Review: The Elite by Jennifer Banash

From the top, you can see everything…
except yourself.

When Casey McCloy steps into the elegant Bramford building, she’s overwhelmed. Fresh from the Midwest, she’s moved to New York’s Upper East Side to live with her grandmother and attend the prestigious Meadowlark Academy. Here all that matters is who you know. The girl to know is Madison Macallister: popular, pretty, platinumblond. She’s not just Casey’s new classmate and neighbor; she’s an icon. So Casey aims to get in with Madison and her gorgeous gal-pals from the start. As the reigning queen of coolness, Madison is capable of destroying reputations with one welltimed whisper. Better to be on her good side. But after a city-haute makeover from her new frenemy Madison, Casey is wearing the right clothes, saying the right things, and meeting the right people—including Drew, the boy-about-town who Madison thinks belongs to her and her alone.

This book thrusts you into the world of the young elite. I felt like Casey facing the culture shock of the rich and spoiled. While it was entertaining to read I would hate to live this way. Every thing these girls do, wear, use and want has a label and a price tag. The higher the better in their opinion. I didn't care for the constant labeling and mentioning every brand repeatedly but I understood the significance of it. I probably wouldn't have minded it so much if I were reading it as a teen but as a parent I would hate for my own children to be so shallow. They weren't always likable people.

As the story moved on and the chapters shifted to focus on each of the five main characters their personalities and insecurities were revealed. They may have looked polished and self assured on the outside but they were each struggling with their own demons on the inside. That was the part that was interesting to me. It was also a nice contrast that one of the main characters was male. I liked Banash's writing style and sense of humor. This was an easy read and I am curious to see what happens next. I will be reading books #2 In Too Deep and #3 Simply Irresistible next. (Love those covers!)

Thank you to the author for a copy of the book in exchange for this review.

author sites:
www.theeliteseries.com
www.myspace.com/theeliteseries

Publisher: Berkley Trade
Release date: 6/08
Pages: 256
Price/format: $9.99/paperback
Type: YA fiction