I picked up Spoiled from the library on Saturday and less than 24 hours later, I finished reading it. No, I am not boasting about speed reading skills here, I am merely stating that this book is one hell of a page-turner, continuing in the trend of great Young Adult literature that people of any age can enjoy.
Here's a rough synopsis: Laurel Dix has cancer and on her deathbed tells her 16-year old daughter, Molly, that her father (who she thought was a dead soldier) is actually Brick Berlin, world-famous movie star and Hollywood heartthrob. Laurel decided that Molly was better off with her in Indiana, safe from the glare and superficiality of Hollywood so she never told Molly the truth. However, once Laurel dies, Brick swoops in and asks Molly to move in with him and his daughter Brooke. Uncertain about her future, but not willing to give up on the only parent she has left, Molly decides to take the plunge and move to Los Angeles. Hilarity and teenage drama a la Mean Girls ensues.
The novel is the debut of co-authors Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan, more popularly known as the Fug Girls who write the hilarious GoFugYourself blog where they dissect celebrity fashion lowlights and highlights. As such, the novel is full of sharp insights into the bizarre LA celebrity lifestyle, replete with hot yoga sessions, screaming paparazzi, discussions of colon cleanses, frenzied carb counting, and of course, heaps of shopping and high fashion. At first Molly is awestruck by LA and how everything seems orders of magnitude larger than her life in Indiana. Unbeknownst to her, however, her newly-discovered half-sister Brooke is not pleased that Molly has arrived just in time to crash her Sweet Sixteen party and is determined to leak stories of intoxication, bad behavior, and anything else that will make Molly a complete PR nightmare. Her father, Brick Berlin, is your average superstar, alternating between quoting Zen-like rules for healthy lifestyle choices and stress-free living and then barking orders into his myriad phones and running off every day to work on writing, producing, directing, and starring in various blockbusters.
Between these two characters, Molly is the bewildered but sensible one, trying to get over her mother's recent death while also trying to find some time to fit in with this new family. She quickly discovers that Brooke has launched a personal vendetta against her, learns where she falls in her new school's social strata (answer: not very high) and has to figure out if this life is really going to work out. Along the way she meets new friends, some who will support her, others who will stab her in the back. It's nothing you haven't seen before, but the story is executed with flair, making it an absolute delight to read. Cocks & Morgan have honed their celebrity-mocking skills for years on their blog now, and the novel is filled with amazing one-liners and throw-away references that come at you at an alarming rate. At one point a character's nerves are described as being "as frayed as a pair of tights on Taylor Momsen." Somewhere else, Brick proffers conservative wardrobe advice: "I don't trust people who don't wear pants...Our thighs should be our greatest mystery." When Brooke does something admirable at school, a jock starts a slow clap leading to a cheering hallway of students who are "straight out of one of those terrible teen movies that are also secretly awesome."
All of these references keep you on your pop culture toes, and when Brooke finally sides with Molly on something, she reasons that "blood was thicker than smartwater, wasn't it?" You just chuckle at these people who do have depth and a rich inner life but yet can be incredibly vapid at the same time. Like most teenage heroines, Molly and Brooke are not perfect, but they aren't idiots either, and they stumble their way to a deeper understanding of each other's insecurities and strengths. And most importantly, they understand what it means to be sisters after having spent sixteen years apart in two very different worlds. As you follow their squabbles, varied misunderstandings, and changing family dynamics, you get wholly invested in these characters and as annoying as they can be at times, you can't help but hope they find a way to work things out. Ultimately the epilogue arrives far too soon, because Spoiled tells one of those stories that are not-so-secretly awesome.
Here's a rough synopsis: Laurel Dix has cancer and on her deathbed tells her 16-year old daughter, Molly, that her father (who she thought was a dead soldier) is actually Brick Berlin, world-famous movie star and Hollywood heartthrob. Laurel decided that Molly was better off with her in Indiana, safe from the glare and superficiality of Hollywood so she never told Molly the truth. However, once Laurel dies, Brick swoops in and asks Molly to move in with him and his daughter Brooke. Uncertain about her future, but not willing to give up on the only parent she has left, Molly decides to take the plunge and move to Los Angeles. Hilarity and teenage drama a la Mean Girls ensues.
The novel is the debut of co-authors Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan, more popularly known as the Fug Girls who write the hilarious GoFugYourself blog where they dissect celebrity fashion lowlights and highlights. As such, the novel is full of sharp insights into the bizarre LA celebrity lifestyle, replete with hot yoga sessions, screaming paparazzi, discussions of colon cleanses, frenzied carb counting, and of course, heaps of shopping and high fashion. At first Molly is awestruck by LA and how everything seems orders of magnitude larger than her life in Indiana. Unbeknownst to her, however, her newly-discovered half-sister Brooke is not pleased that Molly has arrived just in time to crash her Sweet Sixteen party and is determined to leak stories of intoxication, bad behavior, and anything else that will make Molly a complete PR nightmare. Her father, Brick Berlin, is your average superstar, alternating between quoting Zen-like rules for healthy lifestyle choices and stress-free living and then barking orders into his myriad phones and running off every day to work on writing, producing, directing, and starring in various blockbusters.
Between these two characters, Molly is the bewildered but sensible one, trying to get over her mother's recent death while also trying to find some time to fit in with this new family. She quickly discovers that Brooke has launched a personal vendetta against her, learns where she falls in her new school's social strata (answer: not very high) and has to figure out if this life is really going to work out. Along the way she meets new friends, some who will support her, others who will stab her in the back. It's nothing you haven't seen before, but the story is executed with flair, making it an absolute delight to read. Cocks & Morgan have honed their celebrity-mocking skills for years on their blog now, and the novel is filled with amazing one-liners and throw-away references that come at you at an alarming rate. At one point a character's nerves are described as being "as frayed as a pair of tights on Taylor Momsen." Somewhere else, Brick proffers conservative wardrobe advice: "I don't trust people who don't wear pants...Our thighs should be our greatest mystery." When Brooke does something admirable at school, a jock starts a slow clap leading to a cheering hallway of students who are "straight out of one of those terrible teen movies that are also secretly awesome."
All of these references keep you on your pop culture toes, and when Brooke finally sides with Molly on something, she reasons that "blood was thicker than smartwater, wasn't it?" You just chuckle at these people who do have depth and a rich inner life but yet can be incredibly vapid at the same time. Like most teenage heroines, Molly and Brooke are not perfect, but they aren't idiots either, and they stumble their way to a deeper understanding of each other's insecurities and strengths. And most importantly, they understand what it means to be sisters after having spent sixteen years apart in two very different worlds. As you follow their squabbles, varied misunderstandings, and changing family dynamics, you get wholly invested in these characters and as annoying as they can be at times, you can't help but hope they find a way to work things out. Ultimately the epilogue arrives far too soon, because Spoiled tells one of those stories that are not-so-secretly awesome.
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