Review: Secrets of My Hollywood Life by Jen Calonita

Oct 3, 2010 by shanyn

Title: Secrets of My Hollywood Life
Paperback, 256 pages
Author: Jen Calonita
Publisher: Little, Brown
Publication Date: May 1, 2007
Source: Purchased

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Book Summary:
What if? Your picture was taped inside teenage boys’ lockers across America, your closets were bursting with never-worn designer clothing, and the tabloids constantly asked whether you were losing your “good girl” status?

It’s a glamorous life, but 16-year-old Kaitlin Burke, co-star of one of the hottest shows on TV, is exhausted from the pressures of her fame. So she decides to spend two months undercover as an ordinary high school student. But could it be that real life high school is just as harsh as cutthroat Hollywood?

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Review:
Usually when you pick up a book about a Hollywood family, you expect to feel fine about the characters but not really connect with them (unless you’re a Hollywood teenager yourself). While I didn’t exactly connect with Kaitlin on the lifestyle level, I did really enjoy her personality, which often does not happen when reading in this genre.

I think my ability to like Kaitlin is because the whole plot of this book is that she wants a normal life – so we get to see her interact with ‘normal’ characters. They don’t all get what they want all of the time, can’t buy all of the clothes and shoes they want – they are high schoolers as we know high schoolers to be, and to see her try to adapt to the new life is entertaining and endearing.

Jen Calonita starts to build up the characters and get you attached to their personalities in Secrets of My Hollywood Life. I’m happy that it is part of a series, and even more happy that Jen Calonita chose to make this book a story within itself instead of leaving us with a huge cliffhanger. I’m really excited to read the rest of the books in this series, especially if Calonita keeps building on the characters like she did with this one.

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