I found three things wrong with this book: (a) the story idea was a cliché, (b) Kristen didn't seem as particularly "down-to-earth" as she claimed and Lisi Harrison stressed, and (c) similar to the previous point, Kristen didn't seem very poor either. First off, this same story was used already in Sealed With a Diss (Kristen changes herself for the sake of a guy) and probably every other TV/book series ever made. The only difference between this and Sealed with a Diss is that it's the main conflict (so now you can't ignore the predictable story line) and there's another girl in the picture (not too creative). So, it's obvious Kristen will change how she dresses, acts, et cetera for surfer/skater boy Dune, Dune will call Kristen out on her changes and stop talking to Kristen (meanwhile he'll pursue the other girl), Kristen will do some desperate act for the name of love to convince Dune that she's worth loving, and Dune will be convinced. And, surprise, surprise, that's what happens! You'd think, if Kristen was a real person, that she would learn this from her previous, and practically identical, experience with Griffin, the Goth boy, but no. We have to go through this painstaking and frankly boring story line again.

And I'm not sure why everyone thinks Kristen is so down-to-earth, her point-of-view was identical to anyone else in the Clique (not including Claire, who's the only really down-to-earth person in the series), except she complained about money more. Harrison's view of middle class is skewed. In the story, brands like J. Crew and Anthropologie are called noted to be cheap, like when Kristen buys a J. Crew tank top and sews a Lacoste logo on it. Last time I was in J. Crew, the tank tops were $30. If Kristen was really trying to save money and her dad was really bankrupt, wouldn't she just go to Wal-Mart or something and buy some Hanes wife beaters if she wanted a tank top? Harrison, who claims she grew up middle-class, should have included in the book that Kristen knew a middle-class person in Westchester was different money-wise than a middle-class person in any other place.

I do like some things about this book though. The "Witty Committee" was a cute idea, I guess. The book is also an important part of the Summer Collection because of a few things it reveals in the end. But I suggest you don't read this book unless you need some way to pass time this summer. I wish I just asked a friend how this book ended instead of going through the whole thing myself. It's only a little bit above 100 pages, but it seems a lot longer. Trust me.

So far in THE CLIQUE SUMMER COLLECTION series, this has to be my favorite ending of them all!

Kristen is the character in the CLIQUE series that I have always secretly rooted for, because she is more realistic then some of her friends. She wants so badly to have money, and works so hard to fit in with the group that has endless amounts of it.

This book really made her character come to life, and I loved every page!

Even though she's stuck at home, she still finds things to do. Hanging out with the hotties at the local skate park, filling pools with Jell-O, and tutoring (and torturing) a nine-year-old wannabe in math; all in the same summer!

See how she does it in this fabulous summer read!

Reviewed by: Taylor Rector

As a member of the exclusive Pretty Committee clique, Kristen Gregory is popular (times 10), stylish, snobby, fake-rich and insecure. But she has a secret that even her PC friends don't know. Her biggest secret is also her salvation and a source of joy. Kristen belongs to the Witty Committee, a group of intellectually gifted students who assemble via their PCs and role play as the gifted person they admire most. With her Witty Committee friends, whose motto is "BOB - brains over beauty," Kristen is smart, loyal, proud and confident.

While her PC friends have taken flight for the summer, Kristen stays in Westchester, New York, where she lands a job tutoring Ripple Baxter to earn eighth-grade wardrobe money. Kristen begins tutoring Ripple in math, but the nine-year-old has other plans. Ripple is enthralled with PC Alpha Massie Block and connives to use Kristen to teach her how to become an OCD-Diva and Massie clone. Ripple is so obsessed with Massie that she insists everyone call her "Rassie."

After Kristen catches on to Ripple's scam and realizes her tutoring job with Ripple is more babysitting than teaching math, she is ready to call it quits --- until she meets Dune, Ripple's 13-year-old brother, whose blond hair is "the color of Baked Lays." Kristen turns the tables and uses Ripple to find out how to impress Dune, but things don't go according to plan. When Kristen shows up at the Gray Acres Skate Park (GAS) dressed like a skater, Dune and his skater friends are the opposite of impressed. Then there's Skye Hamilton, the eighth-grade Alpha and member of the Westchester Country Club, who is also crushing on Dune.

When Kristen is caught trespassing at the Westchester Country Club, she gets in trouble --- big trouble. And after Dune crushes back on Skye rather than on her, Kristen becomes depressed in a way that makes "Victoria Beckham look cheerful."

To resolve her "crush conflict" Kristen (aka Cleopatra) contacts her role-playing Witty Committee friends for advice. Can Einstein (aka Layne), Bill Gates (aka Danh), Oprah (aka Rachel) and Shakespeare (aka Aimee) come up with a solution? Here's a hint: Are Bill Gates and Oprah rich?

KRISTEN is the fourth of five novellas about members of the Pretty Committee. Each book is a light-hearted and fun-to-read page-turner with sound advice for teenage girls. The message from KRISTEN, is, in her own words, "hold on to your pride and own who you are." No wonder Kristen is not only a member of the Pretty Committee but also of the Witty Committee.

--- Reviewed by Donna Volkenannt

Compared to the first 3 books in the Clique Summer Series, I expected this book to be quite boring. It turns out I was wrong. This book is very enjoyable and will be something that you do not want to put down until you finish the whole book! I will say one little thing that is in this book, Kristin finally meet a very cute and nice boy!