The State of OUR Reunion

Clique fans finally have a place to call their own.

Dearest GLUs,

In 2003, when many of us met, Paris Hilton was wearing pink Juicy’s, you were buying 99-cent songs from the iTunes Music Store, Corona was a beer, not a pandemic, and I was still getting my period. Oh, how the​​ world has changed. We have changed. Yet, somehow, our connection to the Clique series has remained intact. But our community? Notsomuch.

We scattered when AOL message boards gave way to Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Reddit, and others. Like pop culture refugees, we wandered the platforms in search of a new home. Before long, everyone had gone their separate ways.

When our paths did cross, you’d say, “I grew up with your characters.”

“They grew up with you, too,” I wanted to respond. Because I never stopped imagining what the Pretty Committee was doing, where they would be doing it, and with whom. Who they were wearing or how they spend Covid? Did they go to college? Did they have jobs? Money? Therapists? Anxiety? One-night stands? Boozy brunches? Fiancées? Did they stay in touch? Had they exorcised their middle-school demons? Have you? I didn’t know if you were as curious as I was, but writers rarely write for the reader. We write for ourselves. And so, in 2018, I began.

Sort of.

I had dozens of ideas and countless pitch documents. But existing deadlines always got in the way. Besides, did anyone even want this? Enter a call from Ellen “Kuh-laire” Marlow, circa 2022, saying that the Clique community was active AF on TikTok and that I should consider a reboot–the same girls, but older.

ME: Um, Ellen, have you ever signed a contract with Jive Records?

HER: No, why?

ME: Because we are seriously NSYNC!

Ellen and I have been co-creating this love child of a novel ever since. Have we ever had a "What in the actual hell are we doing" moment? Several. But once Ellen posted the book announcement on TikTok (October 2024), our WITAHAWD moment was over. Your desire to read it matched our desire to write it. LFG!

Enter my agent forwarding a random email from Abby Adesanya, a marketer and Senior Copywriter at Pinterest. A Clique superfan and contributor to the message boards in 2006, Abby saw Ellen’s announcement and “Wanted to pitch some ideas that would make the launch truly iconic.” And they will. Abby is next-level brilliant and has become a vital part of our team. She also built this incredible place for our community to gather, grow, and reconnect. So, make yourselves comfortable, look around, and visit often. Your wandering days are over.

Welcome home.

Xoxo Lisi