Book Review~Teen Idol by Meg Cabot

Title: Teen Idol

Author: Meg Cabot

Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books

Pub Date: January 6th 2006

Format: Paperback

Pages: 240

Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Realistic Fiction, Humor, Childrens 

Links: Goodreads ~ Amazon ~ Book/Author Site

Synopsis: Ask Annie your most complex interpersonal relationship questions. Go on, we dare you!

All letters to Annie are subject to publication in the Clayton High School Register. Names and e-mail addresses of correspondents guaranteed confidential.

High school junior Jenny Greenley is good at solving problems ... so good she's the school newspaper's anonymous advice columnist. Even if solving other people's problems doesn't make her own -- like not having a boyfriend -- go away, it's still fun. But when nineteen-year-old screen sensation Luke Striker comes to Jen's small town to research a role, he creates havoc that even levelheaded Jenny isn't sure she can repair ... especially since she's right in the middle of it.

Can Jen, who always manages to be there for everybody else, learn to take her own advice, and find true love at last?

Rating: 8/10

Source: Bought

My Thoughts: First of all, I'm so sorry I haven't posted in a while! I've been so busy with college applications! It's so tiring! :/

Now onto the review. It's been a couple of days since I read this book so this review might not be that detailed. Teen Idol was a fun, quick read. It's not a book that stays with you or one that you will remember for a long time. It's just a simple, entertaining read with a good moral.

I love Meg Cabot but I didn't like the writing much in this book. It was... weird. It wasn't that bad but the "and everything" and "or whatever" got on my nerves! But I had to learn to ignore that because these are repeated numerous times throughout the book. In the first 3 pages alone these are mentioned 4 times! Let me show you some examples:

Some of her yellow yarn hair got caught in the teeth of his backpack's zipper, and everything.

..., or because they heard Mrs Mulvaney is a good teacher or whatever.

..., or run the risk of having Tater Tots hurled at your head or whatever.

..., with a pointed hat and tiny broom and everything.

I think these sentences would've been fine without the 'or whatevers' and 'and everythings'. Since this book was written in first person, the book was in the protagonist's voice. And since the writing annoyed me sometimes, so did Jen. Don't get me wrong, I did like Jen. But sometimes she got really annoying. I could relate to her in some things but still the character did not have enough depth that I would remember her. In fact none of the characters had much depth...

I really liked Luke. He was smart and likable and probably my favorite character in the book. He was different and he thought big (as in beyond the obvious). He was really mature (in some aspects) and a really great friend. Another character I really liked was Scott. He was sweet and reminded me very much of Peeta. You see, Scott is this nice, sweet guy with a good sense of humor and strong arms. He also loves to cook (including baking) and is very good at it. Peeta is also a nice, sweet guy with a good sense of humor and strong arm and he loves to bake and is very good at it. See the similarities?

Trina and Geri Lynn were the kind of girls I never liked and never got along with and try my best to avoid. So naturally I didn't like them much. Though I'm glad that they (and all the other characters) had their happy ever after.

The story was good. It was funny and short and amusing. I really liked the story! The idea of a huge celebrity coming at your high school and you being chosen to keep his identity a secret and help him study for his role, I'd love for that to happen to me! And then that celebrity teaching you an important lesson about life. I think the moral of this story was that one person can make a difference and you have to know your worth and believe in yourself. Also, you don't have to be 'goody-two-shoes' and 'everyone's best friend' all the time. It's OK to stand up for others and for yourself.

Overall, this was a really good book. If you're in the mood of a quick, light read then I'd highly recommend it.

Favorite Quotes: Instead of my favorite quotes I'll share with you parts that made me laugh (read: smile in an amused way).

Truthfully? It sounded like a load of horse manure.

When we stood on the risers for our first dress rehearsal, during class on Tuesday, he actually got teary-eyed. He said that at last we looked like a choir. I don't know what he'd thought we'd looked like before. But apparently not a choir.

'Wait!' my mother called. 'We didn't get a picture!'

But my mom didn't have to worry. Because every periodical in America - with the exception maybe of National Geographic, who didn't seem to have sent a representative - got a picture of Luke helping me put the spare helmet on over my flowered hairclip. Of Luke helping me on to the back of the bike without getting any grease on my skirt, and of Luke wrapping that skirt around my legs, so it wouldn't catch in the wheel spokes and strangle or drag me to my death. Of Luke waving as he stepped on the accelerator. Of me grabbing Luke around the waist and holding on for dear life.
And of the two of us zooming down the street, as fast as we could go without breaking the speed limit or, worse, upsetting my parents.

About The Author:

Meg Cabot (born Meggin Patricia Cabot on February 1, 1967 in Bloomington, Indiana, United States) is an American author of romantic and paranormal fiction for teens and adults and used to write under several pen names, but now writes exclusively under her real name, Meg Cabot. She has written and published over fifty books, and is best known for The Princess Diaries, later made by Walt Disney Pictures into two feature films of the same name. Meg's books have been the recipients of numerous awards, including the New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age, the American Library Association Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers, the Tennessee Volunteer State TASL Book Award, the Book Sense Pick, the Evergreen Young Adult Book Award, the IRA/CBC Young Adult Choice – as well as many others (see awards section for specific book wins). She has had numerous No. 1 New York Times bestsellers. Cabot has more than fifteen million copies of her books—children's, young adult, and adult—in print worldwide.