High-school-freshman Haley Patterson scores a coveted spot on the school newspaper, where she takes over the gossip column. After publishing a piece about a party given by popular diva Camilla, which lands the girl in trouble, Haley's life becomes a nightmare. Camilla begins a hate campaign that costs Haley her friends and culminates in an e-mail suggesting that she commit suicide. Haley refuses to tell anyone what is going on, choosing instead to look forward to a summer at her aunt's. The break allows Haley to make new friends, find love, and, she hopes, the strength to face Camilla in the fall. The reentry of Camilla at the end of the novel feels strained, and Marcella Pixley's Freak (2007) is better at depicting the complexities of "mean girls." But the love story is sweet, and readers will root for Haley to admit what's been going on and finally give herself a chance to be happy.

When 14-year-old freshman journalist Haley Patterson reported on Camilla Quinn's unsupervised bash in her school paper's supposedly anonymous gossip column, she thought the freedom of press would protect her. However, shortly after publication, Camilla, her school's most popular diva and vicious bully, launches an attack on Haley's reputation, making her a social outcast, ignored by even her two best friends. Fortunately for Haley, she's scheduled to spend the summer at her spunky aunt's home in Copper Springs, where no one knows about Camilla. However, even in Copper Springs, Camilla's hate campaign haunts Haley until she takes a job at the local resort where, with the help of co-workers, she slowly gains the courage to confront Camilla. Concluding with a serious author's note on harassment, which includes information on getting help, this text skillfully captures the painful reality of teen bullying while also telling Haley's humorous and sincere story of growing up. (Fiction. YA)

Love (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Semiprecious) takes a hard look at girl-on-girl bullying and offers counsel to the victims in this smoothly written but overly neat novel. Haley Patterson, proud to be the only freshman on the high school newspaper, has been temporarily writing the anonymous gossip column, In the Know. A reference to a party hosted by social arbiter Camilla Quinn, however, brings down Camilla's Olympian wrath—she begins a “Campaign to Destroy Haley,” successfully renames her Haley the Ho and even sends her a death threat. Not even Haley's best friends talk to her by the time Camilla is through. Love convincingly describes the school scene and its gradual, devastating toll on Haley, but solves her character's problems too conveniently—another girl presses charges against Camilla, and Haley can step forward on her behalf, using Camilla's e-mailed death threat as evidence. Subplots, too, have a deus-ex-machina quality. Readers hoping for help aren't likely to find much beyond sympathy and an endnote directing them to other resources. Ages 12-up. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Mar.)

Gr 7-10 Freshman Haley Patterson loves her job on the school newspaper, but when she writes about a wild party (drinking, no adults) thrown by Camilla Quinn, a Queen Bee bully, she immediately regrets it. Camilla nicknames her "Haley the Ho" and turns everyone, including Haley's best friends, against her. Haley even receives a nasty email from Camilla suggesting that she commit suicide on a certain day, and she becomes the victim of cruel jokes. She makes it through the school year, but never gathers the courage to confront her nemesis or to tell anyone about the abuse. Spending the summer with her aunt, Haley takes a job at a pool. Initially she has a hard time trusting the other teens who work there, but she begins to relax. Despite their warnings, however, she develops a crush on a handsome lifeguard. With the help of her aunt and new friends, Haley develops the courage to stand up to Camilla when school begins. Despite the serious subject matter, Diva reads more like Meg Cabot than "problem novel." The book's chick-lit cover and tone will make it attractive and accessible to girls. A strong message and a sympathetic main character make this book worthy of reading and discussion in book groups. Stephanie L. Petruso, Anne Arundel County Public Library, Odenton, MD