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Apr 27, 2014callmeprincess rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
There are three things that are certain in life: death, taxes and the fact that every teenager has encountered cliques... Speaking of cliques, remember Massie Block? The alpha of the infamous clique from the "The Clique" series...And speaking of "The Clique", do you know that the author of that bestselling installment has created another novel? No I'm not talking "Alphas" or "Monster High", I'm talking about "Pretenders". The ultra new series that came out last October, and is it just as ah-mazing as Lisi Harrison's previous works? You bet it is. The secret journals of the elite members of Noble High, the Phoenix Five. The secret lives of these exclusive students that would shock the entire school... "The things we believe in aren’t real. Everyone is a pretender. The proof is in these pages. It’s time to rise from the ashes of deceit and accept our true selves. To rearrange the letters in Phoenix and become X-Phonies instead. " The Phoenix Five are the top dogs at school. The five most outstanding freshman. The question is why are they "The Phoenix Five"? What makes they so special? Someone suspects they aren't what they seem to be. The book starts off with a mysterious letter from a student explaining that at the end of each school year, The Phoenix Five are chosen. Attached to the letter is something life-changing, particularly the lives of five students. It is the journals from each of the Phoenix five that they kept as an assignment from their English teacher the previous year! Journals that were never meant to be read or seen by anyone...Journals that are now in full display for every ones' eyes. Do The Phoenix Five really have it all together? We are about to find out. Sheridan is your typical blond drama queen. She's fashionable and chic, the total package for your every day popular girl. Problem is nothing seems to be going her way ever since entering high school. Duffy is the golden boy that every teen novel needs. He's good looking, the only freshman on the varsity basketball team, life is perfect... if he could keep his family's money problems hidden. Vanessa, the pretty over-achiever who's already applying for Harvard with Yale as backup plan. Believe it or not, she is perfect, or so she tells herself. With the pressure of staying on the top, plus the desires for a boy who's...Let's just say already taken, Vanessa has everything to lose if she's not careful. Jagger your all American bad boy with a dark past, and Lily the girl who's been homeschooled for all of her life until high school. The readers follow the journals of these five teens as they each tell their experiences in Noble High with their unique voices. I smell drama already. As expected from Lisi Harrison, this novel is another hit for me. Before reading this novels I have long ago finished reading the entire series of "The Clique", "Alphas", and "Monster High", while "Pretenders" is a lot similar to her previous works, it lacks the originality that those series have. But overall it was enjoyable and all the five main characters were very likable. I couldn't pick my favorite one! It's called "Pretenders" because it contains the journals of five students whom appear to have it all, little did the rest know just how much was an act. This novel ended on an abrupt note, and I'm looking forward for the next book in this series! Pretending I'm not excited for the second one is impossible.