The Debs    by Susan McBride Order:  USA  Can Delacorte, 2008 (2008) Softcover, e-Book Read an Excerpt     Reviewed by Lyn Seippel Four of Houston's future debutantes await invitations. Laura Belle doesn't really want to be a Rosebud, but the legacy tradition - and her mother - says she will be. She spent her summer vacation at a fat camp and hasn't lost a pound. For her height and bone structure, a size fourteen seems to work for her, but her mother is intent on making her over. Ginger wants to use her debutante status to do good deeds. While she has the spotlight she'll make sure things like global warming get the attention they deserve. That is, if she can keep from getting disqualified by being arrested while attempting to keep a two hundred year old Oak from being cut down to build another parking lot. Mac's mother (who died when Mac was fourteen) wanted her to be a debutante - so, for her, Mac's ready to give it a try, even though she'd rather stay at home and hang out with her next door neighbor, computer geek Alex Bishop. Jo Lyn Bidwill, the queen of mean, isn't worried about getting an invitation. Her mother, Bootsie Bidwill, is the chair of the selection committee. Jo Lyn wants to rid the debutante season of girls who don't belong – like Laura Belle and her friends. All the future debutantes have wealthy daddies with personal jets, houses in the Caribbean, and more money than they'll ever need. The characters still could be interesting, but their 'it's all about me' problems are not. The author also writes a more interesting mystery series about debutante dropouts. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Teens books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews