GIRL IN DEVELOPMENT by Jordan Roter
    Category:  Contemporary
    Age Recommendation:  Grades 9+
    Release Date:  5/4/06
    Publisher:  Dutton
    Reviewed by:  Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"
    Rating:  4 Stars


    You can always tell when an author writes about a subject they know inside and out.  Jordan Roter has managed to
    bring her experiences in the world of film development and production to life inside the pages of GIRL IN
    DEVELOPMENT, and I bet if we asked her, she'd agree that parts of her main character, eighteen-year-old
    Samantha Rose, are comparable to real life, as well.

    Sam is the type of girl who likes simple things--reading a good book, spending time with family and friends, being
    embarrassed by her parents in public.  Okay, she doesn't really like that last one, but she's used to it.  But when her
    Uncle Norman gets Sam an internship at Authentic Pictures as a birthday present (and all because her father had
    happened to mention that she liked movies), Sam's not quite sure what to do.  Sure, going to L.A. for eight weeks,
    working for a movie company, hanging out with her sometimes snobby and always spoiled cousin Kate--that could
    be fun.  Part of her, though, wishes she could just stay home in Northampton and go about her life as usual.

    Hollywood, of course, is nothing, and yet everything, like what she expected.  She's both appalled and amazed at the
    goings-on behind the scenes at Authentic Pictures.  She's both flattered and nearly repulsed by the male attention she
    seems to be attracting like flies to honey.  And she's definitely not sure if L.A. holds the type of lifestyle she really
    wants for herself.

    Ms. Roter has managed to write a fun, breezy novel that contains true-to-life characters.  Sure, I don't actually know
    anyone who has ever gotten to go work for a film company in Los Angeles, but reading about it sure was fun!  The
    characters in GIRL IN DEVELOPMENT are all three-dimensional, unlike a lot of other teen chick-lit stories that are
    out there.  And, fortunately for the reader, each and every character in the story is allowed to grow throughout the
    book, so that by the end you'll be rooting for (almost!) all of them.  This is an entertaining read that's sure to please,
    regardless of age.
Girl in Development
by Jordan Roter