Ouran High School Host Club by Bisco Hatori

Ouran High School is a very exclusive school for the super rich, so when scholarship student Haruhi blunders into an spare music room and breaks a vase, she knows it's very, very expensive, and she's in very big trouble.  Six bored boys have turned the room into Ouran High School's very own host club, and they've decided that since she doesn't have $80,000 to pay for the vase, Haruhi has to work at the host club.  Only they've mistaken Haruhi for a boy and put her to work entertaining their "clients" (rich, bored girls who pay to flirt and have tea with the handsome boys).  How will the boys react when they realise that not only is Haruhi really a girl, but they can't charm her like other girls?  And will sensible Haruhi survive the outrageous antics of the Host Club boys?

Despite the cast of beautiful boys and the copious amounts of flowers petals, Ouran High has wide appeal with both genders, in large part because of the humour.  With the exception of Haruhi, all the characters are over the top, from the Nekozawa, the occult-obsessed student, to Haruhi's cross-dressing dad, to the male members of the host club.  The host club boys are all parodies of common shojo characters.  There's Tamaki, president of the host club and the prince character (handsome, charismatic & rich), who's too dense to realise that he's falling for Haruhi; Mori, the wild one, who says little but can be counted on in a fight; Honey, who looks like a cutesy little boy but is actually the oldest in the group; Kyoya, whose cool manners hides the fact that his top priority is the bottom line of the club; and the twins, who love to play mind games, and have all the girls convinced that they (the twins) are gay and in love with each other.

There is a highly popular anime based on the series, which teens often use to get friends hooked on anime.  We've watched Ouran High numerous times at anime club.  It's so over the top that it's impossible to watch it and not smile.  There is also a live-action version, which maintains the feeling of the manga and anime.  There was much squealing at my last anime club meeting when someone brought in the DVD, which would have immediately gone in the DVD player, if not for a pesky thing called performance rights. Whatever form it comes in, Ouran High School Host Club is a perenial teen favourite.