View source for Million Dollar Mates by Cathy Hopkins

{{infobox2
|title=Million Dollar Mates
|author=Cathy Hopkins
|reviewer=Sue Magee
|genre=Teens
|summary=Celebrity isn't all that's it's cracked up to be as Jess find out in the splendid bit of escapism.  Recommended.
|rating=4
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=224
|publisher=Simon & Schuster Children's Books
|website:http://www.cathyhopkins.com
|date=July 2010
|isbn=978-1847387578
|aznuk=1847387578
|aznus=B003M69XMU
|cover=1847387578 
}}

It's nine months since Jess Hall's mother died and she's still finding it difficult to come to terms with what's happened.  She and her brother Charlie have been living with Gran but all that's about to change.  Jess' Dad has got the job of general manager at Number 1, Porchester Park.  These apartments are not just up-market they're where the A-listers live and after some initial reluctance about leaving Gran Jess is excited.  There's an Olympic-size pool where she can swim and both she and Charlie will be able to have their own rooms in the house that goes with the job.  Everyone at school envies here and it looks as though she's living the dream.

Or, is she?  It's not long before she realises (well, actually, it's brought to her attention) that she's staff and not a resident.  She has to use the side door and not the main entrance.  The pool is not for the use of the staff and worst of all, she not allowed to keep Dave, her beloved cat, on the premises.  Residents can keep pets, but not the staff.  To cap it all some of the residents are fine, but some are, well, not so fine.  The rich are not like us.  At all.

Ah, but it's a lovely story and if you feel like a bit of escapism then it's ideal.  You'll love Jess and her friend Pia. They just try so darned hard to do the right thing and despite all their best intentions sometimes it just doesn't work out.  They're just starting to find that boys can actually be quite attractive and some of the boys are taking their first steps towards the sort of relationships with girls which they haven't had since they were toddlers.  It's innocent and it's heart-warming.

And, although the rich might not be ''quite'' like us, their life isn't always easy either.  Moving and leaving friends behind is hard however much money you have.  Sometimes it's even harder to make new friends when you're isolated by minders are parents who are rightly conscious about security.  You won't long for life as a A-list celebrity after reading this book, but you might understand that it's not all it's cracked up to be.  Go on – it's a fun, entertaining read which points up the fact that it's friendship that really matters. 

I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.

If this book appeals then you'll probably also enjoy [[My Life on TV by Kimberly Greene]] AND [[Della Says: OMG! by Keris Stainton]].

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