Book review - Lipgloss Jungle by Melissa de la Cruz

Lauren has been accepted as one of the Ashleys, a select clique who rule the school she attends. Her plan is to bring them down from the inside, but now that she’s finally found a place with them she’s not so sure. They can be bossy but they can also be so much fun to hang out with. Soon she has more important problems. A rival group has begun to challenge the Ashleys, led by Lauren’s former best friend. All the Ashleys are outraged at this, but they have their own problems to deal with as well. Is the clique going to collapse under the pressure?

I’m not quite sure who Lipgloss Jungle is aimed at. It’s marketed as a young gossip girl, which seems fair. I’d say it’s about 11 or 12+, though the girls sometimes act more maturely than that and sometimes less maturely. I didn’t have any confusion reading this book as my first introduction to the series (It’s actually the fourth book), though I did find Lauren the least interesting character although she seems to be supposed to the central character. I also didn’t get engaged in her relationship with boyfriend Christian, perhaps because it and they were introduced properly in a previous book and left to play somewhat in the background in this one. For that reason I’d suggest beginning this series with the first book if you decide to give it a go.

The book is told from the alternating perspectives of each of the four members of the ‘Ashleys’ clique. The other characters are rather clichéd, though I will say no character is completely bad or completely good, making all of their motives that bit more interesting. All are overly obsessed with clothes, looks and boys, worrying over first kisses and suchlike.

A fun little summer read for tween girls. Though it has little substance it’s entertaining enough and will probably keep many girls happy for an afternoon.