The Debs

Title: The Debs

Author: Susan McBride

Pages: 246

Delacorte Press, 2008

Genre: Chick Lit/Contemporary Fiction

Recommended to: Teen girls, ages 14 and up

Rating: B-

It's debutante season in Houston, which means that girls of the city's wealthiest families are preparing themselves for the biggest annual social event for worthy daughters of the über-privileged: the choosing of this year's Glass Slipper Club Rosebud "debs". And this year, the race is going to be anything but clean and fair...

   Three best friends are eagerly awaiting their invitations to the deb ball, but this year holds more drama, catfights, and un-ladylike behavior than before.

   Laura Bell's biggest dream is to become a Rosebud, despite her size 14. Unfortunately, her biggest rival holds a scandalous secret that could crush her debutante eligibility... Ginger Fore, daughter of a well-known billionaire, also shares her friend's debutante dreams, but when her love of the environment gets her into a sticky situation that might put her into a Texas-sized amount of trouble, she might just have to kiss her fantasy good-bye. Meanwhile, their best friend Michelle "Mac" Mackenzie, is anything but excited about fulfilling her late mother and peppy stepmother's dream of debdom. Why get dressed up in frilly dresses and long gloves when you could be reading? Unfortunately for this trio of best friends, their longtime rival and former beauty queen Jo Lynn Bidwell, who is used to winning no matter what, will stop at nothing to make sure that these three girls don't get what they want....even if it means spreading vicious rumors, and stealing their boyfriends....The heat is on in "H-Town", but who will come out on top?

   Susan McBride's first YA novel is a success, in my point of view. Colorful, fast-paced, and packed with all sorts of drama, The Debs will definitely appeal to the older side of teens. Readers will be rooting for the three protagonists the whole way, right up to the eagerly-awaited climax and almost cliff-hanging ending. My favorite character was by far Ginger, but it was also fun to get into Jo Lynn, (the "mean girl")'s head, loathing her almost as much as Laura, Ginger, and Mac did. I loved how the characters took turns telling the story, and the little quotes before each new chapter were hilarious. While I thought The Debs was a little shallow, not my idea of a hard, serious read, I thoroughly enjoyed it.