Secrets of my Hollywood Life by Jen Calonita

In a world where Miley Cyrus and her alter-ego Hannah Montana are household names, this novel is a little passe. True, this is a reverse situation - rather than a normal girl pretending to be a rock star, a Hollywood star is pretending to be a normal girl - but the concept isn't anything original. That's not to say, though, that the book wasn't enjoyable as it was a light read. It was just very predictable.

Kaitlin Burke is America's Sweetheart, starring in everyone's favorite prime time soap, Family Affair. When shooting for the season wraps, she's tired of working and keeping her cool around her costar Sky would likes nothing more than making Kaitlin's life miserable. With the future full of press tours and Hollywood related obligation, Kaitlin would love the opportunity to get away from it all. When her best friend Liz, who isn't an actress, talks about high school, Kaitlin hatches a plan to go undercover and enroll in school as a break from her Hollywood life. After convincing her agent and Family, Kaitlin enrolls in Clark Hall as Rachel Rogers, a new student from England. A wig, color contacts, and glasses, not to mention a discount wardrobe filled with the dreaded fabric of polyester, and Kaitlin Burke is no more. Everything works out great. She makes new friends, falls in love, and still manages a meeting with her favorite director for the role of her lifetime. Things, though, start to get crazy when she learns Sky is also up for the role, her friends want Kaitlin Burke to host a dance, her Sidekick which has become her lifeline is stolen, and it turns out that Sky is hosting the dance since "Kaitlin Burke" can't. Fears abound that her secret will be revealed and, if that happens, she might lose all of her new friends, the role of her dreams, and any chance of working in Hollywood ever again. Oh the drama!

Okay, so like I said, this book was predictable. Of course her secret is found out and like all books, she still lives happily ever after. While there's nothing exactly wrong with something being predictable, it's not as enjoyable as being thrown a curve ball. I'm not saying I wanted Kaitlin to be friendless and miserable, but it was all just too typical from the first day she stepped into the high school. One thing that bothered me slightly is that I didn't buy the British accent. I know that I couldn't physically hear her talking that way, but usually when I read a book and the character has an accent, there are certain clues that make me read that dialogue with the accent - it drove me crazy when I read one book. That though, wasn't the case and I didn't find her convincing. Half the time I forgot she was supposed to be British. I think a few more clues would have made her undercover scenes more convincing, but that's a minor detail.

Overall, my only complaint about the book is that it's predictable. Now, this is a continuing series and in the next books she's not undercover, so maybe the rest of the series isn't predictable, maybe it is. Whatever the case, it was a nice and light summer read that isn't too complicated but still enjoyable. The characters were like-able and you did want it all to work out in the end. So yes, the characters carry the story and hopefully the following books make up for the slight disappointment of the novel.
MMK

Revenge of the Cheerleaders by Rallison

Rallison has been a popular author here so I decided to find out why. Its a quick read, there is lots of boy/girl action and a bit of a crisis and resolution. Seems that goth boy Rick has it in for the school's cheerleaders and uses his musical talent to embarrass the them any chance he gets. He is trying out for a talent show and Chelsea decides that she will also try out and win and show him a thing or two. Rick is dating Chelsea's goth like younger sister Adrian who is always in her talented sister's shadow. Chelsea meets and starts dating heart throb Tanner not knowing he is Rick's older brother and Tanner does not know that Adrian (who Rick's family disapproves of) is Chelsea's younger sister. When they all end up in the same place together and Rick and Chelsea are putting each other down big time Adrian does not understand that Chelsea is not interested in Rick and not stealing him from her. Just before the big tryouts beer is found in the gym bags of several of the cheerleaders thus eliminating them from cheer leading and from the tryouts. No one knows how it got there but Rick is suspect. Adrian vanishes and the other three join forces abandoning the tryouts to find Adrian. That's pretty much it. There isn't much depth here but I guess if the kids like Rallison so be it - their reading. JDW

The Magician by Michael Scott

This is the second book in the "Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel" Series
Nick, Sophie, Josh and Scatty have escaped Dr. John Dee by following ley lines to Paris, Flamel's home. They are headquartered in the home of St. Germain and Joan of Arc. Josh is given a sword and the final pages of the book that Dee covets. They must try to escape Dee and his minions while planning to get back the book. Josh's powers are at least partially awakened while the group battle their enemies and escape once again. This is a fun action adventure fantasy that reads fast and I enjoyed. Flamel's wife temporarily imprisoned on Alcatraz has her own exciting adventures and appears will soon be rejoining Flamel and the rest.
JDW 7/7 09

Top 8 by Katie Finn

Nowadays everyone has a Myspace, Facebook, or Twitter, thereby exposing themselves to the world and this novel helps expose the risks involved in having such a website. As eye opening as the novel is in terms of the risks of such sites, this novel is still just another teen novel with a lovesick teenager.

Madison's life revolved around her Friendverse (a fictional social networking site). When she leaves for a spring break trip without the Internet, she returns to discover that her site had been hacked. Not only had humiliating pictures been posted, but the hacker wrote blogs the divulged secrets from her friends, personal and harsh opinions of others, and nasty comments that led to the breakup of not only two friends, but Madison and her new boyfriend Justin. Madison then spends the novel trying to clear her name, find the person responsible and get back together with Justin. Soon, though, the cute guy from her spring break shows up in her life and she begins to wonder if maybe he's a better match than Justin. As the suspects dwindle and the hacker reappears, she begins to see who her true friends are and the power of words, even if they're not spoken to your face.


If you get past the teen boy crazy angst and annoying abbreviations and constant use of French that is never translated, the book has a good message or two. First, there's the evils of social networking and how people shouldn't let their lives revolve around it. Anyone can be anyone else online and you'd never know the truth. An evil hacker can be mistaken for a sweet innocent girl. Second, words said to a few people are just as bad a words spread over the Internet. Every bad thing written on Madison's page were words/secrets she'd spread to a select few friends and she didn't see them as wrong until she saw the damage that they did. Also, don't like a guy/girl just because they're good looking, make sure you have things in common. This isn't a big message of the novel, but it's still there.

Without the grand messages this book spreads, there's not much too it. There is the mystery as to the hacker's identity and the new cute boy and the fact that her friend starts acting weird. I felt, though, that the message is really what drove the book home. Overall, it's just a fluffy read, but sometimes there's nothing wrong with that, especially if it has a lesson to teach.
MMK

Creature of the Night by Kate Thompson

Bobby is a rebellious teen. His (probably abusive) angry single mom and his half brother Dennis and he have moved to a house a couple hours outside of Dublin Ireland to escape Bobby's supposed friends for whom he steals cars and with whom he smokes weed and tries various drugs. They are also trying to escape bill collection agencies. The cottage has been unoccupied for quite some time. There are rumors of murders and the like. This is Ireland where fairies, leprechauns and the like abound so the wee folk are also suspected in two known disappearances. Thus the enticing title Creature of the Night. A wee woman dressed in a plaid flannel shirt like that worn in the picture of one of the missing persons visits Dennis, Bobby's brother during the night. She has a like of small bowls of milk, chocolates, pink/yellow cakes. At least with Dennis she is not at all frightening and really only a minor part of the total story. What is going on with Dennis, the mother and the wee woman are merely backdrop for the story of Bobby's coming of age. In spite of himself he has grown to enjoy working on the neighboring farm. He is required to do this to pay for an auto he stole and ultimately destroyed. He seems to believe he has to maintain his bad boy image though. So every time things start going better he goes of on a drinking spree with stolen money. I must say I wearied of descriptions of puking and hangovers. If his mother would just get wise things would go better. Right at the end the body of one of the missing persons is found, an investigation is underway, Bobby's mom moves back to Dublin and Bobby is still at loose ends. Fast forward 14 years to the epilogue and things are more or less resolved, but I don't think so. I think this was a cop out for not properly ending the book. I've no idea at the end how Bobby has grown or not, or how mom and other son are faring or if the new owners of the cottage are visited by the wee woman or, or... The nod to horror is just a hook to get people to buy and possibly read a mediocre book. This author has written better books, unfortunately many people who know her other work will purchase this expecting more of the same quality.
JDW5/21

Fake Boyfriend by Kate Brian

How far would you go to help a friend get over a breakup? Creating a fictional new boyfriend for her might be considered an extreme, but that's exactly what happens in this predictable, yet enjoyable novel.

Izzy's boyfriend Shawn has been nothing but heartache, yet she keeps going back to him. When he cheats on her right before prom, her friends say "Enough is enough!" Desperate to ensure that she doesn't take him back like she's done in the past, her friends Vivi and Lane create the perfect man on Myspace and lure Vivi's brother Marshall into playing him online. Soon Izzy is connecting with "Brandon" and they realize if he's supposed to take her to prom, there needs to be a physical "Brandon." In walks Jonathan who they mold into the perfect man. The only problem, though, is that Vivi seems to like Jonathan. On top of that, Vivi's demanding personality is preventing Lane from going after the man she likes, her friend Curtis. What happens if Izzy finds out the truth? How can "Brandon" end things with Izzy without breaking her heart? Will all find love in the end? Is it possible that these friends have gone too far in helping their friend?

There's not much to say about the book since it was a typical chick flick. The ending is predictable, but there's something reassuring in that. It's nice to take comfort in the happily ever afters since it sometimes feels like there are so few of those out there. The story is cute, even if the situations are formulaic. The characters are complex and ones you can relate to.

Overall, it's a fast and enjoyable read. It's definitely something nice to pick up for a lazy summer afternoon.
MMK

Paper Towns by John Green

Margo Roth Spiegleman and Quentin had been playmates and neighbors as kids. In high school though Margo was a popular cheerleader and party goer. Quentin was quiet, studious, geeky and prone to being bullied. Until the night, shortly before graduation when Margo climbed into Quentin's bedroom through the window and asked him to go with him to do 11 things before the night was over. Some possibly illegal. It was a wild time in which both learned much about their secret lives and desires. After it was over, Margo vanished. She'd vanished before, each time leaving a trail of odd clues to unravel. Quentin decides to decipher the clues and find Margo. But, they seem to point to suicide and he fears he will instead find a body. As Quentin searches he learns more about Margo Roth Spiegleman the real girl behind the fake facade he thought he loved. This just won the Edgar Mystery Award for the teen age group. It is a touching, sad sad story. Read it!
JDW5/18/09

Creature of the night by Kate Thompson

I've been mislead before after reading the reviews on the back of book, but never so badly as I was in this novel. There was nothing gripping or thrilling in this book and it was far from marvelous. Maybe something got lost in translation since it's from Ireland because this book was a struggle to get through. (Yes, I know this book hasn't been translated since they speak English in Ireland, but there has to be some sort of miscommunication if this book is seen as thrilling and marvelous.)

The main character, Bobby, is a troubled teen who enjoys robbing people, stealing cars, getting drunk and doing drugs. When his mother moves the family to the country, all he wants to do is return to Dublin, which his does after stealing a car. After a friend wrecks the car and beats up a man, Bobby ends up back in the country and is forced to work off the debt of the car. In the meantime he's still stealing from his mother and arguing about money and sneaking off to Dublin when he isn't moping about wanting to return, although he is really getting interested in fixing cars which is a step in the right direction. Something "strange" seems to be going on with his younger brother who claims to see a little woman but that's a minor detail in the novel. At the same time, the family had been told to leave a bowl of milk out for the fairies and then Bobby learns that someone had been murdered in the house and the previous renter suddenly went missing, but all of that is taken with a grain of salt, although the stories do seem to bother Bobby late at night (but I don't particularly see why he's so scared because the novel doesn't build it up that much).

I was 200 pages into the book and still wondering when things would get thrilling. I felt like a good 150 of it was about him farming or stealing and it just seemed to go on and on. I don't really care how you're supposed to use a scythe or mow the lawn! As for the little woman that his brother keeps seeing (I think that was supposed to be the thrilling part of the story), she kept taking a back page. 10 pages of farming and arguing with his mother, one page about the little woman. There were maybe 10 pages worth of thrilling information when they figured out what happened to the previous renter, but then it went back to the pointless stuff. I would have given up on this book a lot sooner if I didn't have high hopes of something thrilling and marvelous happening, but it NEVER came! What's so bad about it is that it had potential but it was buried under all of the hay that Bobby baled. Give me more little woman and missing renters and less farming and you might have had a good novel.

I wanted to believe in this book that there was something good to come, but my faith in the reviews let me down, big time. If this book had been marketed differently, like about a troubled teen finding his way down the right path, it might have been a good book, but it wasn't shown in that light. Don't be misled! Read this as a warning that this book isn't as gripping or thrilling as the reviews say. Don't make the same mistake and hold onto the hope that it will get better, because it doesn't.
MMK