Ed Decter

Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com

You will either hate Chloe Gamble or you will love her. I came away from reading THE ONE absolutely spellbound by Chloe and eager for more in the follow-up, VIP LOUNGE.

When Chloe's mom catches her dad with another woman, it's all the ammunition Chloe needs to finally convince her mom to get out of the situation, get in the car with her twin brother, and drive all the way to L.A. Chloe grew up in the world of beauty pageants. She knows how to win and show more give the judges what they want. With $10,000 from her latest win, the three begin a new life in California. L.A. is a long way from Nowhere, Texas.

Chloe doesn't follow the rules. But she insists that her brother, Travis, stay out of trouble. With a bold plan, Chloe takes L.A. by storm. Her first ambitious task is to get both of them enrolled into the best private school, on scholarship. When she's given the cold shoulder, she has Travis pull out his secret weapon, and just like that, they're in.

But Chloe isn't infallible. She makes a serious faux pas when she sneaks into an audition for a hot new show. It isn't until after she's escorted out that she realizes how huge a mistake she's made. But Chloe isn't out of the game. With a few choice connections, she slowly learns the ropes of L.A. and is ready for round two.

Told from different perspectives, the reader gets an inside glimpse of the acting scene in Los Angeles. Peeks into Chloe's agent's manuscript set the story up for further intrigue and mystery in follow-up novels. Emails from Travis to his friends in Texas share the high side of life in California. And the majority of the story is told by Chloe and her determination to be IT and surpass people like the obnoxious Kimber that she meets in her early days after the move. show less

Summary: Chloe Gamble always has an aura of charisma and gets what she wants. But can she work her magic in Hollywood?

She’s been winning beauty pageants and providing for her family all these years. But after catching her father in the act, flirting with a girl about a year or two older than she, Chloe decides it’s time the small town to move to LA to leave with her mother and twin brother, Travis, in tow. Who else was going to decide, her mother?

And so the adventures begin. From show more finding the proper photographer, stylist, agent, and publicist, Chloe embarks on a true Hollywood scandal. One that leaves her on the blacklist and infamous throughout the city. But that’s not to stop Chloe Gamble to getting what she wants.

Review: The One was like a huge scandal that you read everywhere—in the tabloids, or on television. Full of excitement, and Texas drawl, The One took less than three hours to read.

What I love the most about The One was the three various points of view. We had Nika May, Chloe’s agent, Travis’s emails, and of course Chloe herself. They each represent the relationship in that industry. Nika was the background, how things work, who’s who, and what’s what. Travis was the family aspect but also he had his own story to tell. And Chloe’s point of view speaks for itself.

Chloe is an engrossing and charismatic character. She’s head-strong, determined, and stubborn. But she is also caring. For example, she went out of her way to enroll her and her brother into a prep school just to make him feel more normal and then somehow managed to get him a scholarship. Travis is another character that I felt was good. He had the protective brother vibe going on but he also has own adventure—modeling [underwear:], acting, and he’s own personal drama.

The ending was a freaking tease! Seriously! My jaw dropped at how the story ended and I almost threw the book out of frustration. Huge, ginormous, cliff hanger!

Overall: Right from the start, The One dives head first into the world of gossip, sass, and fun. So far this has been the best Hollywood story I have read so far. And I’m eagerly waiting for the sequel to this awesome start! show less

Review: This was a pretty good book. I found it really interesting, and it totally kept me hooked. I'm definately excited for the sequel coming this December. The plot really keeps you hooked as well, though I felt it had its downsides just to the extremes it seemed to go to. The whole story is upon the basis of Chloe wanting to escape her home town of Spurlock, Texas. The fact that they just get in the car, and drive to Hollywood, and with all the stuff she does seemed to set back the book show more a bit in my opinion. I felt the sections from her agent kind of took away from the book though, and slowed down a bit show less

Reviewed by Grandma Bev for TeensReadToo.com

What better way to spend a lazy summer afternoon than hanging out with Cam Walker and the Outriders?

Cam is breaking every safety rule of scuba diving as he navigates the murky waters of the water hazard that fronts the seventh green of the golf course at Bluffs Country Club...but "farming" golf balls is the Outriders' main source of income to finance their adventures. However, the Country Club members really don't like for kids to steal the ball show more they are currently playing, and Cam has to run for it in a very creative escape. This time they hoped to go to Willow Key to help their biology teacher, Mr. Mora, with bio-mass studies relating to water pollution.

After other hilarious fund raising projects just don't work out as well as they had hoped, the richest guy in town, Chapman Thorpe, approaches Cam with an offer to fund the Willow Key project and even furnish a big seaplane to take the gang there...in exchange for a dive on the shipwreck of the dreaded pirate ship, El Trueno (The Thunder), for some artifacts. The legend is exciting and it's an offer too good to pass up.

The expedition to Willow Key gets off to a great start, but everything goes south when Mr. Mora suffers a broken leg and then the kids meet up with a bunch of modern-day pirates and poachers who don't want to leave any witnesses.

This fast-moving adventure filled with hair-raising danger, countered by Cam's brilliant ideas and the brave actions of the Outriders, will leave you breathless and wanting more...and that's good, because this is only the second book of the Outriders series.

Ed Decter is a screenwriter-director-producer with lots of credits under his belt, but this is his first book series. He is a master at characterization and plot, and this story will keep you laughing and turning pages nonstop. Reluctant readers will beg for the next book in the series. show less