Mean Girls

August 1, 2017

Gr 9 Up-Cady Heron knows all about aggression, dominance, and survival of the fittest. She spent most of her life on the African savanna, homeschooled by her zoologist parents. But a job offer beckons and it is off to the U.S. for the Heron family. Cady has her first day of public school at age 16. Things are more difficult than she could've imagined. She is open, friendly, naive, and inexperienced. People mistake her overtures of friendship for rudeness. She is quickly taken under the wing of Janis and Damien, two self-proclaimed social outcasts. They help her learn how to navigate the dangers of high school, complete with cafeteria map. They tell her who is safe and whom to avoid. One of the groups at the top of the list is the Plastics. This is a group of girls that is so beautiful that they almost seem unreal, led by Regina George. Their beauty is only surpassed by their cruelty. They rule the school. Through a strange twist of events, Cady is pulled into their exclusive clique. As she dethrones Regina, Cady takes her place, losing sight of the endgame. Will Cady completely succumb to the dark side, or will she come to her senses? The book is full of every stereotype readers might expect to see in a dramedy about the "new girl at school." This book reverses the book-to-movie trend. It is a near perfect copy of the screenplay of the Mean Girls film. VERDICT An additional purchase recommended where the movie is popular.-Melyssa Kenney, Parkville High School, MD

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 15, 2017
In this novelization of the 2004 movie of the same name, readers are treated to the film's events from multiple characters' viewpoints.White 16-year-old American Cady Heron grew up home-schooled in "Africa," where her researcher parents evidently studied both the Maasai and animal behavior. They've returned to the States, and Cady is off to public school. She's nervous about the change but reassures herself. She survived the African wilderness; high school couldn't be much worse. New pals--arty Janis and gay boy Damian--fill her in on the school's hierarchy. The Plastics are the school royalty, led by cruel queen bee Regina George and her sycophants, ditzy but oddly insightful Gretchen and sweet but not-so-bright Karen. Regina pulls Cady into her inner circle, but when Cady winds up on the receiving end of Regina's nastiness, Cady launches a revenge plan to take Regina down a few pegs. However, she risks losing herself in the process. Gretchen's Valley girl-speak and Janis' acerbic wit are the most notable voices in the alternating first-person narration, which also includes Cady, Regina, Damian, and others. Hilarious text messages, emails, Regina's mother's ridiculous to-do lists, and newspaper articles bring in minor characters' perspectives. North Shore High is racially diverse, but each of the primary character-narrators is white. Nothing spectacular, but the movie's many fans will have fun. (Fiction. 13-16)

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January 1, 2018
Based on the screenplay by Tina Fey. This faithful adaptation of the 2004 film recounts how new girl Cady Heron, previously homeschooled in Africa, overthrows Regina George to become North Shore High's queen bee. This novelization--told through multiple character perspectives, text messages, emails, diary entries, etc.--doesn't add to Fey's original plot, but (established and blossoming) fans will be satisfied by storytelling that incorporates all the most-quoted lines.

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)