The Aristobrats

November 8, 2010
Aristobrats are legacies at "Wally," the exclusive private school that Parker's mother can barely afford. At the start of eighth grade, the most crucial year of her life ("If you ruled eighth grade the rest of your life was pretty much golden"), Parker and her three best friends, the Lylas, are atop the popularity ladder and Parker is poised to get together with Tribb, "total front cover of Hottery Barn." But the Lylas' rank is put in jeopardy when they are chosen to produce the school webcast, a task reserved for the smart but unpopular "Einsteins." While the girls' lives are consumed with coining perfect Facebook status updates and scoring designer clothes, their use of exaggerated tween slanguage gives Solow's story a tongue-in-cheek quality ("It's such a cringe that I'm going to have to see my new haircut on everyone sooner or later"). Nevertheless, major plot points—Parker possibly having to leave Wally for financial reasons and the Lylas' desperation to remain on top—run a predictable course. Ages 10–13.