Mechling, Lauren 1978(?)-

PERSONAL:

Born c. 1978, in New York, NY.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Brooklyn, NY. E-mail—authors@socialclimberbooks.com.

CAREER:

Writer.

WRITINGS:

YOUNG-ADULT NOVELS

(With Laura Moser) The Rise and Fall of a 10th-Grade Social Climber, Houghton Mifflin Books (Boston, MA), 2005.

(With Laura Moser) All Q, No A: More Tales of a 10th-Grade Social Climber, Houghton Mifflin Books (Boston, MA), 2006.

(With Laura Moser) Foreign Exposure: The Social Climber Abroad, Houghton Mifflin Books (Boston, MA), 2007.

Dream Girl, Delacorte Press (New York, NY), 2008.

Contributor to periodicals, including Seventeen, Jane, New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal.

SIDELIGHTS:

Lauren Mechling and Laura Moser are coauthors of a trio of young-adult novels that focus on Mimi Schulman, a high-school sophomore attempting to navigate the tricky terrain of her posh, new private school. Although The Rise and Fall of a 10th-Grade Social Climber, All Q, No A: More Tales of a 10th-Grade Social Climber, and Foreign Exposure: The Social Climber Abroad form a series, they can be read as stand-alone titles, as each one features a distinct, self-contained plot.

Moser and Mechling, friends since college, conceived Mimi's adventures when they compared their own high-school years: Mechling attended an expensive private school in Manhattan while Moser grew up in Houston before relocating to the East Coast. In addition to working with her friend on the "Social Climber" books, Mechling is also the author of the young-adult novel Dream Girls, a mystery novel in which a teen clairvoyant overlooks her unusual gift while attempting to navigate romance and the social order at her new private school. In Publishers Weekly a reviewer praised Dream Girl for its "lively awareness of girl-on-girl dynamics," while Myrna Marler concluded in Kliatt that, with its "odd assortment of quirky but likable characters," Mechling's novel is "fast-paced and good escape reading."

The Rise and Fall of a 10th-Grade Social Climber starts with Mimi's move from Houston to Manhattan to live with her newly divorced father. There the teen joins another Houston replant, Sam, at the exclusive Baldwin High. Joining Baldwin's top girl clique, the Coolies, now becomes Mimi's goal. However, her decision demands reconsideration when she realizes that the Coolies have deep-seated problems that they mask by drinking and using drugs. A budding journalist, Mimi keeps a diary of the group's parties, and eventually the diary falls into the wrong hands. In All Q, No A, Mimi hopes for a better avenue for her writing talents by agreeing to interview one of the school's wealthy patrons. Her interview subject dodges her questions, however, and when she investigates the story Mimi unearths unflattering information that brings her into conflict with school administrators and results in her expulsion from Baldwin High. Summer vacation finally arrives in Foreign Exposure, wherein Mimi's troubles continue. Sent to visit her mother in Berlin, the girl is forced into a horrific baby-sitting job, but not for long. On her own initiative, she joins a school friend in London and nets an internship at a celebrity tabloid, with unforeseen consequences.

According to several reviewers, Moser and Mechling's "Social Climber" series offers a frank portrait of teen life within the economically privileged class. Commenting on The Rise and Fall of a 10th-Grade Social Climber in Booklist, Debbie Carton judged that he details about parties, clothing, and fashion trends make the story "an irresistible read" about modern teen life that the coauthors have "captured to perfection." In her Kliatt review of All Q, No A, Amanda MacGregor noted that "Mimi grows as a character and feels much more genuine and appealing." According to School Library Journal contributor Heather E. Miller, in the second series installment "friendships and self-worth are the center of attention." "Mimi brings unexpected depth to the story," MacGregor added, noting that the teen narrator "continues to explore who she is and what she wants."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, April 15, 2005, Debbie Carton, review of The Rise and Fall of a 10th-Grade Social Climber, p. 1449.

Kirkus Reviews, May 1, 2005, review of The Rise and Fall of a 10th-Grade Social Climber, p. 543; June 1, 2008, review of Dream Girl.

Kliatt, November, 2006, Amanda MacGregor, review of All Q, No A: More Tales of a 10th-Grade Social Climber, p. 22; July, 2007, review of Foreign Exposure: The Social Climber Abroad, p. 27; July, 2008, Myrna Marler, review of Dream Girl, p. 19.

New York Time Book Review, September 14, 2008, review of Dream Girl, p. 17.

Publishers Weekly, July 21, 2008, review of Dream Girl, p. 161.

School Library Journal, June, 2005, Jennifer Feigelman, review of The Rise and Fall of a 10th-Grade Social Climber, p. 166; September, 2006, Heather E. Miller, review of All Q, No A, p. 212; June, 2007, Rhona Campbell, review of Foreign Exposure, p. 154.

Voice of Youth Advocates, June, 2005, Lynn Evarts, review of The Rise and Fall of a 10th-Grade Social Climber, p. 134.