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Queen B
To B or to Bee?
Cassie Howard has been second best all her life, but as Snow Queen runner-up—with a cute new boyfriend, to boot—she’s determined to reach new social heights this semester. The time has come to move from Queen B to Queen Bee.
But how is she supposed to fly when life keeps pinching her wings? Her lovesick brother is determined to mortify her in public. She’s in charge of her school’s talentless talent show, where at any moment someone could pull back the curtain and expose her (many) insecurities. The people she cares about most are mad at her. (Again.) And her nemesis, Sterling, has an evil new clone, one who’s making a hobby of humiliating Cassie—and a beeline for Cassie’s boyfriend.
Does being popular mean you have to sting like a bee? Or can a girl become queen without losing her honey? Let the buzz begin!
For the first time in my life, I have an actual shot at being someone at school. I’ve always been more of a Queen B than a Queen Bee—you know, B as in not A. Second tier. (Fine, if you have to get technical, sometimes even lower.) But this year, out of nowhere, I have a chance to be a real Queen Bee.
Not that I intend to be snobby, or cliquish, or any of the other rude things sometimes stapled to that label.
I just want people to love me.
“Hilarious light reading for any girl pestered by peer pressure.” —bn.com
“A super summer read.” —Sweet 16
“Short chapters with cute titles . . . imagine a novelized blend of Pretty in Pink and Mean Girls.” —Booklist
“A fun read that should appeal to teens going through the first joys and trials of young love.” —KLIATT, starred review
A New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age
Cassie Howard has been second best all her life, but as Snow Queen runner-up—with a cute new boyfriend, to boot—she’s determined to reach new social heights this semester. The time has come to move from Queen B to Queen Bee.
But how is she supposed to fly when life keeps pinching her wings? Her lovesick brother is determined to mortify her in public. She’s in charge of her school’s talentless talent show, where at any moment someone could pull back the curtain and expose her (many) insecurities. The people she cares about most are mad at her. (Again.) And her nemesis, Sterling, has an evil new clone, one who’s making a hobby of humiliating Cassie—and a beeline for Cassie’s boyfriend.
Does being popular mean you have to sting like a bee? Or can a girl become queen without losing her honey? Let the buzz begin!
For the first time in my life, I have an actual shot at being someone at school. I’ve always been more of a Queen B than a Queen Bee—you know, B as in not A. Second tier. (Fine, if you have to get technical, sometimes even lower.) But this year, out of nowhere, I have a chance to be a real Queen Bee.
Not that I intend to be snobby, or cliquish, or any of the other rude things sometimes stapled to that label.
I just want people to love me.
“Hilarious light reading for any girl pestered by peer pressure.” —bn.com
“A super summer read.” —Sweet 16
“Short chapters with cute titles . . . imagine a novelized blend of Pretty in Pink and Mean Girls.” —Booklist
“A fun read that should appeal to teens going through the first joys and trials of young love.” —KLIATT, starred review
A New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age
368 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
5 people are currently reading
76 people want to read
About the author
Laura Peyton Roberts
36 books53 followersLaura Peyton Roberts is the author of numerous books for teens and tweens, including the Clearwater Crossing series, Ghost of a Chance, The Queen of Second Place, Queen B, Green, and Walk on Water. Visit her at www.LauraPeytonRoberts.com
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
September 16, 2015
I just picked this book off the shelf of the library cause I liked the way it looked. It actually turned about to be a fun quick read about high school drama. It was confusing in the beginning, and I thought I wa going to have to put it down...but then I just had to see how it ended. I'm glad that I stuck with it.
November 1, 2022
Fun read and it’s at least 4 stars! Only off thing is sometimes Cassie sounds like a mother??
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August 30, 2024I did not realize this was a “teen” book when I picked it up. But, turns out I rather enjoyed it!
May 11, 2008
Reviewed by Marta Morrison for TeensReadToo.com
QUEEN B is the companion novel to Ms. Roberts's THE QUEEN OF SECOND PLACE. I haven't read the first book, which made me a little nervous when I started to read QUEEN B. Well, I had no need to be nervous because this stands up very well on its own.
The heroine, Cassie Howard, is a flawed but normal teenager who believes that her talent is coming in second place. She spends the whole novel making very big mistakes because she does things without thinking. She has a remarkably patient "hot" boyfriend who she just wants to hear say that he loves her. Her best friend is Hayley, who is also very patient with Cassie, but never lets Cassie get off the hook for stupid things that she has done.
My favorite characters are the gang of popular girls, Sterling Carter, Tiffi,and Ros. Ros is Sterling's best friend, but since she is dating a boy in Cassie's crowd she travels between the two groups, which lets the reader--and Cassie--get insight into the character of Sterling.
Cassie also has problems at home when her dad decides to quit his job because there are no vacations and he becomes a house-husband. Her mother hits the roof and there is tension in the home. Cassie inadvertently lets her grandmother, who doesn't get along with her mother, know what is happening and Grandma comes out to "save" the family. I really believe that grandma is the most intelligent character in the story and I enjoyed her manipulation of her daughter and son-in-law. Her little brother, Trevor, an eighth grader, is having love problems and doesn't want people to know that he can also cook and sew.
I really liked going into Cassie's world. She was making all kinds of mistakes but also learning from them. Most of the characters in QUEEN B aren't flat but have many layers. I especially love the haiku written by Cassie that ends many of the chapters. I also loved the chapter names such as Cupidity, Kiss Off, and Weirdly Normal. Most of them were plays on ideas and words, which I especially enjoy! There also were brilliant lessons to be learned by Cassie and which I believe that we all need to remember.
So buzz by your library, book store, or wherever you get your books and pick up a copy of QUEEN B.
QUEEN B is the companion novel to Ms. Roberts's THE QUEEN OF SECOND PLACE. I haven't read the first book, which made me a little nervous when I started to read QUEEN B. Well, I had no need to be nervous because this stands up very well on its own.
The heroine, Cassie Howard, is a flawed but normal teenager who believes that her talent is coming in second place. She spends the whole novel making very big mistakes because she does things without thinking. She has a remarkably patient "hot" boyfriend who she just wants to hear say that he loves her. Her best friend is Hayley, who is also very patient with Cassie, but never lets Cassie get off the hook for stupid things that she has done.
My favorite characters are the gang of popular girls, Sterling Carter, Tiffi,and Ros. Ros is Sterling's best friend, but since she is dating a boy in Cassie's crowd she travels between the two groups, which lets the reader--and Cassie--get insight into the character of Sterling.
Cassie also has problems at home when her dad decides to quit his job because there are no vacations and he becomes a house-husband. Her mother hits the roof and there is tension in the home. Cassie inadvertently lets her grandmother, who doesn't get along with her mother, know what is happening and Grandma comes out to "save" the family. I really believe that grandma is the most intelligent character in the story and I enjoyed her manipulation of her daughter and son-in-law. Her little brother, Trevor, an eighth grader, is having love problems and doesn't want people to know that he can also cook and sew.
I really liked going into Cassie's world. She was making all kinds of mistakes but also learning from them. Most of the characters in QUEEN B aren't flat but have many layers. I especially love the haiku written by Cassie that ends many of the chapters. I also loved the chapter names such as Cupidity, Kiss Off, and Weirdly Normal. Most of them were plays on ideas and words, which I especially enjoy! There also were brilliant lessons to be learned by Cassie and which I believe that we all need to remember.
So buzz by your library, book store, or wherever you get your books and pick up a copy of QUEEN B.
June 28, 2016
Queen B is a great book about Cassie, a high school student who just wants to not be known as the red head girl who usually gets laughed at. The story revolves mostly around how Cassie and her friends are participating in the schools talent show, which is a fundraiser for cancer research. Cassie just wants it to be perfect, because she knows if it is not everyone will hate her even more than she feels like they already do. Along with her boyfriend, parent and friend problems she knows this talent show has to go great, because the teacher who is hosting it has a husband who is battling cancer! Don't ask how Cassie knows that, because she shouldn't and no one else does, so she is really the only one who knows how much this means to the teacher. So, how does the show end up? Do her and her boyfriend Kevin work it out, or is her past feelings for Quintin, her friend, get in the way? Do her and her best friend Haylie stay best friends, or has Cassie taken it too far? And, how does Cassie end up running the whole talent show?! Read the book "Queen B" by Laura Peyton Roberts to find out.
June 27, 2013
I loved how the book just jumps into the action literately from the first page! And then the author goes back and explains how the characters got where they are. The author also makes each characters personality distinct from the others in the book. Which gives you a much better understanding of why the characters made the decisions they did. I would recommend this book to anyone really. Find out if Cassie finally makes it to first place and is no longer a Queen B (as in not the A-list), but a Queen Bee in Laura Peyton Roberts' sequel "Queen B".
June 13, 2021
"Why won't my boyfriend of three weeks say he loves me" the book. The book begins with the climax and then spends about 230 pages doing fan service for those who read the first book (I can only assume because I didn't read the first). Once we are back at the beginning, the book finally becomes tolerable, although frustrating. I wish the author had bothered to put as much effort into the buildup as she did the ending. This dragged forever, excluding the ending which I read in one sitting. Just read Diva by Alex Finn instead.
November 13, 2007
At first when i was standing on line to buy this book, i was kind of hesitant to buy it because it didnt look that interseting.Once i sarted to read it, I couldnt stop. this book is about a girl named Cassie, who was second place all her life.Now in the school semeters, she wants to become more than second place. she has to run a talent show and she has to watch out foe Tiffi, who is trying to steal Cassies boyfriend.I think this book is great and i recommend that people should read it.
October 20, 2008
Cute book. I wish some of these YA author's didn't make the high school relationships so intense and intimate. I remember having boyfriends in high school but we didn't get this involved...
Moral Note: Making out and talks a tad about virginity. Also says thank gosh (but the other word which I don't say), and bastard.
Moral Note: Making out and talks a tad about virginity. Also says thank gosh (but the other word which I don't say), and bastard.
November 19, 2008
Read the first one!!! Don't do the same mistake I did (like reading this one first then already knowing what happened inthe fist book. Spoiler much?)!!!!! The book is good, but I'm not, like crazy about it. I nice read if your looking for a book to kill time or something. (I soooo can't do reviews since I alwaysgive things away, just in case you're wandering.)
July 31, 2008
Cassie has been second all her life and now she finally has a chance once in her life to be first of course because she is the runner up for Snow Queen of the school. Will she make it out on top or will she be stuck being second place forever...?
October 10, 2008
This book is hard to put down once you start reading it. The plot is so well done. It is about a girl, Cassie who feels that she is always second best. Her life is starting to turn to the right direction, or is it?
November 24, 2011
So far this book is okay. The only thing is that the girl Cassie. She doesn't really seem like a girl from high school, she seems more like a girl from middle school. I really don't care for her at all. In truth she kind of annoys me.
August 1, 2012
Was eager to read this sequel to "the queen of second place." what a disappointment. It's not half as clever as the first book and the lead character spends 3/4 of the novel being a complete idiot. Very predictable to boot.
January 14, 2013
My opinion on this book is that it's great! Cassie the main character will lead you through all of her problems and adventures through high school while she tries to become a Queen Bee instead of a Queen B.
August 9, 2014
I just picked this of the shelf at the library and it turned out to be a pretty funny little teen read with lots of high school drama. I liked that there was a home life with drama going on there too. However. It does bother me a bit when a 15 year old is "in love." ('cause, no, you're not!)
June 11, 2008
Decent easy beach read. Great for a teenager.
November 4, 2008
I'm surprised I read about a third of this book before abondoning it. The plot moved slow, and there was not much action.
February 20, 2009
I have read this book 10 times, (really), and still don't get tired of it. Like mia said to tale of despereaux, it teaches a good lesson.
June 22, 2011
Good, some parts dragged out, but overall good. A little bit high in the middle school/freshman drama, but not TO much
April 4, 2013
This was such a cute book :) Though I don't care for Kevin and so much drama happened,this poor girl!
Either way, I really enjoyed it. It was a fun read!
Either way, I really enjoyed it. It was a fun read!
September 14, 2014
I lost interest in Queen B and stopped reading the book.
March 14, 2016
Thai book was over the top cheesy, not to mention EXTREMELY predictable.
June 13, 2008
its alrite
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews