Tales of a Hollywood Gossip Queen

TALES OF A HOLLYWOOD GOSSIP QUEEN by Mary Kennedy
Category: Contemporary
Age Recommendation: Grades 6+
Release Date: 6/27/06
Publisher: Berkley
Reviewed by: Jocelyn Pearce
Rating: 5 Stars

TALES OF A HOLLYWOOD GOSSIP QUEEN is a fun, fabulous read with a focus that's rather prevalent in current
young adult literature: an inside look at Hollywood. In this book, it comes from a girl who stumbles into it all. Jessie never
wanted to be a star, but she landed a part next to Hollywood hottie Shane Rockett in the movie Reckless Summer when it
was filming in her hometown in Connecticut, and now her life is now inextricably tied to Hollywood--and to Shane. When
she has to visit Los Angeles to redo the vocals on the movie, she hooks up with Shane again, and her picture starts
appearing in the tabloids.

Soon, though, she's not just being photographed by the media; she's become one of them! Jessie's plans to return to
Connecticut are postponed, to her delight, when she lands a summer internship at a hot new entertainment magazine, Juicy.
Unfortunately, that might not be as awesome as it seems--not if she has to share the work with nasty Alicia, who seems to
have it in for Jessie.

Can a small town girl from Connecticut handle all that goes on in Hollywood?

This is a fun, quick read with great characters and an inside look at Hollywood! It's not the first book to look behind the
scenes and into life in the spotlight, but it's one of the most fun. Of course, that topic itself is usually bound to be fun! Jessie is
a great main character, and what goes on during her time in Hollywood is entertaining, too. TALES OF A HOLLYWOOD
GOSSIP QUEEN is funny, with writing that flows nicely and keeps the reader entertained from the first page to the last. It's
definitely a feel-good sort of story, though; almost everything that happens to Jessie is resolved quickly (almost too quickly)
and she almost always comes out on the good end of things. Even though the story itself is unrealistic (small town girl ends up
in Hollywood dating a superstar? How often does that happen?), it wouldn't hurt to make things like that ring a bit truer.
Overall, though, this is a fun, enjoyable read that made me want to read the first book about Jessie's foray into stardom,
CONFESSIONS OF AN ALMOST MOVIE STAR.