Sorority Sisters (novel series)
Sorority Sisters is an eight title novel series that was written by Marjorie W. Sharmat between 1986 and 1987. They were published by Laurel Leaf Press. This series focused on two very different sororities in a fictitious high school in Arizona. In contrast to most teen romance series, this series was written with kind of a sense of humor.
Plot summary
At Palm Canyon High School located in fictitious Palm Canyon, Arizona, most girls aspired to be members of Chi Kappa, the most prestigious sorority at the school. One of their many rules was that they kept membership strictly at ten members.A girl named Elissa Hanes wanted to join, as did her friend Kim Adler. Kim was accepted along with a newcomer, and Elissa wasn't accepted. However, Kim eventually got disgusted with the sorority's scheming tactics, and quit the group in public.
Elissa and Kim eventually created their own sorority called The Pack, which welcomed any girl who wanted to join, and the 10-member number, which Chi Kappa used so often to be their limit, would just be a number to legitimize the Pack and make them a solid group.
Another former Chi Kappa member, Tracy McVane, a friend of Elissa's, joined the Pack herself, after being burned by Chi Kappa's less than ethical behavior. Some of the other Chi Kappa members, Melanie Deborah Kane and Daisy Baron for example, were also allies of the Pack, despite their membership in the more established Chi Kappa.
Although they never reached ten, their core group was just as solid. The officers were de facto until the next year.
Many of the stories focused on the lives of the students and the rivalry between the two sororities: the established Chi Kappa vs. the up-and-coming Pack. The characters narrated the stories. The most narrators came from the Pack.
As was unusual for a romance book series, it was written with a sense of humor, especially through Elissa Hanes, who would give off horrid but funny puns.
Book titles
Narrators for and titles of the stories were:- Book 1: For Members Only. Kim Adler
- Book 2: Snobs Beware. Elissa Haines
- Book 3: I Think I'm Falling in Love. Tracy McVane
- Book 4: Fighting Over Me. Fritzi Tass
- Book 5: Nobody knows How Scared I am. Daisy Baron
- Book 6: Here Comes Mr. Right. Melanie Deborah Kane
- Book 7: Getting Closer. Bridget Jawinski
- Book 8: I'm Going to Get Your Boyfriend. Rona Dunne
Chief characters
- Kim Adler A newcomer to Palm Canyon, from New York City; who joined Chi Kappa; only to become so disgusted with the conniving of their less-than-ethical members that she quit the sorority in public during their Thanksgiving dance. She is best friends with Elissa Haines, and Brett Fox is her boyfriend, which makes her a target of predatory Crystal Jameson. She and Elissa co-found the Pack. Her father is an advertising writer.
- Elissa Haines A Palm Canyon native, and one of the most intelligent girls in the school. She and Kim meet on the first day of the school year and they click immediately. However, she is not voted into Chi Kappa, although Kim and Tracy McVane voted for her, because of her braininess. She and Kim co-found the Pack, and bring some democracy to the Palm Canyon High sorority scene, much to Chi Kappa's discomfort. She is the de facto president of the Pack, and is presumed that she retained the job the next School year. She also has a tendency to make a lot of horrible puns which defines her sense of humor. Eric Day is her boyfriend, and her divorced mother begins to see her sorority sister, Bridget Jawinski's, father. Her hardly ever seen father married their former live-in cook, and has her younger brother Garth, living with him, in Northern Arizona.
- Rona Dunne Chi Kappa's somewhat distant president. Although she's not as conniving as most of her sorority sisters, she has very high standards. She really likes Elissa, but she felt that she wouldn't measure up to Chi Kappa's standards. However, at the end of the series, she and Elissa part as friends after discovering that her conniving sorority sister, Selena Vonder, blackmailed her into allowing her to join Chi Kappa. Her closest friend at home was her family's housekeeper, Rachael. The revelation about her being blackmailed by Selena ended the girls' friendship. She dated Mitch Brenner.
- Selena Vonder One of Chi Kappa's most conniving and obnoxious members. She is a screechy, very selfish and self-centered girl, who only got into Chi Kappa because she blackmailed one of their members as she would have never gotten into the group otherwise. It was discovered in the ending story that it was Rona herself who had been blackmailed, and that ultimately ended their friendship. She is vainly proud of her fuchsia-painted fingernails; has a very screechy voice; and is derisively called "Sleazena" by people who didn't like her. She was also not well liked among the general population of the school. Upon her graduation, she went to New York, where her former friend, Rona, predicted that she would have an excruciatingly uphill battle!
- Allie Grendler Chi Kappa's supposed "conscience", despite her being one of the wealthiest members of the Palm Canyon community. However, her true nature is that she is one of the nastier members of Chi Kappa. She claims she is aware of the less-fortunate, but her actions wasn't at all commensurate with her words. During a Thanksgiving dance, she bragged about a hefty sum being set aside for charity, which angers Elissa who then demanded proof. Allie, showing her true nastier nature, coldly tells Elissa that as she wasn't a sorority member, the information is none of her business and, to add insult to injury, calls her an outsider, angering not just Elissa, but the whole school. Standing up for her friend, Kim angrily called her bluff and demanded to know the amount, since she was a member of the sorority, and when Allie uttered How Dare you!, Kim bravely quit the sorority in public.
- Tracy McVane The school's newspaper editor, who also votes for Elissa to join Chi Kappa, because she felt that Elissa could give her some company in the brain department. She is known for her punk-style hair coloring; and her unique sense of fashion; due to a legal agreement she made with her parents. Tracy becomes the second member of Chi Kappa to quit the sorority due to their less-than-ethical tactics. She leaves because of Carrie Reis taking her legal agreement idea, and plagiarizing it to a subject about her lavender car. Her main reason for leaving was that Chi Kappa had chosen to stand behind Carrie and her treachery; and Tracy felt betrayed by her so-called "sorority sisters". After she resigned from Chi Kappa she immediately joins the Pack and she becomes friends with Fritzi Tass, because their mothers, Epsy and Joanna, are friends too. This also allowed her and Elissa, who were already good friends, to become even closer. Her boyfriend is named Peter Zee, a basketball player from the other high school in town, Wilmot High.
- Tulip and Daisy Baron Identical twins who are in Chi Kappa. Daisy is sweet natured; compassionate and less likely to deal with her looks than her more mercenary and shallower sister. Daisy claimed that their parents wanted a flower garden but got twins instead. She, along with Melanie Deborah Kane and Tracy McVane, are the three nicer members of Chi Kappa, until Tracy left Chi Kappa to join the Pack. According to Daisy, she got into the sorority, mainly because of Tulip. Daisy, unlike Selena, Allie, Carrie and Crystal, has a kind heart, and warns Fritzi Tass not to join Chi Kappa, since the invitation was sent out of sheer maliciousness. Her catchphrase, which she often uses, is "Think Slowly." She, along with Melanie Deborah, are the Chi Kappas who serve as allies to The Pack.
- Fritzi Tass A somewhat disorganized; semi-ditzy, but very sweet natured girl, who is a member of the Pack. She is also the sorority's treasurer and the first member aside from Kim and Elissa to join. She and Tracy McVane become friends when Tracy joins the Pack. Her mother, who owns a real estate agency along with her husband, some would say unhelpfully, does most of her homework. The Chi Kappas attempt to woo Fritzi away from The Pack after she wins homecoming queen, using the same democratic system that the Pack stands for, and was spearheaded by Tracy. She has a loyal boyfriend named Seth Berns, although she dated Mitch Brenner, Rona's boyfriend for a time. However, despite Chi Kappa's conniving, and with the aid of Daisy Baron who, despite her Chi Kappa membership, was considered an ally of The Pack, Fritzi remained a loyal Pack member, and outright told off the other Chi Kappas.
- Bridget Jawinski and Marlene Garcia Two members of the Pack who are members of Palm Canyon High's senior class. They eventually join the Pack after some initial hesitation. Bridget's somewhat boyfriend is a guy named Crocker Grange, whom she admires. Bridget's divorced father begins to date Elissa's divorced mother, and when the series ends, they are beginning to become a family.
- Carrie Reis A cheerleader who is also a member of Chi Kappa. Carrie is also one of the more nastier members of the sorority. She aggravates Tracy McVane and causes her to leave Chi Kappa after she plagiarizes her legal agreement with her parents to deal with her lavender car. The Chi kappas side with Carrie and that leads Tracy to resign. She was also known for her nose which had been redone by an eminent plastic surgeon named Dr. Bruckstein.
- Crystal Jameson A predatory boy stealer, who is also new to Palm Canyon. She joins Chi Kappa at the same time as Kim, and is accepted over Elissa. She attempts to steal Brett Fox, from Kim, but ultimately fails. This makes her and Kim arch-rivals.
- Stephanie Ortiz, Deena Fox and Holly Wood Three freshmen who are members of the Pack, they join up when the Pack was first organized along with Fritzi. Deena is the younger sister of Kim Adler's boyfriend, Brett, and Stephanie is the Sorority's secretary.
- Fiona Kasselman A freshman who became a member of Chi Kappa after Kim Adler and Tracy McVane quit. She was considered to be a jerk, in Tracy's opinion and thereby, fit well into the Chi Kappa ranks.
- Melanie Deborah Kane Chi Kappa's resident survivor, who, despite their less-than honorable members, stays in Chi Kappa, to show that there are nice people in the sorority. Like Daisy Baron, she likes the Pack members, and is an ally to them.