Book Review: Goodbye, Hollywood Nobody by Lisa Samson/4.5 Stars

About the book:

Charley's off to Scotland with her new beau, and Scotty and her dad travel to Maine in search of Scotty's mom. That's not all they're looking for though.

There are still a lot of unanswered questions about faith. Scotty's faced with her bitterness toward Karissa and what it means to live a "Jesusy extraordinary" life. Shouldn't forgiveness play a role in that?

And when Scotty and her dad land on her mother's last known trail, will their questions finally be answered?

My thoughts:

I am genuinely sad that my journey with Scotty and her family is now over!  :o(  Truthfully, when I started the first book, I didn't think I would become so attached to her...and her dad...and Charley...and well, everyone else that was a part of her life.  But, over time, she grew on me, and I couldn't help but (slightly) wish that I'd had an ounce of her maturity when I was her age.

I don't want to share too much about the details of the story because really, it is a must that all 4 books be read in order. Scotty is such a great character, and while she has a little too much freedom at times (in my opinion), parts of her life are well worth emulating.

My rating for this book is 4.5 stars, although it's a little closer to 5.  I have no trouble at all recommending this series very highly for older teens, and a few of us past our teen years (like me) are likely to enjoy it, too. It may even make you a little misty-eyed..."I'm just sayin'!"

Southern?  Some; a portion of the book was set in Kentucky
Sass?  Maybe a little.  :o)

Book Review: Finding Hollywood Nobody by Lisa Samson/4 Stars

About the book:

Prayer?  Really?

Scotty and Charley are headed for Marshall, Texas, with Biker Guy once more close on their trail. As Scotty tries to come to terms with the reality of her parents’ deaths, she grows friendly with the locals. That makes staying hidden challenging.

But there’s got to be more to life than fear, and through new friendships, Scotty learns that this prayer thing might work after all. Will prayer be enough when the situation is life and death? What happens when Biker Guy finally catches up to her?

My thoughts:

**I'm going to be mentioning things from this book as well as the previous book in the series, Hollywood Nobody, so be aware that you may come upon a spoiler or two.**

To be perfectly honest, I was a little hesitant to read the next book in the Hollywood Nobody Series.  I read book one, and while I loved the opening and Scotty's fun sense of humor, I just wasn't crazy about the religious portions of the book (more on that later).  But I'm a firm believer in giving an author a second chance, so I plunged ahead and read book 2, Finding Hollywood Nobody.

The opening of this book...awesome!  I couldn't believe it started out in Memphis, TN which, for one, was great for this local native, and for two, simply because it was set in the South.  Happy smiles all around.  :o)  I loved reading about Scotty's trip to Graceland, as well as trip to a local food joint, Pirtle's.  For some, seeing local places mentioned in a book may not be a big deal, but when you're familiar with an area, you like to see and hear about the *actual local places*.  So...for those of you that don't know, Pirtle's has GREAT fried chicken, and it was indeed a pleasure to see it get some love in this book.  ;o)

Scotty was her typical self in this book--pretty opinionated, maybe a little bit ADD, and frankly, more mature than most 16-year-olds that I know.  Sometimes, it was soooo hard to follow her train of thought because she kept jumping from one topic to the next.  It was more prevalent in the first book than in this book, so I was pleased that her character had a little more focus here.  I also missed the frequency of her "blog posts" in this book compared to the first, but as this book reached the end, it made perfect sense why they had slacked off.

The biggest thing I was happy about was her spiritual journey advanced a great deal in this book.  When I read book one, I won't lie....I was not crazy about how church/Christianity/denominations were portrayed.  I'm probably very much in the minority on that, but still...just my opinion.  See, I was raised in a Pentecostal church, complete with people speaking in tongues and everything else that goes with it.  As I've grown older, I've come to my own conclusions about their particular teachings, and it was just best that we parted ways.    So, when I started reading about Scotty's visits to a local tent meeting in book one, I was very surprised that a Pentecostal preacher was the one conducting the services....complete with the speaking in tongues and healing services.  You name it, it was there.  The reason it bothered me was that, for someone not familiar with all the many denominations there are (and yes, we all have some reason why we believe the way we do, or go to this church or that church), that particular denomination is so universally misunderstood.  I just think that the author didn't need to make it that complicated because even Scotty's character questioned whether or not they were legit.  I don't thing a YA book should be tackling those kinds of issues that early.  It can be overload.  Believe me, I know...I had the same questions when I was growing up and seeing it at church every week.  It wasn't that I was offended by the content...just very, very suprised.  Maybe I'm way off base here to some, and if I am, I apologize (especially if I've offended anyone...that is not my intention at all).  Maybe Scotty was more mature and discerning at that point in life than I was at her age...I don't know.

So, I said all that to say that Scotty figured out her place with God in book two, and it was written perfectly.  Her character even alluded to a bit of confusion from the services mentioned in book one, but I think it was just like water off a duck's back in her mind.  She figured out her own way to Christ...no denomination needed.  :o)

Now that I've gotten past all that I didn't like from book one, I'm really eager to read the rest of the series and find out what happens with Scotty.  Lesson for me--it just goes to show that you can never judge a book by it's cover, and just because one book experience was bad doesn't mean that all books by that same author will be bad, too.  :o) 

4 Stars

Southern?  Just enough  :o)
Sass?  Some

**Many thanks to NavPress for providing a copy for review.

Book Review: Stealing Adda by Tamara Leigh/5 Stars

About the book:

Life for Adda Sinclaire, New York Times best-selling author, Historical Romance Writer Extraordinaire, ironically reads more like a country song than a bodice-bursting, breathless affair. For starters, she has no actual romance in her life. That might have something to do with the fact that her husband--correction-EX husband--ran off with Stick Woman, whom everyone knew would never be more that a mid-list author anyway. To add insult to injury (and another verse to the country song), he not only took their dog but gave it to her. If this isn't enough, Adda's come down with a horrible case of writer's block and finds herself the unwitting target of a romance cover model's misdirected (and completely unreciprocated) amorous advances.

Just when she catches her breath--and quite possibly the eye of a certain fabulously good-looking man--her arch-nemesis gives the pot one final stir.

My thoughts:

Ok, it's time to officially add Tamara Leigh to my list of favorite authors!  I love her stories, her style, and her fabulous sense of humor.  Her books fall a little bit into the chick-lit genre and a little bit into the romance genre, but by the time I finish one, I'm a fan of the "I-don't-care-what-you-call-it-it's-so-good-I-wanna-read-it-again" genre.  (Wow, what a mouthful!)

I became a fan of Tamara's right after reading Splitting Harriet (which was just as great of a read as this one).  But before reading this book, I honestly had no clue that Tamara Leigh had once been a successful, mainstream romance author.  After I read Stealing Adda (along with a few book reviews of it, too), the light bulb went off in my head that this book very easily could've been her journey through the world of writing.  Everything was so spot on--the deadlines, the writing conferences, the agent phone calls, the best-seller lists, the red pen of death from the editor--that I felt like I was in the midst of all that drama right beside Adda.

But let me tell ya...that just barely scratches the surface about how great this book was!  I cannot believe how many times I could not stop laughing!  And I'm not talking about a little chuckle, either.  I'm talking about LOL funny!  Adda had these very "unique" names for people (mostly for people she didn't like) that summed them up to a T.  "Stick Woman" was a personal favorite of mine, as well as Adda's friend, "Puffer"...better known as Joyce.  "Prim" and "Improper" stole the show a few times, too.  :o)

As great as the humor was, the romance was enough to make me weak in the knees.  Goo.... (you'll know what I mean after you read it for yourself).  :o)  "Chocolates" was every girl's dream guy, even if he had a tendency to be non-committal a good portion of the time.  The chemistry between him and Adda was the kind that would have you imagining fireworks in the background...it was that good! 

But seriously....this book is the kind of book I would give to someone that wants a great story, but maybe they're not a Christian.  It showed the journey from non-believer to believer in a very real way that wasn't preachy or "church-ey."  Instead, the Christian characters that were featured had a genuine faith that was just part of their personality.  They weren't trying to witness every 5 minutes, or saying "I'll pray for you" all the time.  They lived their faith by example instead of trying to cram it down your throat.  What a refreshing change.  :o)

So, with all that said, I think there should be a Tamara Leigh Fan Club, and I very seriously doubt that I would be the only member!  Anyone else wanna join?  (Er....maybe we should ask Tamara what she thinks first.....)

5 Stars (as if you had to ask)  :o)

Southern?  No
Sass?  Oh, my!!  Heaping loads of it!

More favorites by Tamara.....

**Click here if you'd like to read my review of Splitting Harriet.
**Click here if you'd like to read my review of Leaving Carolina.

Book Review: Forgotten: Seventeen and Homeless by Melody Carlson

About the book:

With MIA parents, overdue rent, and no one to turn to, Adele is forced out of her home. She strives to maintain the pretense of a “normal” life while struggling to finish high school, all the while concealing that she is homeless. But is she strong enough to keep up the act?

Every teenage girl has a secret. And every teenage girl loves hearing someone else’s secret. But some secrets are big enough to detour, derail, or even destroy a young person’s life.

Each of Melody Carlson’s Secrets novels will propel readers into a world where promises are broken, life is not fair, and challenges can make or break them, while ultimately helping readers discover that solid faith, loyal friends, and a persistent spirit will see them through.

My thoughts:

This novel shares a heartwrenching story about a teenager with a loser mom and a runaway dad.  While most of us don't have to deal with the drama of deadbeat parents, we probably even less have thoughts of having to live on the street or out of our cars.  I cannot imagine what it must be like to be totally alone and homeless, I really give Adele a lot of credit for sticking it out as long as she did before turning to the only One who would be able to change her life. 

The biggest lesson that I took away from this book was that lies always find you out in the end.  In Adele's case, one of her "so-called" friends discovered the truth on her own, leaving Adele to fess up to her lies and the consequences.  And poor girl, just when she decided to start being honest, she got another realization of just how unfair life sometimes is.

The only thing I didn't like about this book was the ending.  I didn't like that it ended up "several months later," and instead, would've liked some of the first portion of the book to have been shortened just a bit to allow for a more fleshed out conclusion.

Other than that, I thought this was another excellent book perfect for teenagers that's got a lot of lessons on honesty and genuineness.  I'm anxious to see what the rest of the Secrets series has in store.

4 Stars

**Many thanks to NavPress for providing a copy for review in exchange for my honest opinion.