Clique Bait

I loved this book after reading the original book on Wattpad.I would give it five stars but some plot points changed to create a standalone narrative were removed and I liked the opening to explore the other characters in the future that was in the original.I wanted to know more about Will’s past with Lola and Maddy and Francis relationship from the original wattpad book.However, I was hooked and loved the imperfections Chloe had to make her a good protagonist

This book is like Gossip Girl meets Veronica Mars meets 90210 meets all the Lifetime movies about peer pressure and social media bullying with a Revenge twist cherry on top.Seriously, there is a lot going on here! But it all flows pretty well and was interesting enough that I read the whole thing in a single night. There doesn’t seem to be any wasted content that doesn’t, in some way, lend itself to the overall story, which I appreciate.SPOILERS!! SPOILERS!! SPOILERS!!************There were a couple of things I didn’t like: Monica’s character arch being the first. It’s pretty obvious throughout the story that Monica is no longer with us, but coming to find out why was just...really anticlimactic. I was expecting something way different based on how zealously Chloe was about getting revenge for her friend, especially considering that, from my standpoint at least, the Level Ones didn’t really contribute to Monica’s situation as much as we’re led to believe. Like, okay, they dared her, but it is made explicitly clear that she wasn’t being forced or peer pressured to act the way she did or make the decision she did *at all* — if anything, it’s more like a cautionary tale on the dangers of over intoxication rather than bullying, because Will and Lola and Chloe, as well as video evidence, make it pretty clear that Monica was just kind of a brat with delusions of grandeur and a rich kid’s spoiled mentality. So that being said, the whole plot kind of falls apart for me.Which brings me to the next thing I didn’t like: Chloe! I know, “how can you not like the main character?!?!” But, yeah, I would not be friends with Chloe. She was a hypocrite throughout most of the book, which she does acknowledge and so is thus slightly redeemed, but because the plot doesn’t make sense to me, none of her actions make much sense to me, either. I don’t understand why someone would so vehemently try and get revenge for a friend who you a) admit wasn’t really your best friend anymore, and b) who was responsible for their own demise. It’s like Chloe focused all of her anger about Monica onto these mean kids at her school who were just convenient scape goats. Plus, she was kind of wishy-washy. Always flip flopping on whether to take down Will or not. I understand everyone grieves in their own way but most of the time she just seemed like an angry kid who was honestly too smart for her own good.What I did like about this book: Chloe is fully aware of her faults. I can appreciate that in a character even if I don’t like them. I liked the pacing in the book, too. There was only one part that felt unnecessary to me, but even that ended up playing a part in things. I also liked that reading this felt like seeing Gossip girl or Veronica Mars again for the first time. There were quite a few parts where I thought, “wow, I swear this is something ripped from a tv show” but not in a bad way. The outer relationship dynamics really rang of Gossip girl for me, while the inner relationship dynamics were more like 90210, and the relationship between Chloe and Will was very Veronica and Logan. I feel like Chloe’s anger was very Revenge, too. Since those are all tv shows I enjoyed, I’m not complaining!Overall, it was a decent read. I gave it four stars because I didn’t hate it. I don’t know if I’ll ever read it again, but it was a nice summer read.

Chloe plans to take down the popular kids after her best friend Monica is gone. She doesn’t plan on falling for one of the guys.CLIQUE BAIT started off strong, with Chloe, clearly pained, wearing her heart on the outside. As the plot continued, the story lagged, Chloe became one of the mean kids, and characters became tropes.The quality of Ann Valett’s writing is the strongest component of CLIQUE BAIT. I never got a feel for why Chloe and Monica were such close friends and the lure of popularity that seem to cause Monica’s personality change. I never got a feel for any part of Monica that made me care she was gone (which means exactly what you think it does).The ending quick, tidy and unrealistic ending was the weakest part of the story. CLIQUE BAIT isn’t a bad book, it’s just not very good and lacks payoff of satisfaction at the end.