Secrets of My Hollywood Life

Who'da thunk a book about a Hollywood starlet could be so boring?

I picked this book out because I'd heard all the accolades it was receiving, and normally I enjoy books of a similar vein. I was sorely disappointed with this one.

It didn't help that the plot's been done before, and BETTER (True Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet, to name a personal favorite). Hollywood actress decides to go undercover and be a normal girl for once. Of course, she meets a guy there who ends up liking her for herself, thereby making the situation more complicated. Very predictable, yes. The main character herself is very boring. She makes a point to show how she's a goody-goody. Oh, I see what you did there. Of course we'll have to like her if we hear show more what a nice individual she is.

The whole plot, while stale enough by being nothing new, sinks to a new low by having absolutely no point. The main character wants a break so she decides to get this break by going to school for only about three weeks. Because that makes sense and is not a total waste of time, right.

Writing style is also terrible in this. Just because the character's sixteen doesn't mean this book is written for someone at a 10th grade reading level. The author made me roll my eyes often with her constant expressions: "frowning expression on her perfect oval face", several instances of the characters either running their hands through their hair or twirling their hair around their fingers, and six mentions of "turquoise eyes". Nobody has turquoise eyes; who're you trying to fool? Obviously the author thinks she's being clever, but it's just scoff-worthy. This book should be directed at fourth graders because they can be fooled by such horrible writing, however since it's about a teen, they stuck it in the teen section. Big mistake, though apparently people are still lapping it up, judging by the reviews. I don't know how people can enjoy something like this, but I shouldn't be surprised. The Twilight series just proves how wrong my logic is. Coincidentally, the last book I read that was as horrible as this one was Eclipse.

I will definitely not be reading another book by this author, and am now skeptical of Poppy books. They have one good series, Gossip Girl, but Poseur, The It Girl, The Clique, and Secrets of My Hollywood Life are duds. show less

This book is another story I really like. Katlin thinks the Hollywood life is not all it seems to be and yearns to go to high school with her best friend. Katlin convinces her family and publicist to let her go as long as she is in disguise. However, Katlin soon learns that high school is not all she thought it was. Katlin gets caught up in drama and bad teachers. Although the good experiences shadow the bad, Katlin learns the grass is not greener on the other side. This is an important lesson for students to learn. Often times children think other lives are better, other people have it easier. This story shows that even when one has an ideal situation she still wants something different. Having one opportunity is fortunate and children show more can use the book to help them learn no particular situation is perfect. show less

Meet Kaitlin Burke. Oh, wait, you already know everything about her: phenomenal star on the soap opera Family Affairs, best friend with her costar Sky Mackenzie, and voted hottest teen star by practically every magazine out there....Or do you?

Life is not well in Kaitlin's privileged world. Sky, with whom she has never gotten along, is spreading nasty rumors about Kaitlin's prissy personality to the tabloids (descriptions that better suit herself, quite frankly). Her career-crazy parents and pushy publicist seem to be trying to drown her in a ton of work and feature appearances on talk shows. Her only respite is with her best friend Liz, the "normal" daughter of a powerful lawyer, who attends the normal high school of Clark.

Desperate to show more know what it's like to be a regular teenager, Kaitlin goes undercover as the nerdy Rachel Rogers, British import, at Clark. The experience is so much more than she expected, however. There are annoying Sky-like girls there as well--but "Rachel" makes friends, too, and meets an incredibly cute guy, Austin, who seems to like her for who she really is: a nerdy, Star Wars-obsessed math prodigy.

But Kaitlin is teetering on the edge of her double life. How will she deal with it when it all comes crashing down on top of her?

SECRETS OF MY HOLLYWOOD LIFE has been touted as "what it's really like to be a celebrity 'It' girl" (Us Weekly), but having had no experience in the Hollywood world, I don't know whether that is true or not. What I do know is that it's always nice to have a down-to-earth, unjaded girl for a protagonist, even if Kaitlin's character doesn't really ring to me. Same with the other characters. They're likable...but only to an extent, the same way you'd like, say, your assigned chem lab partner whom you never get to know really well. Still, the book is a fun romp through the L.A. glam life, perfect for those who are tired of looking at it from the self-satisfied top. show less

Secrets of My Hollywood Life is an entertaining, if somewhat predictable novel about an overworked, overexposed teen celebrity - who is just a normal girl deep down. "I have a career people would kill for, but I wanted to see what it would be like to be a regular teen." It sounds like the plot to a made for TV Disney movie - and it could be! Kaitlin goes to school as a regular girl, is the target of the resident "mean girl," and the school's heart of gold hunk falls for her "regular girl" persona. And, of course, the climax of the book is a the big school dance. Although the plot is trite, the writing is light and humorous and the characters are likable, and it avoids being too adult, like many recent series for teen girls (i.e. Gossip show more Girl). show less

Secrets of My Hollywood Life is my absolute favorite Jen Calonita book! I'm a big fan of her writing and I adored this entire series. However, I slightly favor the first book above all the others. Meeting the characters and the universe is so much fun and I adored getting to know them throughout the series. If you're a fan of stories that take place in Hollywood that definitely pick this book up!

Kaitlin Burke is a big Hollywood star. She has everything she wants, from a big house to designer clothes. But her celebrity life is becoming too much for her, she wants to know how it would be like to be a regular teenager. She and her best friend Liz come up with a perfect plan; Kaitlin will go to high school in disguise. But Kaitlin doesn’t know that her plan won’t go as smoothly as she thought and she will soon realize that being a regular teen is not easy either.

I loved Secrets of My Hollywood Life. I liked all the characters and I think one of my favorite ones was Sky (the antagonist in the book), I kind of understand how she felt. Kaitlin was always the good girl with better roles and Sky was just trying to be seen. I loved show more how Liz had always Kaitlin’s back and how Kaitlin found friends that liked her for who she was and not because of her status. The characters were realistic and enjoyable. This book is fun, clean and easy read. show less

Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com

Sixteen-year-old Kaitlin Burke has been on the same nighttime soap, Family Affair, for the past twelve years. In between interviews, press junkets, trips abroad, and other smaller parts, she's had to deal with a demanding publicist, a mother who seems to be living her own life through that of her daughters, and a growing feud with her co-star, Sky Mackenzie. Ever since the two girls were cast, at age four, as fraternal twins on the show, Sky has been the bad girl with Kaitlin playing the role of good girl--both on screen and off.

As this season's hiatus nears, Kaitlin realizes that there's more to life than being on Teen People's list of hottest young stars, or being number six on Entertainment Weekly's show more "It List." Sure, there's an audition for a new movie by hot director Hutch Adams that she'd love to land, but she's also supremely tired. Working nearly nonstop for twelve years has taken its toll. So Kaitlin has come up with the perfect plan to take a break over hiatus--she'll attend Clark Hall as regular student Rachel Rogers, a girl from London visiting the U.S. for two months.

Everything is going along according to plan. Although the principal of Clark Hall and her fellow student and friend Liz know her true identity, no one else has a clue that plain, studious Rachel is really Kaitlin from one of the most popular shows on television. As "Rachel" settles into normal teen life, signing up to be on the boring dance committee and indulging in her love of math, she feels for the first time like a regular teen. And when she meets Austin, a guy unlike every Hollywood celebrity she's ever met, she knows she might be falling in love.

But as rumors start to swirl in the tabloids and as her double life is threatened by exposure, Kaitlin will have to learn what's really important in life--true friends, whether they know her as Kaitlin or Rachel; the belief in herself as an actress; and the blessing and curse that is the media.

SECRETS OF MY HOLLYWOOD LIFE is a quick, entertaining read that sheds new light on what it means to be a celebrity. Not everything is as great as Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, or Nicole Richie would like us to believe, but it sure is filled with excitement! show less