Denver Reynolds never expected that crashing a party would end so poorly. After all, she's avoided any contact with her former best friend, Abigail Kenner, ever since she allegedly ruined Abigail's life and shattered her dreams. Now Abigail is part of the popular clique at school while Denver remains friendless—until one day football star Croix Monroe invites Denver to that dreaded party. Unfortunately, a tsunami hits that same night and now Denver is stranded on a lifeboat with Abigail and three other members of the popular clique. It's an experience that will change their lives forever....

THE LIFEBOAT CLIQUE is a story of survival told with flashbacks to the events that led up to the bitter dissolution of Denver and Abigail's formerly close friendship. Denver is a great narrator for the story as she doesn't flinch away from showing the strengths and imperfections of both herself and others. Kathy Parks does a marvelous job at showing us how Denver and the other survivors learn to look beneath the surface veneer because quite honestly I didn't like the other survivors initially very much. However, as THE LIFEBOAT CLIQUE progresses, we start to feel for the characters, and I laughed, cried, and yes, cheered for them.

One surprise for me with THE LIFEBOAT CLIQUE is the humor. On the surface, there appears to be nothing humorous about a tsunami survival story where one outcast is trapped on a lifeboat with several popular kids. And yet THE LIFEBOAT CLIQUE is absolutely hysterical at times! Part of the reason is Denver herself. Denver has a wickedly clever way with sarcasm that is quite intellectual at times. Some of her humor is self- deprecating but overall it works well to lighten what could otherwise be a very nasty and ugly story.

THE LIFEBOAT CLIQUE has a broad spectrum of appeal. Readers will particularly appreciate Kathy Parks's character development and refusal to make anyone a one- dimensional bad guy. However, I think the true heart of THE LIFEBOAT CLIQUE is the light Kathy Parks sheds on the various social cliques (especially those found in high school) as she takes those dynamics and completely shreds them. Kathy Parks crafts a satisfyingly good story, which is often satirical. THE LIFEBOAT CLIQUE takes readers on an unexpected adventure of survival, loss, and even love. I look forward to reading more by Kathy Parks in the future.