Dial L for Loser

Infobox Book |
name = The Clique: Dial L for Loser
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = First edition cover
author =Lisi Harrison
cover_artist =
country = United States
language = English
series = The Clique series
genre = Young adult novel
publisher = Little, Brown and Company
release_date = August 2006
media_type = Print (Paperback)
pages =
isbn =
preceded_by = The Pretty Committee Strikes Back
followed_by = It's Not Easy Being Mean

"Dial L For Loser" is the sixth novel in The Clique Series written by Lisi Harrison. It was released in August 2006.

Plot summary

PCT scores tickets to The Daily Grind, where Abby Boyd and Hadley Durk are revealed to do an interview together, something that hasn't happened since Abby stole Hadley's boyfriend. This obviously insures TPC's excitement. Backstage, Dylan tells TPC a confidential secret in the bathroom, Abby has been hooking up with Hadley's boyfriend for the past few weeks. But unfortunately, Merri Lee Marvil's annoying co-host had her microphone on in the bathroom. This results in the entire audience hearing the secret, including Abby and Hadley.

After a gruesome catfight which ended up happening live on television on the Daily Grind, Hadley quits Dial L for Loser. This leaves the film one actress short and one empty spot for the coveted "loser" of the movie. The director, Rupert Mann, found Massie's cellphone and insisted Massie, Alicia, and Claire fly out to L.A. to try out for Hadley's role. Dylan, being the one to spread the gossip about Abby and Hadley, is excluded from this invitation. Kristen, having strict parents, isn't permitted to attend the audition, leaving Massie, Claire, and Alicia for the role.

Massie, positive that she is sure to receive the part, is turned down because of her overconfidence. Alicia is also turned down because of her beauty and that she couldn't possibly play a loser. And finally, they chose Claire for the part. Just as Massie and Alicia were about to leave (thinking that they are pointless there), Merri-Lee Marvil offers them a job to do a "behind the scenes of Dial L for Loser" for her show, the Daily Grind, and Massie and Alicia accept. They do a "behind the scenes tour" of Claire's dressing room, but beforehand they bought a bunch of stuff like" facial" hair remover and other feminine hygiene products. Claire gets really sad. They planted these things all over her dressing room to sabotage and embarrass her, which they do. Claire is upset but cheers up because Abby and Conner seem to be her friends, but she finds out it was all a scam and had to act like best friends to drum up publicity for the movie. Later on, when Claire must kiss Conner, the hot teenage star, Massie takes a picture of them and sends it to Cam Fisher, Claire's boyfriend back home. Cam is heartbroken and Claire is unable to fix the problem. Claire gets very angry at Massie and Alicia because of it, and they've also been mean to her in other ways, so she is very hurt. In the end, they make up.

Reviews

* [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/19/books/bestseller/1119bestchildren.html NYT bestseller]
* [http://www.teensreadtoo.com/DialLForLoser.html TeensReadToo review]
* [http://www.curledupkids.com/dialoser.htm CurledUpKids review]
* [http://www.myshelf.com/kids/fiction/06/diallforloser.htm MyShelf review]