The Julian Game

by Adele Griffin

Overview

Never part of the in crowd, Raye is thrilled when popular girl Ella Parker starts to show interest in her. So when Ella proposes an online prank on her ex, Julian Kilgarry, Raye is more than happy to play along. Together they develop an online persona and use it to "friend" him. But then things go a bit too far. And when Ella learns that Raye has been flirting with Julian face-to-face, things really escalate. Soon, what Raye thought was just some innocent online fun turns into a vicious smear campaign - against Raye herself!

"Griffin elevates the mean girl plot with spot-on insights into teen social politics and quirky, multidimensional characters." - Booklist

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780142419731
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	09/15/2011
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Adele Griffin’s critically acclaimed novels include The Other Shepards, Amandine and National Book Award Finalist Sons of Liberty. Her numerous awards and accolades include ALA Best Book for Young Adults,ALA Notable, CCBC Choice, IRA-CBC Children's Choice and Bank Street Book of the Year. She lives in New York City.

Editorial Reviews

Out of boredom, Raye and her best friend Natalya create a phony Facebook profile for a college freshman named Elizabeth Lavenzck. Elizabeth becomes Raye's way into the in-crowd when Raye is recruited to tutor the popular, beautiful Ella Parker in Mandarin. Ella plans to use Elizabeth's profile to trap and humiliate hottie Julian Kilgarry, who two-timed her at a party. Raye is thrilled to be a part of Ella's queen-bee group, but she's faced with making a decision between Julian and her social standing when she falls for him, especially since Julian seems to reciprocate her feelings. After Ella makes Raye's life hell, Natalya gives Raye the key to bringing Ella down, a key Raye isn't sure she wants to use. Themes of cyberbullying and social manipulation are made all the more sinister. Ella's complete lack of conscience combines with her beauty and charisma to make it easy for readers to understand how she came to be feared as well as popular. Griffin portrays Raye's soul-searching convincingly; readers will identify with her acute consciousness of her outsider status, which makes her inner struggle both compelling and sympathetic. (Fiction. YA)

Kirkus Reviews