SuitabookThe elite
Jennifer Banash
- Reading
- Read together or check in after the early school and friendship scenes. Invite your reader to distinguish what Casey chooses from what she may feel expected to do.
- Themes
- Belonging and identity: Casey aims to join Madison’s popular group and adopts its expected clothes and manner of speaking. The setup makes the tension between fitting in and retaining a sense of self central, but does not establish the story’s judgement of Casey’s choices.
- Status and reputation: The school is described as a place where connections matter, and Madison is portrayed as influential over reputations. The setup depicts status as a force in the students’ social world; whether the wider story criticises or reinforces that hierarchy is unknown.
- Worth knowing
- Social conflict is prominent: Madison is described as able to damage reputations through gossip, and her circle has influence. The extent or consequences of this behaviour are not established.