Review: True Confessions Of A Hollywood Starlet by Lola Douglas

Title: True Confessions Of A Hollywood Starlet
Author: Lola Douglas
Source: Purchased
Genre: Young Adult
Buy: Amazon ~*~ Barnes & Noble
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Caution: May contain spoilers

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Teen star Morgan Carter's mom is trying to kill her. At least, that's what Morgan thinks when she's sent to Ft.Wayne, Indiana after a near overdose outside LA's Viper Room.

Morgan's going to recover out of the spotlight.Way out. She's given a major make-under, a new name, and a completely different identity. Morgan's plan? To write a tell-all book about her experience and stage a comeback. But when this LA girl finds love and a new life in Middle America, will she abandon it for another shot at superstardom?
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My Thoughts:

I picked this one up at a thrift store since it looked like a more modern YA novel. When I read the mention of Ft. Wayne as the city of choice for Morgan to go to, I couldn’t not buy it. I have several friends who live there. Shrug the shoulders, sure, let’s see how this turns out.

At first I was enjoying it, the starting over in a new place thing, not knowing who you really are and trying to make friends. Morgan’s personal struggles probably held the story together best. The incident that lead her to Ft. Wayne involved alcohol and drug abuse. There was more to Morgan than just being a Hollywood star, she was a teen who dove too far into the deep end before she knew there is something better. This new place was real. Really real, not something she would get in the bigger cities with her fellow celebrities. Her classmates are regular people and she’s actually part of it.

I expected a little more from this book and more from Morgan. She did have a little bit of an attitude adjustment in the expected ways but nothing else seemed to phase her. I did appreciate how she faced certain things head on and became a more real person. I wasn’t a fan of the way it all ended up. The whole story was rushed, certain scenes felt thrown in there, and the ending didn’t appease me. There was a sequel, and even though I didn’t like where it left off, I was hoping to read the sequel and get some sort of conclusion. I tried to look it up and somehow couldn’t find it, until just now. Goodreads had it listed as another version of the first book. Goodreads Fail.

Despite all the issues I had with it, I did enjoy it to some degree. It was definitely along the lines of books I used to pick up back when I read mostly fluffy pre-teen/not long after pre-teen novels. I liked the idea of that when I bought it but the more I think about it, the more I realize that it’s not the type of book I want to read anymore. I’ve adapted a bit in my tastes, and I want more out of my books than just some thrown together “confessions of a something or other” that uses references to whatever the “something or other” is that’s being featured (in this one, Hollywood and celebrity references, and from 2005 too).

Bottom line: I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it or like it either. I liked aspects of it (the seriousness of what got her there in the first place and the little things she learned along the way), and the ending wasn’t horrible (I kinda feel I need to read the sequel for some sort of real end). Not something I would pick up again, or necessarily recommend, unless you want a really easy read.

Side note: Found out it was made into a movie.

My Rating:

It's Okay: It can wait until tomorrow