Sloane Tanen. ARE YOU GOING TO KISS ME NOW? **GIVEAWAY**

Francesca Manning, secret tabloid addict, is thrilled about winning a contest to go hang out with celebrities in Africa for a charity event. However, things go awry when the plane crashes on a deserted island. At first, she's not exactly depressed that she's with some super famous, not to mention gorgeous people. But as she gets to know them, she discovers that some of them are pretty clueless and self-absorbed. In fact, she may never read another tabloid again after this!

What a hilarious mix of tabloid fodder and reality TV! The six celebrities end up being mostly useless. After all, one of them was the pilot of the plane that crashed! Then end up fighting and pouring out their insecurities and issues. Francesca ends up texting it all to her best friend, even though she doesn't have a signal. It comforts her to feel like she's talking to someone normal.

Tanen is hilarious! She doesn't hold back in her acerbic ribs! For example, one character uses this barb against a celeb who obviously wasn't very studious, "You gotta love Hollywood... Where else does a preschool education pay the bills." Ouch.

She's wonderful at creating just the right phrase! When trying to get Chaz, the TMZ reporter stranded with the celebs, to help with a manly task, he says, "But I'm not strong. I know it's deceptive, but trust me, there is no muscle under all this fat. There's just layer upon layer of fluffy nougat. Imagine a human 3 Musketeers bar if you will."

Photo credit gemb1

This is side-splitting funny! Even though these are merely fictional celebrities, you feel as if you're getting to see what it would be like stranded with real celebrities. This would make a hysterical movie!

CONTEST!!! If you'd like to win a copy of the book, read more!

If you were stranded on a desert island, what ONE book would you take with you. No, you can't take your Kindle with a bunch of books on it. Select ONE book you would bring. Okay, let's make it more fun. Select one celebrity you would take with you, in addition to that one book. 


Post your two choices (book & celeb) in the comments by Friday, May 20th, and I'll randomly select the winner! The winner will get a free copy of the book! YAY!

Meg Cabot. BEING NIKKI

Yay! I’ve been waiting on this sequel to AIRHEAD. In the beginning we find Em (Nikki) adjusting to her new life, somewhat. She really has no choice but to follow all of her orders as spokesmodel and official face of Stark Industries. Her typical job is modeling Stark Superstores clothing while doing commercials for Stark brand laptops. And if you remember from book 1, she is basically a corporate slave to Stark or else they will throw her family in jail. So even though flying around the world to model in tropical locations may sound glamorous to you, there is a down side. Em’s every single move is monitored. Her apartment is bugged. Her laptop and cell phone are bugged. Her family’s homes and cell phones are bugged. You name it – bugged. So she can't really spend much time with her family or her old life, otherwise Stark will get suspicious.

Anyway, Em is doing the best she can to remain normal. She's going to school and trying to begin a relationship with her old best friend. She’s been doing a decent job of fooling everyone. Until now. Nikki’s brother shows up out of the blue and he might be the one person she isn’t able to fool. To complicate things, he brings up some serious questions about the way Nikki died. Perhaps Stark isn’t being as honest as everyone would like…

I loved this sequel! It surprised me with some mysteries and discoveries. I'm really getting attached to some of the characters. Plus, it's mighty hysterical in parts. It leaves you eagerly awaiting the sequel, which will be called RUNAWAY according to the teaser in the back of the book.
Highly Recommended for a ton of fun!

Remember, you MUST read the first one to understand & enjoy this one.

To enjoy more of Meg Cabot & her books click here for her website.

Meg Cabot. AIRHEAD

Another one from the prolific Meg Cabot. But today, what I’m amazed at isn’t her massive number of books, but the diversity. Just consider how different When Lightning Strikes, The Mediator series, Avalon High, and Jinx are from each other. And her latest, Airhead, is just as new and fresh. I hate to even give a summary, because it’s more fun to be surprised like I was. I just picked it up and started reading, without reading the book jacket. I didn’t need to. I knew it would be good- it’s Meg Cabot! But I’ll give you a few tidbits to tease you. It’s about a girl named Em who is best friends with a boy named Christopher. They love to play video games and make fun of the popular kids at school. Em is a tomboy who really doesn’t care about fashion or makeup. (and we think Em secretly likes Christopher) One day a freak accident occurs that completely transforms Em’s whole life. Her whole life! And she has no choice whatsoever in the matter. Plus, now that she can have whatever guy she wants, the one guy she does want doesn’t even know she’s alive. This book is so much fun! The characters are enjoyable and likeable. And it looks like she’s setting this up to be another successful series. It ended with many unanswered questions, and it gave a preview of the first sequel. More fun than a day at the beach!

And if you've been living under a rock & aren't familiar with Meg Cabot, check out her awesome website here and her blog here. She's really something!

Audrey D. Brashich. ALL MADE UP: A GIRLS GUIDE TO SEEING THROUGH CELEBRITY HYPE...AND CELEBRATING REAL BEAUTY

I read a fair amount of nonfiction, but I’m rarely compelled to blog about it. But this is really a meaningful book for teen girls. These days girls and women are bombarded with images of what we “should” look like. We are told what is considered beautiful by the media, the fashion industry and Hollywood. But for most girls, that ideal standard isn’t necessarily achievable and frankly, why it should be the goal? A former model and major writer for teen magazines has written a book that encourages girls to see through all the celebrity hype to find their own beauty. She writes about the evolution of models and how they became the “standard” of beauty. Then she breaks through the hype by enlightening readers what a celebrity must go through to maintain their “look.” She also questions why women who are famous for being famous are more celebrated by our media than say, oh, women who are actually doing something, like researching a cure for cancer or training for the Olympics. She encourages girls to find real role models and to celebrate their own beauty, just the way they are. There are some great resources in the back of the book, and the author has an awesome website to discuss topics in the book. I’m glad I discovered this amazing writer. She’s a wonderful advocate for girls and women of all ages!

Here’s her website www.allmadeup.net

Her awesome blog is here: http://www.audreybrashich.blogs.com/

Check it out!

Jen Calonita. SECRETS OF MY HOLLYWOOD LIFE: ON LOCATION

This is a highly enjoyable sequel to SECRETS OF MY HOLLYWOOD LIFE. Kaitlin Burke has made it through the challenges with the press from book one, and now she’s beginning filming on a new Hollywood blockbuster. One bonus she got out of her experiment in high school is her boyfriend, Austin. Things are going smoothly with him, until she finds out that she has to work with Drew, her ex-boyfriend on the new movie. And, the film’s publicity guru is making Kaitlin go to events with Drew and pose as his girlfriend. How will she work this out with Austin? Will he be able to deal with her complicated Hollywood life? As in the first book, this one lets the reader in on many star secrets. Plus, Kaitlin has some of the same issues as regular teen girls. In fact, one thing I like about this series better than other rich girl/celebrity type books is that it doesn't get bogged down or obsessed with all the designer names. That aspect is there, but the focus is on the characters. It's a fun way to spend an afternoon!

My review of the first book is here: Secrets #1

The third book is due out next month. It's called SECRETS OF MY HOLLYWOOD LIFE: FAMILY AFFAIR:

SECRETS OF MY HOLLYWOOD LIFE, FACE VALUE

Jen Calonita. SECRETS OF MY HOLLYWOOD LIFE.


16-year old Kaitlin Burke seems to have it all. She's a successful, famous actress on a weekly TV show. But she's exhausted by the pressures of her fame. She decides to go undercover in an ordinary high school just to be normal for a while. High School turns out to have its own challenges. Kaitlin finds out people don't have to be in the "business" to be mean. This was a fun book! If you ever wanted to know inside information about Hollywood, check this out. It showed me just how many people it actually takes to keep a famous person's life going, and it made me tired! I'll keep my non-famous simple life, thank you.




Catherine Johnson. FACE VALUE

Lauren is discovered by a modeling agency on a school trip to London. Her mother, who passed away just after her birth, was also a model. Her guardian, Nessa, is worried about Lauren and doesn't want her to get caught up in the shallow world of glossy photos. However, Nessa soon finds out that her own past is what they really should be worried about. Nessa and Lauren's mom were friends and their lurid past is catching up with Lauren. This turns into an unexpected, suspenseful and enjoyable book. It's quite different from your everyday young adult book. I think it feels so different because it's based in London. There are lots of words and phrases that are strictly British.