The Lifeboat Clique

by Kathy Parks

Overview

Mean Girls meets Life of Pi in this darkly humorous, compulsively readable teen novel that’s perfect for fans of Libba Bray and Andrew Smith. A hilariously dark and twisted story that sparkles with a remarkably fresh voice, The Lifeboat Clique is Kathy Parks's irreverent yet insightful novel about how to survive in the most unthinkable circumstances. 

Some people might say that Denver has a death wish. Why else would she dare to sneak into a Malibu beach party where she’d be surrounded by enemies?

Oh yeah. Croix. Denver never thought in a million years he’d ask her out, but who is she to question this miracle of fate?

Well, that isn’t the only surprise fate has in store.

During the party a tsunami hits the coast of California, and Denver and a handful of others escape death and are swept out to sea. Of course, one of her fellow castaways is none other than her ex-BFF, Abigail, who can barely stand the sight of her.

Trapped on a small boat with the most popular kids in school and waiting to be rescued, Denver wonders what might kill her first—dehydration, sunstroke, or the girl she used to think of as a sister?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062393999
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	03/01/2016
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
File size:	873 KB
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

As a baby, Kathy Parks was thrown out with the bathwater. This experience shaped her life and art. She is the author of novels including The Lifeboat Clique and Notes from My Captivity, and she also works as an advertising copywriter. She lives with her husband, Michael, in Boulder, Colorado.

Editorial Reviews

12/14/2015
Denver Reynolds, 16, is an outcast at school, while her former best friend, Abigail, somehow made the leap to the popular crowd. After a small earthquake, Abigail throws a party at an empty house in Malibu, and Denver crashes it. When a bigger earthquake hits, it sends a tsunami sweeping across Malibu. Abigail, Denver, and several other popular kids end up stuck in a lifeboat—bickering, freaking out, and sometimes leaning on each other. Parks (the author of Sisters of Shiloh and other novels for adults as Kathy Hepinstall) gives Denver a whip-smart, hilarious voice as she delivers sardonic commentary on popularity and their dwindling hopes of survival (“I can’t recommend apocalypse in the springtime highly enough”). Part adventure, part sly critique of high school politics, Parks’s novel only dips during flashbacks to Denver’s collapsing friendship with Abigail. It’s a sweet, moving novel about loss, friendship, and the will to both live and forgive. Ages 13–up. Agent: Mollie Glick, Foundry Literary + Media. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

A savagely funny book.” — Jesse Andrews, author of Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

“A compulsive read.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“Part adventure, part sly critique of high school politics, Parks’s novel is a sweet, moving novel about loss, friendship, and the will to both live and forgive.” — Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

A compulsive read.

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

A savagely funny book.

Jesse Andrews

A compulsive read.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

12/01/2015
Gr 9 Up—After publishing adult novels as Kathy Hepinstall, Parks delivers her YA debut: a high school dramedy/survival story mash-up that succeeds in snarky voice but ultimately suffers from unevenness. Denver, a Wisconsin transplant in Los Angeles and social outcast, is at a party thrown by her ex-best friend turned popular girl, Abigail, when a huge tsunami hits and washes her out to sea. She finds herself stranded on a boat surrounded by the open water alongside Abigail and three other teens from the cool crowd. The more the group struggle to survive, the less their labels matter. Yet it seems even the most dire circumstances will not get Abigail to forgive Denver. The story alternates between the group's current situation and flashbacks to the evolution of Denver and Abigail's friendship, including the act that led to their falling out. At its core, this is a story about their friendship, with the survival plotline taking a backseat. Because of that, the flashback sequences work well, while the present-day sections plod on too long. As a whole, the book starts strong with a humorous, witty voice, setting readers up for a purposefully over-the-top dark comedy. Then it takes itself too seriously, and the narrative becomes hard to buy into. When the ending weaves in several plot points from throughout the novel, it feels shallow rather than clever. The inclusion of the offensive term sitting Indian-style is used several times. Despite the flaws, teens who feel like they don't quite fit in may enjoy Denver's criticisms of the high school hierarchy. VERDICT Readers looking for a female-focused offbeat survival and teen drama story are better off with Libba Bray's Beauty Queens (Scholastic, 2011).—Jenna Friebel, Deerfield Public Library, IL

School Library Journal

Poor Denver. First, she’s ostracized after being accused of betraying her best friend, and now she’s part of a group of teens who were swept into the Pacific Ocean after a tsunami struck the California coast. Allyson Ryan deftly narrates this darkly humorous story of the social dynamics of a group of teenaged castaways. The story skips through time, keeping up with the present of the lifeboat survivors, who include Denver’s ex-BFF and current nemesis, Abigail, while also unraveling the explosive events that led to the detonation of Denver and Abigail’s friendship. Ryan submerges listeners in the lifeboat’s brutal realities while convincingly voicing the teen emotions that come into play. Parks’s story is unique, irreverent, and definitely worth a listen. L.L. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

JULY 2016 - AudioFile

2016-01-09
The aftermath of a tsunami finds an unlikely group of teens adrift together on the Pacific in a lifeboat. Sixteen-year-old Denver is surprisingly blasé about her dire plight, maintaining a snide and sarcastic narrative tone throughout. She's stuck in a lifeboat with the two girls who are at the top of the teen totem pole, Sienna and Hayley; her used-to-be best friend, Abigail; and Trevor, a surfer dude and drummer in a garage band. At least they are alive following the huge earthquake and tsunami that struck during a Malibu beach party that Denver crashed. Many of their friends are dead, and they are facing death themselves, but Denver's tone never changes from her opening line: "Trevor talked quite a bit about his man part just before he drowned." Denver's the only one with any initiative to try to solve their situation. Mostly her ideas are based on watching television, since without friends, she's had lots of time to watch. The abrasive tone, meant to be funny, is off-putting and works against suspense, even as the situation becomes increasingly dire. Due to Denver's disdainful commentary, it's hard to work up much sympathy for any of the characters, who all seem to be white. Adrift (2015), by Paul Griffin, offers more nuance and diversity to boot. Save for the most jaded readers, as it will fit their worldview perfectly. (Fiction. 12-16)

Kirkus Reviews