The Julian Game by Adele Griffin was much more of a fun read than one might expect.  Heroine Raye Archer is the new girl who wants to be popular.  She has a solid friend in Natalya, who is quirky and loves sci-fi Saturday night movies like Raye.  But when the chance comes to be friends with Ella, the queen of “The Group” on campus, Raye bends her own moral consciousness for a bit.  Mixing a lesson on the pitfalls of social media as Raye is put in the fire of the The Group’s hate with a lesson on staying true to one’s self, the strength of this text is Griffin’s subtle understanding of how teen girls of all social strata might interact with each other and with the opposite sex.  Woven in this, Raye’s conscious does keep her coming back to the good side.  Small make out sessions are just steamy enough to warrant an 8th grade and up recommendation.  Griffin’s craft of keeping the story interesting long after the initial conflict is resolved will be the reason to sell it to students. The cover photo presents the stronger main character that actually exists at the completion of the novel.