Showing posts with label Celebrity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Celebrity. Show all posts

Thursday, 18 January 2018

Katy Birchall - Secrets of a Teenage Heiress - Book Review (Egmont Publishing)


Flick's family have owned The Royale – one of London's most prestigious hotels – for generations. But Flick isn't that interested. She is interested in the newest guest – superstar celebrity Skylar Chase, and Sky's mega-famous group of friends, including dreamy YouTube star, Ethan Duke. But just as Flick gets the chance to join their glittering squad, she gets grounded following an unfortunate incident involving a prince, a wardrobe and a selfie stick (it could have happened to anyone!). With only her Instagram star pet dachshund, Fritz, for company, will Flick find a way to escape The Royale and join the fame game?

This is a book that puts me as a reader/reviewer out of my comfort READING zone. However, this year is all about me pushing my reading boundaries and trying anything that has been sent to me. Last year I would have taken one look at this book, read the synopsis and then thought that this sounded like it was not for me. However, on this occasion, I would have been very wrong. Secrets of a Teenage Heiress was recently published by Egmont Publishing on the 11th January 2018. The authors recent 'The it Girl' series has found the heart of teenage readers and their funny bone to great acclaim.  

Get your selfie sticks ready and come and read this book. As soon as you turn the pages you will fly into the world of Flick and Fritz (the dog). Flick's life involves living in the world famous hotel 'The Royale'. The reason I loved it so much is that the narrative instantly transported me into the book. Plus, the main characters actually felt like real people. The descriptive backdrop felt like The Ritz in London, which was possibly one of the inspirations for this book. 

This book takes a look at the celebrity side of life with Sklar Chase. It shows that being famous does not stop you from being human and having normal feelings. The book also covers and focuses on teenage girls who look up to famous people and want to emulate them. Looking good, having millions of Instagram followers and the need for media attention is a huge topic at the moment. This book cuts through to reality and shows the high stakes involved. In the end, the story highlights that family and true friendship are actually more important than anything else. 

I really loved reading about the hotel and the inner workings of it. It really made you want to walk around and investigate the rooms and hotel-life, just like the characters in the book. It made you feel slightly dreamy which was rather cool. 

This is definitely a book that teenagers will relate to. It explores a vivid world of glamour that people will love to read about. It's funny in some parts and yet quite moving in others. There is a great cast of characters, all of which are easy to read. The story has a happy, feel-good ending which makes you want to read the next book in the series. For those of you interested, the next book is called Dramas of a Teenage Heiress and will be out at the end of this year. 
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Saturday, 11 July 2009

Cathy Brett - Ember Fury Book Review



Mrs Ripley's Review

Ember Fury - a great character name and also symbolic of two strong themes that run throughout the book, fire and anger. This carefully constructed book engages the reader through its content and graphics. The word art and attention to detail, regarding the structure and layout , add extra layers to the story dimension.
The lifestyle of a celebrity (Ember’s Dad) is portrayed frankly through exploited friendships and indulgent motives. Interestingly the materialistic world, that many youngsters today aspire to live in, is shown to be a shallow and lonely world where trust and loyalty are not guaranteed qualities within people.
Ned, the character that no-one else but Ember can see, provides an interesting parallel through the role of his loving family unit and fire. Both of which, in the end, have a major influence on Ember’s life.
I thought this book was thought provoking and well constructed. It had many layers of understanding which could engage the reader at different levels. Although at times I felt the story swapped and changed into parallel worlds, a little too much


Synopsis

Pyromania: A mental derangement, excitement or excessive enthusiasm for fire.
Having celebrity parents isn’t as hot as it sounds. Yes, there’s money to burn, fame and some totally smoking guys...But when your dad’s more interested in blazing a trail to the top of the charts than why you got kicked out of school, again, it can make you seriously angry. And if there’s one thing Ember knows, it’s that the smallest spark of anger can ignite a whole heap of trouble...

Published by Headline 6 Aug 2009

About the Author

Cathy Brett has been scribbling stuff for more than twenty years - as a fashion illustrator, as a jet-setting spotter of global trends and as a consultant to the behemoths of the British high street.
She now lectures in design and unashamedly plunders her students' lives for sensational storylines and characters.

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