The Devil Wears Nada
Book Two: Best Friends For Never.
Hello GLU’s! Welcome back to the Clique Book Club! This week, we’re digging deeper into Best Friends for Never.
It’s Halloween. Massie (and Claire, as far as their parents know) are hosting an epic boy/girl Halloween Party. The theme is “When Hell Freezes Over,” but the costumes are going to be hawt! The Pretty Committee are going as “Dirty Devils,” meaning crop tops, mini skirts, red fishnets, tails, and horns.
After one too many ego hits from Massie, Claire snaps and goes rogue. Her devilish revenge plot? Kuh-laire puts Massie’s name and phone number on the invitation instead of hers. And the LBRs are thrilled. Not only do they have an invite to the coveted party, they also have direct access to its VIP hostess.
So what’s Massie’s devilish revenge plot? She doesn’t tell Claire that the girls are wearing their dress-code violating costumes to school. And those costumes go viral (in an early aughts sort of way). Before lunch, the OCD girls are cropping their shirts and ripping their clothes to get as close to the PC’s too-sexy-for-seventh-grade look as they possibly can.
Let’s discuss:
Massie was always stylish but never sexy. Why the sudden switch to skimpy? And why were the OCD randos so rabid to follow? Were they trying to impress the Briarwood boys or each other?
1b. Who are you trying to impress when you dress up? Your crush? Your friends? Your followers?
When you were in middle school, who were you trying to impress?
Why would Claire put Massie’s name and number on the invite, knowing it would light her up? Is she becoming more courageous? Is she terrible at thinking things through? Why does Kuh-laire keep dancing with the devil?
LFG (Let’s F-ing Gossip)!
xoxo Lisi & Ellen
I think the sudden switch to skimpy is definitely a big Massie stunt to, yet again, get the attention off of Alicia ( who is developing sooner than Massie, and therefore “sexier” (I don’t make a habit of using that word to describe middle schoolers))
definitely setting the stage for Invasion of the Boy Snatchers- where Alicia getting more attention than Massie is a prevalent theme!! Plus it’s another dig at Claire, who, in Massie’s eyes is less mature. Always leads back to Massie’s deep insecurities!
Is question 2 about impressing people in general or specifically dressing up to impress people?
3. I think that Claire chose to perform the name trick, as opposed to just thinking about it, from a combination of increased confidence, lower overhead, and the acceptance of the inevitable Massie–Claire conflict. Even in the first book, she could be confident in uncharted territory as shown when she snuck into Massie's IMs. But the name trick seems bolder in that Claire directly contradicted one of Massie's demands ("Put Claire Lyons and your phone number where it says RSVP so the people you’re inviting know to call you and not me." — Massie) and it involves more people, so it's not a given that Claire would be confident enough to do it.
The IM prank was risky since Claire had to sneak into Massie's room every night and keep her ruse up indefinitely. In contrast, the name prank has a lower chance of being foiled while she is actively working on it, since it's a one-time deal and could be done in private. (Claire would get caught eventually, but IMO Massie finding out after the fact isn't the same as catching her in the act.)
I feel like the tipping point was when Claire realized that Massie didn't like her no matter what, so she might as well go down swinging.