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The Pack
A pack of best friends navigate first crushes, new friendships and more at their school for girls with animal powers! Don’t be fooled. . . . Charm House isn’t like any other charm school. Charm stands for Center for Human-Animal Reform and Manners. Every girl who boards there has an animal light inside her that is wild and needs to be tamed.New girl Sadie just wants to stay out of trouble and blend in. When she learns she has the fiercest animal light of all, she is invited to join the group of it girls known as the Pack, led by Lindsey, the school’s queen of the jungle. Soon Sadie is consumed by social drama and her secret feelings for an off-limits private-school boy. Charm House is supposed to protect them, but danger looms when someone starts to threaten the girls. Is the school in jeopardy—or is someone trying to tear the Pack apart? "Girls with secret kick-butt animal powers? Yes please. This story is fast paced, hilarious, and wildly fun.”—Melissa de la Cruz, New York Times bestselling author of The Descendants
205 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2021
6 people are currently reading
345 people want to read
About the author
Lisi Harrison
95 books2,845 followersLisi Harrison is the author of the #1 New York Times best-selling series "The Clique", "Alphas", "Monster High," Pretenders," and her first adult novel: "The Dirty Book Club" out 10.10.17. Lisi was born in Toronto, Canada, and lived in NYC for 15 years while she worked at MTV. She now lives in Laguna Beach, CA and is a member or her own Dirty Book Club.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
June 29, 2021
I'll give a simple summary of this book: A group of girls have an inherent ability which makes them more powerful than others, which causes them to be discriminated against and systematically persecuted. In order to survive, these girls go through a rigorous training program to suppress their powers, which may be impossible for some, leading to support for the system which wishes to cure them of this difference. Those who are loud and uninterested in hiding are treated as a danger to safe lives for the rest of the group, and any means necessary to keep them quiet is justified.
It's really not a reach to say that the message of this book is that girls who take up too much space need to learn to be still and quiet in order to live within the systems which fear them. Even the message of self-love which the book attempts to make is slightly trampled over: Sadie's frizzy hair is made fun of everywhere except for Charm School, and when she is dancing with her crush, where it is appreciated as a part of her. However, rat-light girls are particularly acne-prone, which they are teased for, and Lindsey lashes out at a hyena-light girl by telling her she needs to shave.
Overall, this book seems to be confused in general about what it is trying to be. I wouldn't suggest it to any young reader because of its rather disappointing messaging (Hiding parts of yourself and manipulating others into hiding themselves is justifiable when it is in the name of safety from a society which threatens you.). It's also trying far too hard to be a novel for young readers to be really worth a read for older people. It is endearing at times, and the characters are sweet when they aren't emblems of performative activism. There was a setup here that had so much potential to be explored, and it was missed on just about every mark.
It's really not a reach to say that the message of this book is that girls who take up too much space need to learn to be still and quiet in order to live within the systems which fear them. Even the message of self-love which the book attempts to make is slightly trampled over: Sadie's frizzy hair is made fun of everywhere except for Charm School, and when she is dancing with her crush, where it is appreciated as a part of her. However, rat-light girls are particularly acne-prone, which they are teased for, and Lindsey lashes out at a hyena-light girl by telling her she needs to shave.
Overall, this book seems to be confused in general about what it is trying to be. I wouldn't suggest it to any young reader because of its rather disappointing messaging (Hiding parts of yourself and manipulating others into hiding themselves is justifiable when it is in the name of safety from a society which threatens you.). It's also trying far too hard to be a novel for young readers to be really worth a read for older people. It is endearing at times, and the characters are sweet when they aren't emblems of performative activism. There was a setup here that had so much potential to be explored, and it was missed on just about every mark.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 8, 2024
I haven’t read a middle grade novel in a long time, let alone a contemporary one, and I felt like reading this gave me interesting insight into what preteen girls lit looks like right now, which was interesting to compare to books in the same genre I was reading in the 90s and early aughts. I really enjoyed it ( cute girls with animal powers RAWr) but In some ways I think this book was a little confused about its messaging. Ie, there was so much about fitting in vs rising above norms as a leader that clashed with the frequent nail painting and makeover scenes and “ew! Frizzy hair!” Attitudes the cool girl pack enforced. But at the same time the Charm school itself is a contradiction: it’s providing a “safe” haven for these little girls with violent, special animal powers at the same time its teaching them to repress their instincts in order to blend in. So in a way the book itself almost mimics/performs the school’s lies and ambivalence towards their animal natures, which worked for me. I was like yeah this is filled with contradictions which is how the passage from girlhood to womanhood is! Adults don’t always have the answers and things aren’t always black and white.
I don’t know where the series is going but regardless of what direction the author actually takes it, the set up alone was enough to provide me with a universe where I could imagine these girls ditching the stupid nail polish and the lame controlling school and embracing their fierce feral animal selves. If it doesn’t go there, I still found the characters delightfully fleshed out for middle grade, and I laughed out loud a ton of times. It was funny and didn’t take itself too seriously and the narration felt very true to middle school and middle schooler psychology which was cute.
I don’t know where the series is going but regardless of what direction the author actually takes it, the set up alone was enough to provide me with a universe where I could imagine these girls ditching the stupid nail polish and the lame controlling school and embracing their fierce feral animal selves. If it doesn’t go there, I still found the characters delightfully fleshed out for middle grade, and I laughed out loud a ton of times. It was funny and didn’t take itself too seriously and the narration felt very true to middle school and middle schooler psychology which was cute.
January 23, 2021
*I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*
The Pack is a cute book. While I never read The Clique when I was in High school one of my friends loved it (I was more of an A-List girl). But this has major clique vibes and it kind of teaches why you shouldn’t judge people based on what others believe. It has a lot of lessons about learning how to believe in yourself and your own feelings on subjects which is important. But I can’t lie there were some parts that were a little cringe worthy. It’s the kind of book that tries to ‘keep up with the times’ by mentioning TikTok dances and Charlie Dimileo (I’m like 95% sure that’s not how you spell her name) but in a way that’s not organic and feels like an adult trying to ‘connect’ with ‘the kids’. Would it be cute for a MG reader? Yes, and I’m sure my nieces would love it and it has good lessons while having a fun fantasy plot so it's worth reading.
The Pack is a cute book. While I never read The Clique when I was in High school one of my friends loved it (I was more of an A-List girl). But this has major clique vibes and it kind of teaches why you shouldn’t judge people based on what others believe. It has a lot of lessons about learning how to believe in yourself and your own feelings on subjects which is important. But I can’t lie there were some parts that were a little cringe worthy. It’s the kind of book that tries to ‘keep up with the times’ by mentioning TikTok dances and Charlie Dimileo (I’m like 95% sure that’s not how you spell her name) but in a way that’s not organic and feels like an adult trying to ‘connect’ with ‘the kids’. Would it be cute for a MG reader? Yes, and I’m sure my nieces would love it and it has good lessons while having a fun fantasy plot so it's worth reading.
October 20, 2022
The girls that board the Charm House or the Center for Human-Animal Reform and Manners, are there because they have an animal light inside them that needs to be tamed. Sadie is the new girl and she just wants to stay out of trouble and blend in with the rest of the students. That is until she learns she has the Lion light and a group of popular girls include her in their group called the Pack. Sadie finds herself at the center of attention and is consumed by social drama. The Charm school is supposed to be a sanctuary but, someone is targeting the girls. Will Sadie be able to help find the mastermind?
The book was a fun read and had a few unexpected twists. It was interesting seeing Sadie accept her abilities and her powers to lead and not be just a follower. Some of the dialogue between the girls at the school were funny but, might be too much for some children/readers. For example, Lindsey and the other girls remark on each others physical appearance or Sadie gets bullied because her hair doesn't look appealing, it might seem like bullying. Instead of tampering the comments about physical appearance, they seem to enjoy making remarks about it to each other. Overall, it's a fun read and I would read other books in the series.
The book was a fun read and had a few unexpected twists. It was interesting seeing Sadie accept her abilities and her powers to lead and not be just a follower. Some of the dialogue between the girls at the school were funny but, might be too much for some children/readers. For example, Lindsey and the other girls remark on each others physical appearance or Sadie gets bullied because her hair doesn't look appealing, it might seem like bullying. Instead of tampering the comments about physical appearance, they seem to enjoy making remarks about it to each other. Overall, it's a fun read and I would read other books in the series.
April 2, 2021
Thanks to NetGalley & Random House Children's for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.
The Pack follows Sadie who is suddenly thrown into Charm House, an exclusive private school for girls. She finds out that CHARM stands for Center for Human-Animal Reform and Manners, and every student & teacher at this school has an animal "light" residing in them. The students/teachers have animal characteristics that make it difficult to blend in with the "Typicals" or regular humans. What animal is Sadie?
This story will definitely appeal to those who like the "Ever After High" series, a school fantasy setting with a little bit of mystery. There's a lot of dialogue in the story which makes it easy to follow. Not to mention, everyone's hilarious and unique in their own ways and it's really fun seeing their animal characteristics come to light.
I bet if I was in this book I'd get something weird like a sloth, lol. Great story for middle grade!
The Pack follows Sadie who is suddenly thrown into Charm House, an exclusive private school for girls. She finds out that CHARM stands for Center for Human-Animal Reform and Manners, and every student & teacher at this school has an animal "light" residing in them. The students/teachers have animal characteristics that make it difficult to blend in with the "Typicals" or regular humans. What animal is Sadie?
This story will definitely appeal to those who like the "Ever After High" series, a school fantasy setting with a little bit of mystery. There's a lot of dialogue in the story which makes it easy to follow. Not to mention, everyone's hilarious and unique in their own ways and it's really fun seeing their animal characteristics come to light.
I bet if I was in this book I'd get something weird like a sloth, lol. Great story for middle grade!
June 25, 2022
3.5
Has fun elements and is generally an enjoyable read. However, it had more potential than it tapped into by the end. A few times it does feel like a redesign of The Clique, especially given one particular line that just screamed at me (because I was a BIG fan of The Clique back when I was in middle school and those books are definitely part of my bookish identity). I love the concept, I like a lot of the key components of it, but I do think there was some room for improvement. It's fun, but I wouldn't call it a MUST-read. I do want more though. For some girls, this book is going to be like sweet, sweet candy and sometimes....that's all a book needs to be.
Has fun elements and is generally an enjoyable read. However, it had more potential than it tapped into by the end. A few times it does feel like a redesign of The Clique, especially given one particular line that just screamed at me (because I was a BIG fan of The Clique back when I was in middle school and those books are definitely part of my bookish identity). I love the concept, I like a lot of the key components of it, but I do think there was some room for improvement. It's fun, but I wouldn't call it a MUST-read. I do want more though. For some girls, this book is going to be like sweet, sweet candy and sometimes....that's all a book needs to be.
June 28, 2022
I usually don’t read middle grade books too often but I thought that this one was pretty cute and refreshing especially as I’m working my way out of a book slump. It was nice to see Sadie start to grow into a leadership role and get to experience the value in true friendship. I’m curious to see how the major secret that was revealed will play out in the following book.
August 9, 2021
It was a cute book with some mystery and I guessed one of the plot twists but not the other. I think if I read this younger it would've gotten a higher rating from my younger self. As an adult the bullying and clique like trope although it can happen in real life is a bit overdone.
September 25, 2022
Margo read and recommended this. I found delight in so many turns of phrase...and a few pop culture references that she would not have reference for yet. Fun read with life lessons about friendship and being true to yourself.
June 18, 2024
I LOVED this book! It's so, so cute and I'm so happy to have found it entirely by coincidence. I read The Clique in elementary school and loved those books, but I didn't recognize the author when I picked this one up as an adult. I'm super excited to read the next one when I get around to it!
August 23, 2021
Really enjoy the idea of girls having animal light! I really enjoyed this quick read!
August 23, 2021
This book is great for girls between ages of 11 to 14. It has alot of girl power and strength themes. I can't wait to read the next book.
July 7, 2022
3.7 to 4.3
cute :D
cute :D
Read
July 18, 2022A very cute fun read
August 24, 2022
Cute girl power book.
September 11, 2022
I absolutely loved this book .
November 16, 2022
I do recommend it because it has good plot twists and the characters are super unique. It’s kind of like a mystery.
January 16, 2023
So good Paws,Claws,and jaws yall! I want the next book so bad
February 8, 2023
The beginning was slow, it was pretty clique-y, and the twist came in at the last couple pages but I just really liked this books.
March 27, 2023
Read in two days! I absolutely loved it ❤️ because of the story between humans and animals, with mystery and fantastic ending !
February 21, 2024
This book was quick and had many details!!
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews