behind their familiar middle
school where they are comfortable and popular, and enter the big, unfamiliar Del Rio Bay High School. They've heard
stories, and they think they know what to expect, but when the friends get to high school, they realize they're not nearly as
informed as they thought they were! No matter how much you think you know, high school is a lot to handle.
Mina's got big plans for her time at Del Rio Bay High. She was popular in middle school, and she definitely wants to
become one of the elite in high school, too. However, her schemes (predictably) do not go quite as planned!
While this book has been categorized as African-American fiction, and Mina is black, I don't think that only
African-American teens will enjoy the book. Prejudice is an issue that is dealt with skillfully, and that's important, but there is
so much more to this book!
There has to be, really; it's nearly four-hundred pages long. It dragged a little at times, but, for the most part, it was an
enjoyable book, and quite readable! I made the mistake of judging SO NOT THE DRAMA by its cover and expecting yet
another fluffy, forgettable novel, but this book definitely surpassed my expectations. While the dialogue didn't always strike
me as completely realistic (although, admittedly, I am a middle-class white girl and don't really have the same background as
many of the characters), the story as a whole was surprisingly real and deep. SO NOT THE DRAMA is well worth reading.