Teenreads.com - So Not the Drama by Paula Chase

Kensington

SO NOT THE DRAMA
A Del Rio Bay Clique Novel
by Paula Chase
List Price: $9.95
Pages: 288
Format: Hardcover/Paperback
ISBN: 0758218591
Publisher: Dafina

In exactly one hour, eighteen minutes, and thirty-five seconds, Mina Mooney will be dipping her pink Nellie timbs into the infamous frosh pit… Hoping Del Rio Bay High will live up to her greatest expectations, Mina has big plans for infiltrating the school’s social glitterati. After all, she’s been mad popular for as long as she can remember—and she isn’t about to go from Middle School Royalty to High School Ambiguity. But Del Rio Bay is a big school, so it’ll take some plotting to avoid getting lost in the crowd. Good thing she isn’t afraid of a little hard work and that her playground peeps—Lizzie, Michael, and JZ—have got her back.

But it isn’t long before Mina’s big plans for securing her social status take a back seat to some drama that was so not expected. Lizzie’s scored an invite from the beautiful people that Mina can only dream about, and not only is Michael tripping about being back in school, but now he’s beefing with JZ. Worst of all, Mina’s sociology class experiment to rid the world—or at least Del Rio Bay High—of prejudice is about to backfire…because it might just mean she’ll have to rid herself of her very best friend.

A novel about friendship, betrayal, and how far some will go for popularity, SO NOT THE DRAMA takes a fresh and wickedly funny look at planet high school.

1. The issue of popularity is a large part of DRAMA. The book begins with Mina narrating and saying: “Popularity is a drug. You get a taste of it and suddenly the looks you get from people, the way you get treated, the things you get away with . . . you need it. You honest to God, need it.” Is popularity addicting? If so, how far are you willing to go to be popular and remain popular?

2. Is popularity important to you? If yes, why? If no, why?

3. Of the five girls in the book, Mina, Lizzie, Cinny, Kelly, and Jessica, who are you the most like? Who are you most different from?

4. Several times throughout the book Mina hints to other people about being dramatic (Michael, Lizzie) but it isn’t until the end that she realizes that sometimes she’s the cause of drama and she
reacts very passionately to those around her. Who is the Drama Queen/King in your circle of friends? What do they do to earn that label? Is being passionate such a bad thing? Why or why not?

5. The clique escapes from their everyday worries at Cimarra Beach and Rio’s Ria, where few adults tread. Are there places like that in your community? What are they? If not, describe your
“dream” teen hangout. Is there a way you can help your community create a place where teens can hang out safely?

6. The girls decide to use sleepovers as a way to move the soc project along. If you were in their group would you like doing sleepovers with people who weren’t already your friends? What other
activities could groups use to complete an assignment?

7. The soc class kept the students on their toes, forcing them to react and analyze their reactions. Would you like to be in a class like that? Make up an assignment that you think would fit well
into Mrs. Simm’s soc class.

8. Thinking about where you live—are there communities like The Woods, Folger’s Way, The Melting Pot and Pirates Cove there? Which Del Rio Bay nabe is your neighborhood most like?

9. Jessica ends the soc project feeling the exact same way about Mina and Jacinta as she did going into the project.Why do you think Jessica didn’t change? Do you know someone like Jessica? Would you ever attempt to befriend someone like that?

10. At the end, when Mina says,“There aren’t just two sides to every story, for me there are six: JZ, Lizzie, Michael, Cinny, Kelly and ME,” she’s talking about how she is reflected in her friends. How many sides do you have to your story? What do you think the people you hang around with say about you?

Courtesy of Dafina

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