Celebriteens: In the Spotlight by Joanna Philbin
| Celebriteens: In the Spotlight by Joanna Philbin | |
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| Category: Teens | |
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Reviewer: Sue Magee
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| Summary: Being the daughter of a celebrity isn't quite as much fun as it might sound: a well-written look at the perils of being fourteen - and famous. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 256 | Date: June 2011 |
| Publisher: Scholastic | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 978-1407121208 | |
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Girls usually get together because they've got something in common and for Lizzie, Carina and Hudson it's their famous parents. Lizzie's mother is a supermodel and even in her thirties, she's still one of the most beautiful women in the world. Lizzie's – not. Well, she's not exactly ugly but compared to her mother (and she always is) she just doesn't come up to scratch. Carina's dad is a rich (very rich) businessman and he's determined that C (as she's known) is going to join the company and eventually take over. Carina has other ideas. Hudson wants to make music and you might think that having a pop diva for a mother is a good start, but Hudson's style is different and her mother can't accept that.
The girls are all at school in New York and it's school that brings Lizzie together with a boy she knew many years ago. Todd and his father have just returned from the UK and in the meantime, he's turned into something rather special. It's not just that he looks good but he seems considerate and kind too, but is he, well, a bit fickle in his friendships? Lizzie's got other things on her mind though: when she makes a stupid mistake which goes viral a photographer spots that she might not be traditionally beautiful, but she's definitely got something the camera loves.
They're enjoyable girls with not a spoiled brat gene between the three of them. Yes – they're used to having money and to getting what they want but constantly being on show isn't all that much fun. I'm not keen on having kids think that the celebrity lifestyle is something they should aspire to, but this book puts it all in proportion. For all the money there are still the same problems of uncertainties in relationships, not growing up too quickly and coping with conflict with the parental.
It's the first book in a series and whilst there's an obvious set-up for the next book it's not too much of a cliff-hanger and the story in this book is generally resolved.
Just look at the cover: wouldn't you kill for those shoes? And to be able to wear them with the flair which they demand? I'd like to thank the publishers for allowing me to feast my eyes on them (and for sending the book, of course!)
If you'd like something similar set this side of the pond then try Million Dollar Mates by Cathy Hopkins. We also have a review of Rules of Summer by Joanna Philbin.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Celebriteens: In the Spotlight by Joanna Philbin at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Celebriteens: In the Spotlight by Joanna Philbin at Amazon.com.
Comments
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Jo Gardiner said:
Hi,
My daughter wants to read this book, I think because she also fell in love with the shoes on the cover! However, she is only 8½ and the book has a rating of 11+.
Can you tell me what makes it unsuitable for a mature almost 9-year-old?
Thanks.
Sue said:
Hi Jo,
It's a little while since I read the book, but I don't remember any overt sexual references and I did pass the book on to my granddaughter who would have been about a year older than your daughter. She didn't make any remark about it so I suspect that quite a few of the plotlines about relationships went over her head.
However she has loved - and keeps rereading - Cathy Cassidy's series The Chocolate Box Girls which is pitched at a slightly younger age group (and in a more natural setting) but deals with the questions of relationships and friendships in a mature way.
Sue
