BLOG TOUR: Del Rio Bay Clique Series

In 2007 Paula Chase Hyman introduced us to Mina Mooney a teenager at Del Rio Bay High. Five books later we’re still loving us some Mina.

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Meet Paula and Mina.

Del Rio Bay Clique Series

So Not the Drama

Hoping Del Rio Bay High will live up to her greatest expectations, Mina has big plans for infiltrating the school's social glitterati. After all, she's been mad popular for as long as she can remember—and she isn't about to go from Middle School Royalty to High School Ambiguity. But Del Rio Bay is a big school, so it'll take some plotting to avoid getting lost in the crowd. Good thing she isn't afraid of a little hard work—and that her playground peeps, Lizzie, Michael, and JZ, have got her back.

But it isn't long before Mina's big plans for securing her social status take a back seat to some drama that was so not expected. Lizzie's scored an invite from the beautiful people that Mina can only dream about, and not only is Michael tripping about being back in school, but now he's beefing with JZ. Worst of all, Mina's sociology class experiment to rid the world—or at least Del Rio Bay High—of prejudice is about to backfire. Because it might just mean she'll have to rid herself of her very best friend...

Read an Excerpt - http://www.paulachasehyman.com/drama1.php


Don't Get It Twisted

Mina Mooney's parents are killing her social life. It's time to fight back.

Mina's fantasy has finally come true. Craig Simpson-the hottest guy at Del Rio Bay High-has just invited her to the biggest bash of the year. There's just one hitch— her parents aren't down with letting Mina date a boy they know nothing about. Now she has thirteen days to give her parents a crash course in Craig, or else figure out how to get her fine self to the soiree-without alerting mom and pops. Whatever she decides, she's going to need reinforcements.

Unfortunately, her peeps are caught up in their own twists and turns. Jacinta's boyfriend has been getting on her nerves about spending so much time in `burbville, while rich and sheltered Kelly just might kick it with Angel, a cute, slick-talking hustler from the projects. And ever since JZ made varsity basketball, his mind has been glued to the game instead of schoolwork, which means his dad might make him drop all sports. As for Mina, if she doesn't succeed in enlisting the help of her friends-and fast-her social life just might hit skid row.

A fast-paced novel about loyalty, love, and friendship, Don't Get It Twisted shows what it takes to have a blast while breaking all the rules.

Read an Excerpt - http://www.paulachasehyman.com/twisted1.php

That's What's Up!

Mina Mooney is about to discover that when you're at the top, the only place to go is down.

It's springtime in Del Rio Bay, and everyone's heading to the O.C. to catch the varsity cheer squad compete at the Extreme Nationals. Everyone's pumped, especially Mina Mooney, because making the elite squad has finally gained her entrance into the Upper Circle. Mina's psyched for the big show-and some unsupervised cuddle time with Brian. Best of all, her number-one enemy, Jessica, has shocked everyone by calling a truce. But little does she know that Jessica's peace offer is nothing more than a disguise for what she really has in store for Mina.

Spring break means all sorts of trouble for Mina's friends, too. Lizzie, whose focus has never strayed from the books, is boy crazy for the first time in her life. Kelly's decision to give ex-hustler Angel another chance just might backfire. And Jacinta is having a hard time breaking things off with Raheem-even when he does something utterly unforgivable.

Fun, fast-paced, and impossible to put down, That's What's Up! proves that when it comes to popularity, you better watch your back.

Read an Excerpt – http://www.paulachasehyman.com/whatsup1.php


Who You Wit'?

Mina Mooney has a new worst enemy-her best friend.

Summer is just around the corner, but things are already too hot to handle in Del Rio Bay. Mina's so sprung over Brian that she's having a hard time just thinking straight. So, she's not at all ready when her best friend Lizzie makes their clique swear to a year-long virginity pact...

Now Mina and her crew are feeling way too much heat. Kelly is glad to take things slow with cute jock Greg-but ex-hustler Angel isn't about to let her go drama-free. For Jacinta, a missed period and Raheem planning "their" future together is promising nothing but trouble. And when Lizzie finds out Mina has "betrayed" the pact, it's a head-to-head, no-holds-barred showdown that could say hasta la vista to the clique for good.

Read an Excerpt – http://www.paulachasehyman.com/wit1.php



Flipping the Script

It's junior year at Del Rio Bay High, and from near and far, the guys are taking center stage...

Now that Mina's boyfriend Brian is off to Duke University, life in Del Rio Bay is lonely. And Brian's busy schedule as a Duke baller isn't helping. As the season heats up and the phone calls get fewer, Mina's insecurity increases—and so does Brian's impatience with it. But he's not the only guy in the clique dealing with craziness.

Michael's passion for fashion has led to a chance to attend a special creative arts program in D.C. He knows he should jump on it, but leaving home is harder than he thought. He turns to his dancer friend Rob for support, but Rob's presence around the clique triggers star athlete JZ's feelings of homophobia. As JZ's discomfort simmers, his feelings get the best of him when he finds himself seriously attracted to Jacinta—and discovers she's on a different page.

With relationships in the balance and friendships at risk, Flipping the Script challenges the guys to step up when the stakes are high.

Read an Excerpt – http://www.paulachasehyman.com/flipping.php


Author Paula Chase Hyman has written for Girls’ Life, Sweet 16, and Baltimore Magazine among others. Her Del Rio Bay series launched Kensington Books YA line in 2007. It paved the way for the growing number of popular fiction YA books targeted to multi-culti suburbanite teens. The five part series includes the '07 debut, So Not The Drama. Chase calls her brand of teen literature, Hip lit, a nod to the diversity spawned by the MTV-watching, 106th & Park-ing, pop culture hungry hip hop generation. Not happy with the lack of awareness African American authors writing for children were receiving among gatekeepers, Chase started The Brown Bookshelf with four other children’s authors in October 2007. The group’s flagship initiative, 28 Days Later, spotlights both under-the-radar authors and pioneers in children’s lit. The author lives outside of Annapolis , MD with her husband and two daughters.

http://www.paulachasehyman.com