This summer, just like most of the last 7 summers before it, has been filled with mostly required reading for my weekly book clubs. And this summer I had an extra book for my Not-So-Young-Adult Book Club! I let my teens in the book club choose all the books this summer, except for one (and that was only because enough books didn’t come in time for one of our meetings). I have mostly been pleasantly surprised, and that feeling hasn’t changed with Secrets of My Hollywood Life, the first book in a series by Jen Calonita.
I have to be honest, I was not excited for this one. The main character is a 16 year old girl that is very famous for being on a soap, and very well loved by many adoring fans. She’s beautiful, rich, kind, but is tired of her charmed life (yuck, amiright?) However, she isn’t totally obnoxious, just a normal girl, living that Hollywood lifestyle. Kaitlin decides to create a disguise, use her great acting chops to adopt a British accent, and goes undercover at her best friend’s high school. Things go south when her not very nice TV twin reveals her deception. The book feels already kind of dated to me – one of the big things that happens is Kaitlin’s Sidekick gets stolen, but the teens in my book club didn’t mind. We all thought the book was a fun, fast, and easy read.
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