The A-List Bk. 10:
California Dreaming
by Zoey Dean

    CALIFORNIA DREAMING by Zoey Dean
    Category:  Contemporary
    Age Recommendation:  Grades 9+
    Release Date:  4/2/08
    Publisher:  Poppy
    Reviewed by:  Jaglvr
    Rating:  5 Stars


    We left Anna Percy at the end of BEAUTIFUL STRANGER deciding if she should be spontaneous and follow
    Logan onto the plane and fly to Bali the week before she was due to head to freshman orientation at Yale.

    Now, Anna has thrown all caution to the wind and has made a mad dash to the airport. With no luggage, and
    chucking her shoes that weren’t equipped for sprints, she runs down the jet-way to board the awaiting plane. Anna is
    the last passenger to board, and she’s not even sure that Logan is on-board the plane. For the last eight months while
    Anna has been living in California with her father, she has tried to shed the reserved exterior that everyone sees. She
    came to California in the hopes of reinventing herself and to quit thinking everything through before she acts.

    Anna finds her seat and is relieved to find Logan ensconced in first class. He is pleased to see Anna, and the two sit
    back, ready to enjoy the impulsive flight to Bali. But things soon turn into a nightmare. The captain makes an
    announcement that the hydraulics for the landing gear have malfunctioned, and they have to return to LA and attempt
    to land on the belly of the plane. Anna immediately regrets her impulsiveness, knowing that her attempt to be carefree
    has caused the malfunction. Unable to contact her father, the only person Anna is able to reach is her dear friend,
    Sam.

    Anna and Logan arrive in LA safely amid friends and family, all relieved to see their safe return. But the flight makes
    Anna start to reevaluate her future plans. Does she really want to spend the next four years locked into Yale? Does
    she want to try flying to Bali with Logan again in a few days? These are questions that plague Anna over the course
    of the next week, when her decision must be made.

    On the other hand, we have Sam, who has also made an impulsive decision…she has accepted Eduardo’s marriage
    proposal and they are to be wed in one week’s time. Sam is an absolute wreck and her friend Dee has come to the
    rescue. Unknown to everyone, including Dee, Dee has a real knack for coordinating all the wedding plans and helps
    Sam bring everything together. But Sam is torn. Does she give up her dream of attending USC’s infamous film school
    to follow Eduardo back to Paris?

    All of these questions and others concerning Cammie, Dee, Ben, Adam, Jackson Sharpe, Sam’s mom, Dina, and
    others come to a (tentative?) resolution. Ms. Dean seems to tie up everyone’s future nicely by the end of the story.
    The action starts quickly and leaves the reader with a pounding heart, praying Anna and Logan come out safely from
    their flight. And Ms. Dean leaves the reader guessing up until the end what the wedding will entail. I enjoyed this
    story more than the last couple and am already eagerly waiting for her new era of A-List teens in HOLLYWOOD
    ROYALTY, due out in January 2009.