Title: Hollyweird
Author: Terri Clark
Publication Date: May 2012
Publisher: Flux
Age Group: Young Adult
Source: Purchased
When Aly King wins a trip to the set of her favorite television show, she and her best friend, Des, are over the moon excited. Other than having Aly's aspiring actress sister, Missy, for a chaperone the the trip is a wonderful dream come true. The duo are enchanted when they get to meet their favorite TV star, Dakota Danvers but Aly can't help but wonder why Dakota's personal assistant, Jameson, seems to dislike his boss so much. It turns out that nothing in Hollywood is exactly as it appears and Jameson needs help from Aly, Des, and even Missy to stop the Son of Satan and earn back his angel wings.
The cover for Hollyweird makes the book look like a fun story and that is exactly what you get. Terri Clark writes believable teen characters who interact with snappy dialog. Aly and Des may appear to be complete opposites - preppy and rule-following, goth and rule-breaking - but they work together. I love Aly's description of their friendship on the second page of the book, "She is yin, I am yang. Together we are taijitu, the balance of yin and yang." It is this balance of personalities that allows Aly and Des to face evil in Hollywood with both the logic and passion needed to overcome it.
Chapters in the book alternate between Aly and Jameson telling the story. I enjoyed this technique because it allows the reader to see more than either Aly or Jameson can see in the moment. It also gives the reader a chance to know each character on a deeper level and understand more of why they react to each other they way they do based on their individual backgrounds. This gives the romantic aspect of the book a realistic feeling as the characters must sort through a variety of emotions.
Hollyweird is a fast read both because it isn't a long book and because of the quick pacing of the story. The dialog is peppered with references to contemporary Hollywood shows and stars. Des also invents new words by combining others. It is pretty easy to figure most of these out in context, although Aly also explains some of them to Jameson along the way. Terri Clark offers us the classic battle of good versus evil but she presents it with a personal brand of humor and contemporary style.
About the author: Terri Clark feels blessed to demonstrate her passion for young adult fiction as both a teen librarian and author. For as long as she can remember she's been fascinated with the paranormal, so it's little wonder her stories are a bit edgy and twisted. Sleepless (HarperTeen) is about a teen who is stalked in her dreams by a killer and her short story in the Breaking Up Is Hard to Do (HoughtonMifflin) anthology delves into mind-reading. Terri has also been a part of the non-fiction anthologies Flirtin' with the Monster and The Girl Who Was On Fire (BenBella Books). You can visit Terri online at www.TerriClarkBooks.com and at www.facebook.com/terriclarkbooks. Terri can also be found on Twitter.
Note: All opinions provided on this blog are my own. If a product was given to me for review, the source of that product is noted in the post. Bookstore links are generally affiliate links and I do earn a small amount for each purchase. Other affiliate links will be noted in the post.
