The Ashleys is a book series by Melissa de la Cruz about three girls all named Ashley. They rule Miss Gamble's Preporatory School for girls with a (manicured) iron fist. Ashley Spencer is top dog, Ashley "A.A." Alioto is the tomboy and Ashley "LiLi" Li is the Asian and Nerdy girl being raised by her Education Mama. Enter Lauren, whose family suddenly becomes rich when her fathers new site Yourtv takes off. She decides to take down the Ashleys and 'free' the rest of the school from their power.
Unfortunately, Lauren is an Ashley at heart with few redeeming qualities and she finds herself trying not to take them down, but trying to fit in and becoming more like them. And while she's still trying to take the Ashleys out, her plan becomes less 'to free the school' and more 'so I can rule it'.
Not to be confused with the other Ashleys (though they're very snobby as well).
The series contains the following books:
- There's a New Name In Town
- Jealous?
- Birthday Vicious
- Lip Gloss Jungle
This series exhibits the following tropes:
Note: For reference, Ashley Spencer will be referred to as Ashley, Ashley Li as LiLi and Ashley Alioto as A.A.
- Art Shift: The book covers change from Silouhettes of the Ashleys and Lauren on a coloured background to a live action image for Lip Gloss Jungle. The original covers for books 1-3 were also redone in this style.
- Disproportionate Retribution: LiLi goes camping without her parents' permission with some Reed Prep kids and it is pretty bad, but her parents then put her under house arrest (during the school year, no less) and cut her off from the rest of the world for a week afterwards.
- Four-Temperament Ensemble: After Lauren joins, Lili is Melancholic, Ashley is Choleric, A.A. is Phlegmatic and Lauren is Sanguine.
- High-School Dance: Middle school dance, rather. It's the main driving force for the first book.
- Identically Named Group: The titular characters are three beautiful, fashionable, popular girls who rule their prep school. Of course, they are all named Ashley, and are distinguished by nicknames.
- Informed Ability: Lauren's apparent intelligence, Lauren's niceness (she calls her dad a computer geek in book 1, and she considered hanging out with an asthmatic girl torture), and A.A.'s spaciness (she's much more perceptive than Ashley and LiLi half the time)
- Laser-Guided Karma: Lauren loses all her money in the Recession after becoming more of a bitch than all the Ashleys combined.
- Out-Gambitted: You'd think Lauren would quit trying to play with the Ashleys by now. Especially since her plans tend to explode in her face if the Ashleys don't out gambit her.
- Remember the New Guy?: Sadie was apparently friends with Lauren when she was younger up to fourth grade, but she's is never mentioned in the flashbacks to fourth grade in There's a New Name In Town.
- Unlucky Childhood Friend: A.A. for Tri in Jealous, Ashley helped. Then zig-zagged in Birthday Vicious when Tri tells A.A. he loves her and A.A. still has to think about it. They eventually get married after an on-again off-again relationship.
