Summary:
In the world of Hollister Bucksey-Breiten fame,
money and power are as prevalent as plastic surgery. Sixteen-year-old Hollister
is heiress to the Bucksey real estate empire on her mother's side, as well as a
bonafide princess thanks to her deceased royal father. After her troubled
mother heads yet again to rehab, the celebutante suddenly finds herself shipped
from the privileged halls of Shotley Academy in Los Angeles to a backwoods New
Jersey high school. Life at Franklin High isn't what Hollister expects. Instead
of being worshipped by her lesser-blessed peers for the usual superficial
reasons, Hollister feels ostracized because of them. With the help of her
estranged brother and a few new friends, she discovers what's really important
not only to her but about her, and that a good heart is her most valuable
asset.
Summary
and cover art from Goodreads.com
My
review:
Cute,
predictable, and morally rewarding, this is a book version of a
straight-to-video riches-to-rags-but-happily-ever-after movie. The book was a
fun, quick read. Hollister was a fun character (think Cher from Clueless) who learns to expect more from
herself and sees the good others during her exile to painfully impoverished
suburbia.
There’s a little romance, because why not?, but the focus of
the story is on Hollister’s transformation from privileged rich girl dealing
with her mother’s addictions to empowered young woman making the world a
better place by enlisting her new friends in a fashion show to raise money for
charity. The concept could make a good episode of Saved by the Bell.
It’s a simple book that reads really young. Like how the
High School Musical audience is not really teenagers but 7 year olds? It feels
like that. Except there is enough bad language and sexual references to make it
inappropriate for audiences younger than 14. There are no outright sexual
scenes. The depicted romance is very sweet. But in true 21st century
mean-girl fashion, photos of genitalia and sexual acts are texted around in a
bullying fashion. Those things are real in modern high schools and I don’t
necessarily mind that they were addressed, but the overly simplistic writing
style and characterization did not match up with a few of the more mature plot
points, making the book feel like it had a bit of a personality disorder. Princess Diaries with a few HBO-worthy
scenes thrown in.
My rating: 3 stars
For
the sensitive reader: Mild swearing, crude humor, reference to sexual acts,
bullying.
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