When Casey McCloy steps into the elegant Bramford building, she’s overwhelmed. Fresh from the Midwest, she’s moved to New York’s Upper East Side to live with her grandmother and attend the prestigious Meadowlark Academy. Here all that matters is who you know. The girl to know is Madison Macallister: popular, pretty, platinumblond. She’s not just Casey’s new classmate and neighbor; she’s an icon. So Casey aims to get in with Madison and her gorgeous gal-pals from the start. As the reigning queen of coolness, Madison is capable of destroying reputations with one welltimed whisper. Better to be on her good side. But after a city-haute makeover from her new frenemy Madison, Casey is wearing the right clothes, saying the right things, and meeting the right people—including Drew, the boy-about-town who Madison thinks belongs to her and her alone.

This book thrusts you into the world of the young elite. I felt like Casey facing the culture shock of the rich and spoiled. While it was entertaining to read I would hate to live this way. Every thing these girls do, wear, use and want has a label and a price tag. The higher the better in their opinion. I didn't care for the constant labeling and mentioning every brand repeatedly but I understood the significance of it. I probably wouldn't have minded it so much if I were reading it as a teen but as a parent I would hate for my own children to be so shallow. They weren't always likable people.

As the story moved on and the chapters shifted to focus on each of the five main characters their personalities and insecurities were revealed. They may have looked polished and self assured on the outside but they were each struggling with their own demons on the inside. That was the part that was interesting to me. It was also a nice contrast that one of the main characters was male. I liked Banash's writing style and sense of humor. This was an easy read and I am curious to see what happens next. I will be reading books #2 In Too Deep and #3 Simply Irresistible next. (Love those covers!)

Thank you to the author for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Reviewed by Tasha for TeensReadToo.com

As soon as Casey McCloy steps into the luxurious Bramford apartment building, she knows that she has entered another world.

Everything seems so much more elegant and sophisticated then even the nice places in her hometown of Normal, Illinois. Casey has moved to Upper-East Side Manhattan to stay with her grandmother while her feminist mother travels to England to do research for her up-and-coming book.

Before Casey even steps foot inside her grandmother's apartment she is greeted by Madison MacAllister, the ultimate It Girl, and her posse. Even though the girls seem intimidating, Casey thinks that maybe, possibly, they could be her friends. They even invite her to the park with them after she has settled in.

When Casey finally makes it to the park she is thoroughly introduced to Madison's sidekicks, Sophie and Phoebe, who seem to be a lot nicer than Madison. Casey is also introduced to Drew, who just happens to have something going on with the Queen Bee herself, but definitely has eyes for Casey!

During the last few weeks of summer vacation, Casey finds herself hanging out with Madison, Phoebe, and Sofie quite a bit. They even give her some fashion advice for her first day of school outfit. Casey's stoked that she has found some friends, but when Casey starts talking with Drew, jealousy overcomes Madison and things aren't as bright for Casey anymore. Madison is determined to get Drew back, and she always gets what she wants. Will Casey's sweet demeanor trump Madison's nasty attitude?

This book was awesome. I couldn't put it down. Originally, I was a little skeptical because the book sounded a lot like the GOSSIP GIRL books, which I don't really care for -- but I made the completely wrong assumption. While there is drama in this book, it doesn't overpower the story; it actually makes the book even more devourable. The characters are extremely real and, in most cases, likeable. Yes, the girls were rich, but money wasn't the main focal point of the story.

Actually, I liked how Casey was able to lead a very interesting life without all the glitz and glamour that money provides. I also liked how two of the supporting characters, Sophie and Phoebe, got their chance to shine, too. I haven't read many books where this happens and I really liked how the reader got to take a little break from the main character(s) to see what else was going on in the story.

Another great thing about this book is the humor. I found myself laughing out loud a lot and just smiling at what Sophie would say, or how Casey would act. This was a great first novel from Jennifer Banash and I desperately wish that the sequel, IN TOO DEEP, was already on my bookshelf -- but I guess I'll have to wait until October...! ( )

Casey is a simple girl, when she moves to New York to live with her grandmother, she has no idea what she is getting herself into. The Bramford is the most exclusive luxury apartment building in New York’s Upper east side, and Casey feels like a country bumpkin in the midst of all the glamour. Madison is the queen, if you will, of Bramford, she gets what she wants when she wants. Her two leading ladies always by her side are Sophie and Phoebe. Casey puts her best effort into fitting in, but Madison avidly puts her in her rightful place, especially when it comes to her on-again/off-again boyfriend, Drew.When I finally got the chance to sit down and read this book, I couldn’t put it down! Seriously though, I like my share of drama, but I can only take so much of the exaggerated drama that is in so many books now a days, and must I bring up reality t.v. The Elite while it had it’s dramatic moments, only made the story that much better! One thing I really loved about this story is that is seemed realistic. The characters, the situations they were in and they way they handle things, were very true to life, teenage life. Casey doesn’t instantly turn popular and she wouldn’t in real life, let’s face it. And there is so much more going on in the story besides just Casey, I almost enjoyed Phoebe and Sophie’s times in the spotlight more than Casey’s or Madison’s. It's true that most of the characters are insanley rich, but they don't lack for their share of problems.I have to admit I totally have a crush on Drew. I mean after you read it you will understand, entirely. I think the fact that I completely meshed with Jennifer Banash’s writing style, helped me enjoy the book even more. She is descriptive and eloquent but not over the top! And she is funny too! Her sense of humor must be close to mine, because I couldn’t help but grin throughout the entire book.The only complaint I have is that I don’t have the next book In Too Deep to read right away!The Elite was captivating and fun to read! I absolutely recommend this book. Isn't the cover awesome as well, btw! ( )

I really wanted to like this book because I heard good things about it but I guess it just was not for me. I feel like the story of the small town girl moving to the big city to live among the rich and snooty has been done many times so I really wanted something in this book to distinguish itself. While I loved Casey’s grandmother and Casey herself was pretty likeable I found a lot of the relationships between the characters to be a bit unbelievable. For instance, I could understand why Drew was doubting any future with Madison but I did not really see any compelling reason that he would like Casey instead. He made mentions of liking classic movies and wanting to go to museums but other than running into Casey once in a museum you don’t see him discovering the little things about her that would make him fall for her. I will say the little side bits that Banash tosses in there had my attention more than the Madison-Drew-Casey love triangle. I wanted to learn more about Sophie’s problems, Phoebe’s issues and what is going to happen with Sophie’s brother. So I will say the temptation is there to pick up the next book but I will not be in any rush. ( )

Casey McCloy moves to Manhattan and befriends a group of popular girls at her school. They give her a makeover and she goes around with them. Madison, the leader of the popular group, is semi-dating Drew. When Casey finds herself crushing on Drew, tensions build and everyone decides what they value most in friendship and in any relationship.

The Elite was light and enjoyable. Casey is an easy character to relate to, and everyone else is easily identifiable. Drew was probably my favorite character. He seemed most real to me, and he also seemed most likable. My only knock is that the characters seemed flat and stereotypical, but it was still fun to read, and I would recommend it.